Sena Acolatse is making his presence known in Providence

Sena Acolatse may not have an NHL game on his resume, but the seven-year pro has quite the reputation in the American Hockey League.

Acolatse made his AHL debut at the end of the 2010-2011 season with the now-defunct Worcester Sharks, where he remained until 2014.

This stint was followed by stints in Adirondack, Portland and Springfield from 2014 to 2017.

Over his seven-year career, Acolatse has established himself as a tough and versatile player. He can play forward or defense, and at 6 feet and 205 pounds, he has shown he is not afraid to drop the gloves or throw big hits.

In 330 career games, he has racked up 617 penalty minutes. With that said, he is not a ghost on the scoresheet, either. He has 116 career points off of 37 goals and 79 assists.

The Providence Bruins invited the veteran Acolatse to training camp this year with the hopes he would provide a good presence on the ice and in the locker room. With a young and skilled roster, physicality was one thing the P-Bruins lacked heading into the 2017-2018 season.

Colby Cave and Chris Porter, both AHL veterans, finish their checks each and every shift; Anton Blidh and Colton Hargrove are gritty as well. Even with these four guys on the roster, this was definitely an area in which the P-Bruins wanted to improve, especially with the number of rookies on the team.

Acolatse certainly fits the bill. He is a proven fighter and is known to stick up for teammates.

Acolatse has appeared in five games for Providence so far this season and is already showing the team’s management (and fans) the kind of player he is. He already has 47 penalty minutes, three fights, and two assists. Twenty-three of those minutes came from one game alone, when Bridgeport visited the Dunk on November 3rd.

Despite taking a four minute double-minor penalty for butt-ending last Friday, Acolatse’s presence has mainly been a positive spark for Providence. If the P-Bruins want to keep the hard-hitting Acolatse around, they’ll have to sign him to a contract, since he is currently on a tryout deal.

Right now, it is unknown if Providence will sign the AHL vet, but one thing is for sure: Acolatse is going to make his presence known each and every game.