Ottawa Senators sign Norwegian centre Eskild Bakke Olsen
The 24-year-old had five points at the World Championships in May and will be a restricted free agent when his entry-level deal expires next summer.
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The Ottawa Senators have signed 24-year-old Norwegian centre Eskild Bakke Olsen to a one-year, entry-level contract worth $910,000.
Bakke Olsen, from Hamar, Norway, will be a restricted free agent when the contract expires in summer 2027. The deal was announced Monday, less than 24 hours after the Stanley Cup was awarded in Las Vegas.
Bakke Olsen had a strong showing at the World Hockey Championships in May, posting five points (two goals, three assists) in 10 games and helping Norway capture a bronze medal — the country's first ever medal in an IIHF top-division tournament. He played 19:13 in Norway's 3-2 overtime victory over Canada in the bronze-medal game.
The centre spent his first season in the Swedish Hockey League with Linköping HC, where he compiled 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 51 games, ranking second on the team in scoring. Before that, he played two seasons with BIK Karlskoga in Sweden's Tier 2 HockeyAllsvenskan, accumulating 90 points (19 goals, 71 assists) in 97 games.
At 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, Bakke Olsen is described as a playmaker with soft hands around the net. Five of his 11 goals in the SHL last season were redirections. He was passed over at the NHL Draft in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
No Norwegian-born player has dressed for the Senators to date. Bakke Olsen will likely begin the 2026-27 season with Belleville of the American Hockey League.