After his excellent preseason, the Senators will finally take a look at winger Jiri Smejkal Saturday night in Detroit.

The Ottawa Senators will have a new face in the lineup for another big Atlantic Division showdown Saturday night in Detroit.

Czech winger Jiri Smejkal was called up from Belleville on Friday and is expected to skate on the fourth line with Rourke Chartier and Parker Kelly. In his conversation this morning with TSN 1200's Gord Wilson, his excitement level was palpable.

At 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, Smejkal is a physical specimen, leading his coach in Sweden to call him "The Czech Hulk" in an interview last summer. Martin Filander appeared on The Senstennial Podcast and spoke glowingly of the 27-year-old.

"He's a big body, like a Czech Hulk," Filander said. "I mean, he is very fit, so strong. (He doesn't have) the smoothest stride, but he's fast for a big guy, and he can protect the puck. So for us, he had a direct impact offensively. He could make something happen and score or create stuff just on his own with his brute force. Really good around the net and around the boards."

In 49 games, Smejkal had 23 goals and 43 points in Sweden last season. Former Sens GM Pierre Dorion signed him to a one-year, two-way NHL deal last summer.

Smejkal came over and had four points in the Sens' preseason and looked like he'd won himself an NHL job. But he was sent down to Belleville all the same, largely due to the club's salary cap problems. Based on his slow AHL production out of the gate, Smejkal needed time to adjust to his new reality. He certainly didn't leave Sweden with dreams of playing in the AHL.

Now that he's in the NHL, his former coach said last summer, he believes the big winger wouldn't look out of place in Ottawa's top six, if needed.

"I wouldn't limit myself as a coach or GM to just have him set in one spot," Filander said. "He needs to start in the bottom six. But I mean, he could be a supporting guy to two more skilled guys too. He's that smart of a player."

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Angus Crookshank Dodges a Bullet: Belleville's leading scorer gave the B-Sens a scare on Wednesday night, leaving the ice after a knee on knee collision in Laval. It was the same knee that was injured in 2021, causing Crookshank to miss the entire 2021-22 hockey season. 

As he left, he wasn't putting any weight on it. Head coach David Bell said afterward that he hoped it wasn't as serious as they first thought. 

And it definitely wasn't.

Crookshank had two assists on Friday night as Belleville defeated Grand Rapids 5-2. The 24-year-old now has 18 points in 22 games this season.