Forcing his way back into the NHL conversation, Arthur Kaliyev has six goals in his last five games.
Last season, when the Ottawa Senators needed goal-scoring help, there weren’t many high-end options down in the minors. Their top goal-scoring Belleville candidates were Wyatt Bongiovanni and Angus Crookshank, who each scored 22 goals. Neither finished last season among the AHL’s top 30 goal scorers.
For the record, Crookshank is now an AHL player for the Utica Comets, while Bongiovanni has six goals in 14 games, tying him with Xavier Bourgault for second on Belleville’s goal-scoring list.
But it’s newcomer Arthur Kaliyev, 24, who’s leading the way with eight goals in 13 games, tying him for sixth in AHL goal scoring, just two goals off the league lead.
Right now, Ottawa sits seventh in the NHL in team goal scoring with 64 goals in 19 games. But five players have combined for 38 of those goals: Tim Stützle (10), Shane Pinto (9), Dylan Cozens (7), Michael Amadio (6), and Drake Batherson (6).
Further down the lineup, several forwards are off to slow starts and at the quarter turn, aren’t even on pace for 10 goals this season: David Perron (2), Lars Eller (2), Ridly Greig (2), Fabian Zetterlund (1), and the 12/13 forward combination of Olle Lycksell and Kurtis MacDermid (1).
Kaliyev will never be mistaken for a Selke Trophy candidate, and he’s not going to take ice time from Greig or Zetterlund, two young players who just started new contracts. And what of the veterans, Perron and Eller? They remain strong NHL mentors, producing solid point totals despite their lack of goals.
But that final forward spot is where the discussion gets interesting. Wouldn’t Kaliyev be an upgrade in either 12th or 13th-forward role? He's been especially hot lately, with 6 goals in his past 5 games, seemingly unfazed by some of the off-ice chatter swirling around him.
It certainly doesn’t help Kaliyev’s case that he’s currently under NHL investigation following allegations from his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Mochen, who claims he scammed her out of money to fund a gambling habit. No charges have been laid, but after she gave a lengthy interview to the New York Post, the league is still looking into it. The Senators are probably just as happy to have him in Belleville while that plays out.
But once the situation is resolved, if injuries hit Ottawa’s forward group, Kaliyev would almost certainly be the next call-up. And if he keeps rolling, and some players don’t pick things up soon, that call might come even earlier.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
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