Senators’ Jacob Bernard-Docker sidelined with ankle sprain; Maxence Guenette recalled

The Ottawa Senators will be without Jacob Bernard-Docker for the immediate future as the defenseman is sidelined with a high ankle sprain, reports TSN 1200 Ottawa. In Bernard-Docker’s absence, the Senators will turn to blue-liner Maxence Guenette, who was recalled from the AHL’s Belleville Senators on Tuesday.

Bernard-Docker suffered the injury at practice Monday and required help to get off the ice. On the season, the 24-year-old Canmore, Alta., native has made 25 appearances with the Senators in which he has collected one goal and three assists for four points while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time a night.

Originally chosen 26th overall by the Senators in the 2018 NHL Draft, Bernard-Docker has seen 129 career contests with the club in which he has registered 20 points counting five goals and 15 assists. He finished last season with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 72 games. Bernard-Docker also saw two appearances with Belleville a year ago after he was placed on waivers by the Senators.

Per PuckPedia, Bernard-Docker carries an $805,000 annual average value and can become a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Guenette shifts to Ottawa following 27 outings with Belleville this season in which he has scored three goals and added six assists for nine points. A seventh-round selection from the 2019 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old Quebec native has made eight NHL appearances, including seven games in 2023-24 in which he finished with two penalty minutes and a minus-one rating.

On the season, the Senators sit 19-17-2 and one point back of the Atlantic Division rival Montreal Canadiens for the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. After dropping their two most recent games, the Senators will look to return to the win column Tuesday versus the Detroit Red Wings.