Reinhardt signs with Ottawa Senators

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Alberta hockey player with ties to Strathmore has signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, after playing in the AHL this year.

Cole Reinhardt, a 21-year-old power forward with the Belleville Senators, is from Irricana, but he played for the Strathmore CFR Bisons triple-A U18 team during the 2015-16 season. After signing a three-year, entry-level deal with the Ottawa Senators on April 16, Reinhardt is looking to earn a spot on an NHL roster.

“Everything feels surreal, because I’ve been working towards this my whole life and it finally happened,” he said.

After his stint with the Bisons, Reinhardt played four years with the Brandon Wheat Kings. During his 2019-20 season with the Wheat Kings, he played in 56 games, scoring 31 goals and 24 assists, as the team achieved a 35-22 record (but playoffs were cancelled).

The road to the NHL has been a long one for Reinhardt, as he was passed over in the 2018 and 2019 NHL drafts, which he said was “disheartening.” But in 2020, he remained hopeful he would be drafted, despite understanding older players are selected less often.

During the draft, Reinhardt was cleaning corrals at his home, while intermittently keeping an eye on team selections. That is when his phone started “blowing up” with messages being made in reaction to his selection by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the draft (181st overall).

“My phone froze, and I didn’t even know what had happened for a few minutes,” he said.

After the draft, Reinhard signed an amateur tryout contract with the Belleville Senators, Ottawa’s American Hockey League (AHL) farm team. The team is a humble group, despite several players having NHL experience, while the coaching step has been instrumental in furthering his development, he said.

Reinhardt describes his role on the team as an “energy guy” while playing power forward. With the Belleville Senators, he has played in 23 games and has scored four goals and five assists.

The Ottawa Senators have been “exceedingly happy” with Reinhardt’s play this season, said Pierre Dorion, Ottawa Senators general manager. “For someone who was just recently drafted, he’s already showcased a great combination of strength and speed in addition to excellent hockey sense, which is likely his best attribute.”

With AHL playoffs cancelled this year due to COVID-19, Reinhardt said his stint on the team has been “like getting an exhibition year to learn the league, without having to burn a contract year.”

Reinhardt has been successful because he has always been a great shooter and does not shy away from contact, said Keith Klemmensen, a Strathmore hockey coach, who coached Reinhardt in peewee hockey. “He hit the big guys as hard as he hit the little guys,” he said.

But Reinhardt’s greatest asset is his ability to take and learn from criticism, added Klemmensen. “The thing I remember about Cole the most and what has really helped him, is when you told him something or tried to correct something, he didn’t pout. He just went to work.”

The Belleville Senators season will wrap up sometime in May. After that, Reinhardt will be returning to Alberta, to train in Calgary. Then, he will join the Ottawa Senators training camp sometime in the early fall.

“By signing this contract, I’m getting a foot in the door in the NHL,” he said. “Now, I’ll be getting ready to take the next step and work to stay there.”