Ottawa Senators forward Eskild Bakke Olsen is getting his shot to show he belongs in the NHL, and he knows exactly how rare that chance is for a player from Norway.
The 24-year-old signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Senators as an undrafted free agent in mid-June 2026. Bakke Olsen played nearly 20 minutes in that game, a heavy workload that showed the trust his coaches placed in him against one of the sport's traditional powers.
Building a case in the SHL
Bakke Olsen's path to Ottawa runs through Sweden and Norway, not the usual junior and draft pipeline most NHL prospects follow. He has three professional seasons in Sweden and four more in Norway, a body of work that gave the Senators a good look at how he produces against men before they signed him. Last season, playing for Linkoping HC in the Swedish Hockey League, he finished second on his own team in scoring with 32 points. At 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, he brings the kind of frame that NHL teams look for when they are deciding whether a European free agent can handle the North American game.
The stage in Gatineau
That question starts getting answered this weekend, when Bakke Olsen suits up for the Senators at the NHL Prospect Challenge, a four-team rookie showcase running September 12 and 13 in Gatineau, just across the river from Ottawa. The tournament also features rookies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets, giving local hockey fans a rare chance to see prospects from four Canadian-market teams in one building over a single weekend.
Unlike Senators first-round pick Carter Yakemchuk, who arrives in Gatineau as one of the tournament's headline names, Bakke Olsen is considered one of the lesser-known players in the event. That is precisely the gap he is trying to close. A strong showing against North American competition would go a long way toward proving that his scoring touch in Sweden and his bronze-medal run with Norway can translate into a real path onto the Senators' roster.
What led here
Bakke Olsen's arrival is one of several storylines Senators fans are tracking out of the Prospect Challenge. Ottawa is also watching top prospect ottown's earlier report on Swedish winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, while the tournament has already produced headlines around the Maple Leafs and top pick Gavin McKenna, as ottown's earlier report noted ahead of the games.
For a Senators organization trying to turn a deep prospect pool into results that matter, as ottown's earlier report has covered with the team's young core, a find like Bakke Olsen would be exactly the kind of low-cost, high-upside addition that rounds out a roster. For now, the opportunity is his to seize, one shift in Gatineau at a time.
Sources: NHL.com/Senators, Canucks World
