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The previous two years, he returned to junior with the right attitude.

“When I got sent back, it’s basically a fresh start,” said Formenton. “You’ve got to work hard and gain the spot next year. Last year, I gained that spot and didn’t end up playing the whole year, but I was disappointed with that.

“It gave me motivation to come in this year and make sure that I stay.”

There is a need for speed to succeed in the NHL, and that was a big reason why Formenton was able to stick with the Senators to start the last couple of years. The first time he made it, he only suited up for one game before being sent back to London, but there had to be a reward for the excellent camp that he had as a newcomer in 2017.

Last year, Formenton had one goal in nine games before he was sent back to junior. The plan was for him to get the experience of playing at the world junior championships for a second straight year, but it didn’t work out the way the club wanted when he suffered a knee injury during one of Team Canada’s pre-tournament games.

He did his rehab in Ottawa and had a strong finish with 13 goals and 34 points in 31 games with the Knights.

“It was tough to sit back and watch that Team Canada tournament, and not being able to play in the world juniors took a bit of a toll on me,” Formenton said. “But there’s always going to be adversity and you just have to get over that.

“We had a good second half of the year. Having that injury this early in my career is going to help me later in my career to battle injuries.”