A veteran of 513 NHL games, Holden has played in some big moments, none moreso than back-to-back trips to the Conference Finals with Vegas. Jim Hiller, who was an assistant alongside Sens head coach D.J. Smith in Toronto, had Holden in junior and made clear to Smith the kind of player the Senators were getting.
"He looks a lot bigger on the ice than he does maybe in person," Smith said. "He has way better edges. He's a big, smart, player that can do a bit of everything. He can defend, he can move pucks.
"[Jim] spoke highly about him and the kind of guy he is and how smart of a player he is and that's what I see out there."
From Holden's perspective, he understands he's not the guy people look at for offence, especially on a blue line group that includes Erik Brannstrom, Thomas Chabot and Victor Mete. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to chip in when he can, as he's demonstrated with 45 goals and 143 points.
"I like getting pucks into our forwards hands and making sure I take care of our defensive end but at the same time, we spoke about it Thursday, they want the 'D' to be part of the offence and that's something I've been able to do throughout my career is add a little bit of offence," Holden said. "They may not look to me as an offensive player but you want to be able to contribute at both ends.
"I definitely make sure I take care of the defensive side first and put my big body into some guys and then jump up and join into the offence."