Mads Søgaard Explained

Birth Date:13 December 2000
Birth Place:Aalborg, Denmark
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
Weight Lb:196
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
League:NHL
Team:Ottawa Senators
Prospect Team:Belleville Senators
Prospect League:AHL
Former Teams:Esbjerg Energy
Ntl Team:Denmark
Draft:37th overall
Draft Year:2019
Draft Team:Ottawa Senators
Career Start:2020

Mads Søgaard (born 13 December 2000) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Senators in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons in the AHL, Søgaard made his NHL debut with the Senators in 2022. Internationally he has played for the Danish national team at the junior level in several tournaments. Nicknamed "The Great Dane", Søgaard is the tallest active goaltender in the NHL along with Ivan Fedotov from the Philadelphia Flyers. Notable other goaltenders at the same height have been former Senators goaltender Ben Bishop and former Edmonton Oiler Mikko Koskinen.

Playing career

Søgaard spent his early career in his native Denmark. In 2017 he moved to North America, and spent one season with the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League, playing 22 games for them.[1] He was selected 32nd overall in the 2018 CHL Import Draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and joined the team that year.[2] After his first season with Medicine Hat, he was the second-ranked North American-based goaltender, and was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[3] He briefly played for Esbjerg Energy in the Danish Metal Ligaen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first professional season, he posted a 10–5–1 record with a 2.58 goals-against average (GAA) and a .922 save percentage in 16 games with Energy. He then joined the Senators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic-shortened season.[4] [5] Søgaard performed well in his first few games, recording a 7–0–0 record in all of his AHL appearances.

On 13 April 2021, the Senators signed Søgaard to a three-year, entry-level contract.[6] He began the 2021–22 season with Belleville and posted a 16–13–1 record with a 2.87 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 31 games prior to being recalled by Ottawa.[7] Søgaard made his NHL debut for Ottawa on 1 April 2022, in a 5–2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings,[8] also becoming the second Danish goaltender in NHL history after Frederik Andersen.[9] On 1 March 2023, Søgaard was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for games played in February during which he went 4–0–1 with a 2.33 GAA and .922 save percentage.[10] On 10 April, Søgaard and Andersen made NHL history, playing against each other in a game in Ottawa. It was the first time that two Danish goaltenders in the NHL faced each other.[11]

Søgaard attended Ottawa's training camp for the 2023–24 season but was assigned to Belleville to start the season.[12] On 1 November 2023, he was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for games played in October during which he went 3–1–0 along with a 1.73 GAA and .944 save percentage.[13] Søgaard was recalled by Ottawa on 12 January 2024 after Anton Forsberg suffered a groin injury.[14] He made his NHL season debut in a 7–4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on 16 January.[15] He picked up his first win of the season on 21 January over the Philadelphia Flyers.[16] After four appearances, Søgaard was sent back to Belleville on 31 January as the NHL went into its all-star break.[17] He was recalled again by Ottawa on 2 March after Forsberg suffered another injury and Joonas Korpisalo was out with an illness.[18] After making two more starts, Søgaard was sent back to Belleville on 7 March.[19] On 14 March, with a win over the Utica Comets, Søgaard broke the Belleville Senators' franchise record for wins in a season, surpassing Filip Gustavsson's previous record of 45.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L OTL MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2015–16Aalborg U20DEN U20
2015–16Aalborg IKDEN-2
2016–17Esbjerg U17DEN U17
2016–17Esbjerg IKDEN-2
2017–18 NAHL season2017–18Austin BruinsNAHL22 11 6 0 1,137 50 3 2.64 .909
2018–19Medicine Hat TigersWHL37 19 8 2 1,981 87 3 2.64 .921
2019–20Medicine Hat TigersWHL37 21 13 2 2,115 89 4 2.53 .908
2020–21Esbjerg EnergyDEN16 10 5 1 2.58 .922
2020–21Belleville SenatorsAHL7 7 0 0 425 17 0 2.40 .917
2021–22Belleville SenatorsAHL35 19 14 1 1,930 92 0 2.86 .908
2021–22Ottawa SenatorsNHL2 1 1 0 118 6 0 3.07 .889
2022–23Belleville SenatorsAHL22 6 10 2 1,090 63 0 3.47 .893
2022–23Ottawa SenatorsNHL19 8 6 3 1,048 58 0 3.32 .889
2023–24Belleville SenatorsAHL32 18 9 3 1,864 76 2 2.45 .9166 3 3 390 16 0 2.46 .910
2023–24Ottawa SenatorsNHL6 1 3 0 282 19 0 4.05 .859
NHL totals27 10 10 3 1,446 83 0 3.44 .884
AHL totals96 50 33 6 5,309 248 2 2.80 .9086 3 3 390 16 0 2.46 .910

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former Bruins Goalie Sogaard Selected by Ottawa Senators in Second Round of NHL Entry Draft . Austin Bruins . 22 June 2019 . 2 April 2022.
  2. Web site: Medicine Hat Tigers sign Mads Sogaard to WHL Standard Player Agreement . Western Hockey League Prospect Central . 28 August 2018 . 2 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Hughes tops 2019 NHL Draft final ranking of North American skaters . National Hockey League . Mike G. . Morreale . 15 April 2019 . 2 April 2022.
  4. Web site: Senators sign goaltender Mads Sogaard to entry-level contract . . The Canadian Press . 13 April 2021 . 28 April 2024.
  5. Web site: Sogaard set to build on early success in 2021-22 . Belleville Senators . 6 October 2021 . 2 April 2022.
  6. Web site: Senators sign goaltender Mads Sogaard to three-year, entry-level contract . NHL.com . 13 April 2021 . 2 April 2022.
  7. Web site: Sogaard ready for NHL debut . Ottawa Senators . NHL.com . Matt . Tidcombe . 1 April 2022 . 2 April 2022.
  8. Web site: Sogaard wins NHL debut, Senators defeat Red Wings . National Hockey League . Dave . Hogg . 2 April 2022 . 2 April 2022.
  9. Web site: Mads Sogaard's effort in Detroit offers an interesting twist in net for the Senators . . Bruce . Garrioch . 2 April 2022 . 2 April 2022.
  10. Web site: Sogaard of Senators named NHL Rookie of the Month for February . National Hockey League . 12 November 2023 . 1 March 2023.
  11. News: Ottawa Sun . Oh, What a Night! Senators veteran Claude Giroux hits 1,000 career points in club's win . 11 April 2023.
  12. Web site: Ottawa Senators assign eight players to Belleville Sens . Belleville Senators . 8 October 2023 . 20 October 2023.
  13. Web site: Belleville's Sogaard named American Hockey League Goaltender of the Month . Belleville Senators . 12 November 2023 . 1 November 2023.
  14. Web site: Senators recall goaltender Mads Sogaard from AHL Belleville . Sportsnet . 12 January 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  15. Web site: Rantanen gets 2 as Avalanche pull away in 3rd period for 7-4 win over Senators . ESPN . Associated Press . 16 January 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  16. Web site: Tarasenko, Giroux help lift Senators to 5-3 comeback win over Flyers . Associated Press . ESPN . 21 January 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  17. Web site: Senators' Mads Sogaard: Sent down . CBS Sports . 31 January 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  18. Web site: Sogaard to start vs. Flyers as Senators still looking for answers . Sportsnet . Scanlan . Wayne . 2 March 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  19. Web site: Senators' Mads Sogaard: Reassigned to AHL . CBS Sports . 7 March 2024 . 18 April 2024.
  20. Web site: Sogaard sets new franchise wins record as B-Sens beat Comets . The Belleville Intelligencer . 14 March 2024 . 18 April 2024.