Mads Søgaard

Mads Søgaard (born 13 December 2000) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Senators in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons in the AHL, Søgaard made his NHL debut with the Senators in 2022. Internationally he has played for the Danish national team at the junior level in several tournaments. Nicknamed "The Great Dane", Søgaard is the tallest active goaltender in the NHL along with Ivan Fedotov from the Philadelphia Flyers. Notable other goaltenders at the same height have been former Senators goaltender Ben Bishop and former Edmonton Oiler Mikko Koskinen.

Playing career
Søgaard spent his early career in his native Denmark. In 2017 he moved to North America, and spent one season with the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League, playing 22 games for them. He was selected 32nd overall in the 2018 CHL Import Draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and joined the team that year. After his first season with Medicine Hat, he was the second-ranked North American-based goaltender, and was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He briefly played for Esbjerg Energy in the Danish Metal Ligaen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first professional season, he posted a 10–5–1 record with a 2.58 goals-against average (GAA) and a .922 save percentage in 16 games with Energy. He then joined the Senators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic-shortened season. Søgaard performed well in his first few games, recording a 7–0–0 record in all of his AHL appearances.

On 13 April 2021, the Senators signed Søgaard to a three-year, entry-level contract. He began the 2021–22 season with Belleville and posted a 16–13–1 record with a 2.87 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 31 games prior to being recalled by Ottawa. Søgaard made his NHL debut for Ottawa on 1 April 2022, in a 5–2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, also becoming the second Danish goaltender in NHL history after Frederik Andersen. On 1 March 2023, Søgaard was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for games played in February during which he went 4–0–1 with a 2.33 GAA and .922 save percentage. On 10 April, Søgaard and Andersen made NHL history, playing against each other in a game in Ottawa. It was the first time that two Danish goaltenders in the NHL faced each other.

Søgaard attended Ottawa's training camp for the 2023–24 season but was assigned to Belleville to start the season. On 1 November 2023, he was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for games played in October during which he went 3–1–0 along with a 1.73 GAA and .944 save percentage. Søgaard was recalled by Ottawa on 12 January 2024 after Anton Forsberg suffered a groin injury. He made his NHL season debut in a 7–4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on 16 January. He picked up his first win of the season on 21 January over the Philadelphia Flyers. After four appearances, Søgaard was sent back to Belleville on 31 January as the NHL went into its all-star break. He was recalled again by Ottawa on 2 March after Forsberg suffered another injury and Joonas Korpisalo was out with an illness. After making two more starts, Søgaard was sent back to Belleville on 7 March. On 14 March, with a win over the Utica Comets, Søgaard broke the Belleville Senators' franchise record for wins in a season, surpassing Filip Gustavsson's previous record of 45.