It's been a whirlwind few days for Christian Wolanin as the highly-touted defensive prospect is set to make his NHL debut tonight after agreeing to an entry-level contract with the Senators yesterday.

"It's been hectic ever since I made the decision to leave college," said Wolanin following today's morning skate. "It's been non-stop phone calls and non-stop texts but I'm definitely excited to be here."
Wolanin had a breakout year for the University of North Dakota in 2017-18 and lead the Fighting Hawks in scoring with 35 points (12G, 23A) in 40 games this season. He comes from good pedigree as well, his dad Craig played in 695 National Hockey League games over the course of 13 seasons and will be in attendance tonight to watch his son's NHL debut.
"My parents are going to make the trip, my little sister is going to make the trip," Wolanin said. "It's going to be a good night."

Sens head coach Guy Boucher tempered expectations for Wolanin and doesn't presume the young defender will have grasped all of the systems and coverages after one morning skate. The coach did confirm that Wolanin will see some usage on the power play though which should fit his skill set nicely.
"He's a mobile defenceman that straddles the blue-line really well," said Boucher. "He's got good vision and he's got some false information to his game that will help him offensively so we're giving him a chance to play towards his strengths which is on the power play."
The Sens will also be getting some reinforcements up front as Ryan Dzingel is set to return after missing Tuesday's game. Dzingel took a Mike Hoffman clapper off the back of his helmet on Saturday in Columbus and was fortunate to avoid anything worse than a bruise. He's expected to resume his role on the top forward line with Hoffman and Matt Duchene tonight against the Oilers.
Erik Karlsson has been ruled out for tonight's game as he continues to deal with the devastating personal issue he and his wife suffered earlier this week. The captain's teammates have been very vocal with their support over the past few days and no timeline has been given for a potential return while he takes time away from hockey to grieve with his family after the loss of their child during pregnancy.
With both Wolanin and Dzingel in, the Sens have returned Jim O'Brien and Patrick Sieloff to Belleville. Here's a look at the Sens projected line-up for this evening according to NHL.com...
Dzingel - Duchene - Hoffman
Ryan - Smith - Gaborik
Paajarvi - Pageau - Pyatt
McCormick - Chlapik - Burrows
Wolanin - Ceci
Chabot - Harpur
Borowiecki - Claesson

In Goal

Craig Anderson (21-21-6) gets the start in goal tonight against the Oilers. Like the rest of the Senators, Anderson was roughed up during Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Panthers and was replaced by Mike Condon midway through the game. Despite that defeat earlier this week, Anderson's record over his last 6 starts is a solid 4-1-1 and he'll be looking to get back in the win column tonight against Edmonton.