BUFFALO -- Ridly Greig is counting on added strength and experience to earn him a roster spot with the Ottawa Senators when training camp opens this week.
The forward, selected by the Senators with the No. 28 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, used the Prospects Challenge last week to get a head start on making an impression.
He played in one game, scoring twice in a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. He scored on a redirect as he skated through the slot to put Ottawa ahead 2-1, then scored on a rebound in front to make it 3-1.
“Just getting noticed, trying to make a difference in the game,” Greig said. “Obviously, play your game and make a name for yourself, really.”
The 21-year-old missed the six-team tournament last season with an injury.
“Huge,” he said of getting to participate this season “Obviously getting a couple of games in before you head into main camp, it kind of makes it a lot easier.”
He had a solid rookie season with Belleville of the American Hockey League in 2022-23 with 15 goals and 29 points in 39 games. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 25, and had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 20 games with Ottawa.
“For the most part is just confidence for me,” Greig said of what he took away from the NHL games. “Just kind of build the confidence and experience coming into this.”
He spent the summer building strength on his 6-foot, 180-pound frame. The work he put in was evident in the team’s fitness testing, with Greig finishing among the strongest players in the bench press, “which you wouldn't have seen two years ago,” Belleville coach David Bell said.
“I just think he doesn't get rattled and flustered down here,” Bell said. “I mean, it's a rookie tournament, he knows he's going to NHL camp, he knows he's got a real good chance to compete for a spot there. But even in the regular season, he doesn't get upset.
“If he makes a bad play, he stays calm. If he scores a highlight reel goal, he stays calm. And I think he's learned that from watching his dad (retired NHL forward Mark) play and being around the NHL a long time and now playing in it himself.”
Bell said Greig will head into training camp with the mindset of staying in Ottawa.
“Ridley is a quiet, fierce, fierce competitor,” Bell said. “If you watch him, you look at him, you think he's a passive guy, but he's as competitive as they can be. … He's not intimidated by bigger, stronger older guys. So, it's just a matter of the body catching up with the brain and then he should be off and running.”
