Senators recall Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Cody Ceci

The Senators have announced the recall (et en français) of Jean-Gabriel Pageau this morning.

After his 1 goal in 8 games to start the season in Ottawa got him sent back to Bingo, he had an immediate impact in the AHL with 5 points (all assists) in his first two games. While he didn't quite keep up that blistering 2.5 points per game pace, he did keep it over a point per game with 10 assists and 6 goals in 15 games with the B-Sens.

UPDATE: The Senators have also recalled Cody Ceci from Binghamton, as it appears Marc Methot will not be available for tonight's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Ceci has 17P (2G, 15A) in 24GP with the B-Sens so far this season.

At the time of his demotion, Mark chalked his slow start in the NHL this season partially up to needing some more seasoning, and partially up to the role Ottawa had available for him. Ryan echoed the seasoning angle in our December player grades.

So, is 15 games in the AHL enough extra seasoning to allow him to recapture his playoff glory? How about the role that Ottawa has available for him right now? He's on a line with Neil and Greening this morning, which is hardly a big improvement over Condra and Greening (though it's a definite improvement over Condra and Kassian).  With that line I'm not convinced he's going to find much more success than he did before his demotion, though he certainly is better than the current alternative of being forced to ice Kassian and have no healthy scratches.

Pageau wasn't the only choice to come up when Hoffman was sent back down, but he was probably the most likely and this move certainly comes as no surprise.  What is a bit of a surprise though, is that this recall doesn't include a defenseman to fill in for the suspended Cowen (or rather, to fill in for Gryba in the press box).