The Ottawa Senators’ Prospect of the Week of Nov. 4-10 is Stephen Halliday. In two games against the Laval Rocket, the 22-year-old American Hockey League (AHL) rookie scored a goal and registered two primary assists, which led all Senators’ prospects last week and was the second most-productive player on the Belleville Senators. Now, with five points in 10 games, he has already surpassed his totals from his AHL debut last season, and with his recent performance, it looks like he’s finally getting back into the groove.
Halliday Picking Up After Slow Start
After leading Belleville with nine points in seven playoff games last season, big things were expected of Halliday in his first full AHL campaign. Yet, in his first eight games of 2024-25, the talented centre only had two assists, and only one was a primary helper. However, he was still getting power play opportunities, and it seemed only a matter of time before things would click into place for him.
That finally came on Nov. 8 when the Senators hosted the Rocket for a double-header. The Senators got the ball rolling in the first period, but Laval came back early in the second to tie the game. Soon after, Belleville found themselves on the power play, and after being snakebitten for so long, Halliday was determined to get the puck in the net. His first shot deflected into the corner, but captain Garrett Pilon set him up again, and Halliday rarely misses twice. Not only was it his first goal of the season, but it was his first goal in a regular-season AHL game.
FIRE US UP HALLY 🔥 https://t.co/uBSmGUZTSn pic.twitter.com/Ou3R9eRa2Z
— Belleville Senators (@BellevilleSens) November 9, 2024
Later, on a five-on-three, Halliday got to repay the favour to Angus Crookshank, passing the puck back and forth to his teammate until he found an angle to shoot, easily getting it by the Rocket to put Belleville ahead 3-2. Laval tied the game late in the third, and after an uneventful overtime, the two teams went into the shootout. Halliday was up first for the Senators, and although he scored on his attempt, his team wasn’t able to get any more by goalie Connor Hughes, and Belleville fell 4-3 to Laval.
The following night, the Senators and Rocket were back at it. This time, Laval opened up the scoring with back-to-back goals in the second period. But Belleville wasn’t going down without a fight, and after a goal from Oskar Pettersson brought the Senators to within one, Halliday set up Xavier Bourgault from behind the net to tie it at 2-2. A goal from Maxence Guenette got Belleville the lead, which they kept until the buzzer sounded.
Halliday Learning As He Goes
Even though Halliday projects to be more of a playmaker at the highest level, he’s no slouch at scoring goals. In his last season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints before moving on to Ohio State University, he led the team with 35 goals and 95 points. So, when a skilled player like that has an extended scoring drought, it can affect their confidence. Thankfully, Halliday has some great examples to look to for help.
“Just sticking with it,” said Halliday when asked about his success against Laval. “It’s a long season, and just learning from the older guys, the ups and downs, and staying level-headed.” He also put in the extra time, going out with coaches on the off day for some extra reps. “I feel like, when you’re not scoring or things just aren’t going in, getting the reps will give you confidence, and sure enough, it did [last] weekend.”
Halliday’s decision to put in the extra work likely came from watching Crookshank, who put up two goals against Laval on Nov. 8 and currently leads Belleville with six goals in 10 games. “Each guy pushes individual. Like, Cooker’s (Crookshank) out there all the time. I want to keep pace with Cooker, and there’s a reason he’s leading the team in goals. He’s out there working on his shot all the time.”
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But Halliday isn’t rushing it. He knows that, despite his success in junior with Dubuque, with Ohio State, and even with Belleville last season, there’s no easy solution to becoming a successful player. That’s what will set him up for sustained success in this league and, hopefully, the NHL. “Coming in here and just finding your game, how you can make plays and stuff in the AHL,” he said. “Obviously, I’m still learning, and I’m excited to keep getting better as the weeks go on.”
Senators Prospects Honourable Mentions & Check-Ins
Overall, it was a quieter week for Senators’ prospects. Crookshank’s two goals were the most scored by any prospect last week, and the only other player to score outside of the AHL was defenceman Matthew Andonovski, who put away his second goal of the season. The Kitchener Rangers’ captain now has six points in 19 games.
Teammate and fellow Senators’ prospect Lucas Ellinas had a blazing hot start to the season but has since cooled off. After scoring eight goals in his first 13 games, he’s gone scoreless in the last six and was held off the scoreboard completely last week. He still sits fourth on the Rangers in goals and remains a top player to watch for Ottawa. Sticking in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Blake Montgomery became one of the first players to take advantage of the new NCAA/CHL agreement, transferring to the London Knights, where he made his debut on Nov. 10.
Carter Yakemchuk, the only player who’s won two Prospect of the Week nominations, has remained one of the Calgary Hitmen’s top scorers. Last week, he added two more assists, keeping him at over a point per game with 13 in 12 appearances since being returned from the Senators. Cole Reinhardt has also remained one of Belleville’s top players, adding another assist to give him an impressive 11 points in just seven games.
Neither HPK’s U20 team nor their premier club have played since Nov. 2, which prevented Eerik Wallenius from adding to his surprising 15 points in just 16 games this season. He hasn’t been as dangerous since the opening weeks of the 2024-25 season, but his production at the U20 level has vaulted him into the conversation of some of the Senators’ most interesting prospects.
Tune in next week to see which prospect stood above the rest.
