Fantasy Summary
Great size and good pedigree. Upside to become a low-end NHL starter.
Observations
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January 2021 – Högberg has been the backup netminder for the first couple of games of the season. He likely won’t play a major role with Murray looking solid in front of him but the season is compressed and shortened, and there will be plenty of back-to-back opportunities which should give Högberg some ice-time. Tony Ferrari
March 2020 – Högberg has returned home to Sweden for a personal matter. No timetable for his return as of yet. Tony Ferrari
February 2020 – A pleasant surprise for the Senators, Högberg has been very good with the big club this year. Högberg was sent back and forth from Belleville to Ottawa a couple of times early in the year but the 25-year-old Swedish netminder has filled in admirably for Anders Nilsson who has been dealing with a concussion. With little known about when Nilsson will return, Högberg could be with the Senators for the majority of the season. He has served as a solid option to platoon with Craig Anderson and has actually been outperforming the long-time NHL veteran. Högberg’s play could earn him more playing time as the season wears on, even if Nilsson does return before season’s end. Tony Ferrari
November 2019 – Högberg has been called-up to the Ottawa Senators today (November 27, 2019) to fill-in temporarily for Craig Anderson who’s dealing with a short term injury. The team is saying that it’s more precautionary than anything else so it will be unlikely that Högberg gets any playing time in net, except for clean-up duty in a goalie pull situation. This call-up seems to be more about convenience and preserving Anderson than a payoff of Högberg’s play at the AHL level which has been subpar thus far in 2019. Tony Ferrari
November 2019 – Högberg has taken a step back to start this season statistically. His save percentage is sub-.900 and his game just hasn’t looked good for long stretches on time. He has the lead role in Belleville at the moment but that’s mostly a factor of Filip Gustavsson also struggling mightily and the Senator’s being short on options outside hoping for one of their netminding prospects to turn it around or bringing in an external option. For as deep as the Senators’ stable of goalies is, the top-end doesn’t look as good as it did a year ago this time. If Högberg can regain his form, it will make the Senators brass breathe a little easier. Tony Ferrari
June 2019- Hogberg completed a very successful season in Belleville, finishing with a .917 save percentage and a 21-11-6 record. He was relied upon heavily down the stretch as Belleville made a playoff push and was named the MVP of the team at the end of the season. He is poised to push for a backup role in Ottawa but will likely start in Belleville next season barring injury. The 2013 draft pick has developed nicely and could one day hold some fantasy value. Due to the logjam in the organization at this point, however, he isn’t set up to see many starts any time soon. Jordan Deshane
December 2018- Hogberg has earned a call to the NHL. Off to a strong start this season, Hogberg received the call largely due to injuries above him in the lineup. He has shown some nice growth with increased opportunity this year over last. Last year, he had an .899 save percentage in the AHL. This year, he has increased that to a .916 and has been generally more reliable, including stealing a point this year when Belleville was outshot 36-10 and lost one to nothing in overtime. Since arriving in Ottawa, he has received two consecutive starts. If injuries persist, he may get an extended look. Jordan Deshane
March 2018 – Hogberg hasn’t exactly had the “dream start” to his North American hockey career. Since moving to the AHL late last season, he’s put up some underwhelming numbers with Belleville and hasn’t performed up to relative expectations. This year, Hogberg produced 3.60 GAA with a .890 SV% in only 12 starts. The Belleville squad is one of the weakest teams in the AHL, but either way, better things were expected of the 23-year-old Swedish netminder. After those numbers, the Senators staff decided to demote him to the Brampton Beast, their ECHL squad to continue development. Since the move, Hogberg has continued his played better, posting a 2.87 GAA, and a .923 SV%. Hopefully Hogberg can finish off the year strong with Brampton and set himself up for a comeback next season. Marcus Griep
February 2017 – Högberg has put together an absolutely spectacular third SHL season with Linkoping HC. After sharing the crease last season, he’s grabbed the reins of the No. 1 job and run with it. Protecting the net for 28 games, Högberg is sporting a minuscule 1.88 GAA and an equally eye-popping .932 SVS, marks that place him third and fourth respectively among all SHL ‘tenders. The more the season has progressed, the better Hogberg has played. Over the past two months, a span of 20 games, Hogberg has given up more than two goals only once. All these numbers add up to a 16-12 record with four shutouts, a mark that puts him in a tie for third highest in the league. Big and agile, Högberg is everything you want in a modern goaltender. The Senators appear to have a gem. Brad Phillips
August 2016 – It was another strong season for Hogberg, his second with Linkoping, as he posted nearly identical numbers to those from 2014-15. Protecting the net for 28 games, he posted a 15-12-0 record with two shutouts, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 SVS. But due to the exceptional play of teammate David Rautio, he didn’t see any action in the playoffs. With the aforementioned Rautio moving on, Hogberg should be the unquestioned No. 1 for Linkoping this coming campaign. He is far and away the Senators’ best goaltending prospect, as evidenced by his showing at last month’s development camp. Look for him to spend one more year in Sweden before coming to North America in 2016-17. Brad Phillips
November 2015 – While most poolies and Sens fans are focused on Ottawa’s most recently acquired prized goalie prospect Matt O’Connor, Marcus Hogberg is a name that shouldn’t be forgotten. In comparing the two it’s important to keep a couple things in perspective. O’Connor is almost a full three years older than Hogberg and as Hogberg is well on his way to wrapping up his second full season in the SHL, arguably the second best league in the world; O’Connor at the same age was in his Freshman year at Boston University. Locked in a crease time share with David Rautio, Hogberg got off to a very strong that this season going 3-0-1 with a 1.96 GAA in his first four games. He has since come back down to earth a little bit to where his record sits at 6-3-3 with a 2.53 GAA and 0.900 SV%. Still very young having just turned 21 a couple of days ago and with a season and a half of professional hockey under his belt, he’s on the right road to develop into an NHL calibre goalie and still has plenty of time ahead of him. The Sens need to make a decision on Hogberg as he is unsigned for next season. Brad Phillips
February 2014 – Hogberg has put up consistent numbers since taking over the starting job for Swedish Elite League team Linkoping in 2014-15. Although his 2.52 GAA and .908 SV% won’t necessarily make your jaw drop, the experience Hogberg is gaining as a 20-year-old starting goaltender in Sweden’s top league is extremely valuable. The netminder will continue his development in Sweden and with minimal goaltending prospect depth the Senators may try to get him to cross the pond sooner rather than later. Kevin LeBlanc
January 2015 – Marcus Hogberg began his pro career with Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League in 2010. The Swede was very successful playing for Linkoping U18 team, posting a .933 save percentage. Hogberg only appeared in four games for the U20 team that year, not fairing as well – 4.43 GAA and .840 save percentage. At just 17 years old Hogberg helped the U20 Linkoping club win the championship after a successful regular season (.939 save percentage and 1.64 GAA). In 2012-2013 Hogberg debuted with Linkoping’s big club in the Elitserien, going 1-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .884 save percentage through three matches. In 2013, the Orebro-native was selected to represent Sweden at the World Juniors on home ice. Hogberg played in just one game (an exhibition at that) but shutout the Canadians in that game. Hogberg played behind highly touted Columbus Blue Jacket prospect Oskar Dansk in the tournament. Nathan Martin
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