Stephen Halliday, seen in a January 2026 file photo, recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 30 games as a rookie with the Ottawa Senators. Photo by Alex Goodlett /Getty Images

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A couple months after he passed the National Hockey League test and signed a two-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, Stephen Halliday was searching for answers to questions he hadn’t contemplated in forever.

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“They’re all asking, like, what your favourite colour is, things that you don’t get very often,” he said, laughing. “I’m like, ‘Uh, what is my favourite car?’ I don’t even know.”

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On Sunday, Halliday was getting grilled by kids ages 7-11 at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata, part of the Senators’ Pro Player Camps, immersing himself in a community he hopes to be a part of for years to come.

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“I never did any camps with NHLers (growing up),” he told the Ottawa Citizen in a one-on-one interview. “So that’s why I thought it was even more cool, kind of putting kids in my shoes. I know Mike (Amadio) did one yesterday, too.”

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The minor hockey players, who each got an on-ice session with the Senators forwards on the weekend, were taking in everything they could from the best, just as Halliday did during a dizzying second full season of professional hockey in 2025-26.

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Recalled four times from Belleville of the American Hockey League — where he was a point-per-game player — the centre had to fight hard for his ice time with the big club.

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“I think it just gives you perspective and gives you, honestly, more sense of urgency,” Halliday said. “When I would go down, I’d be like, ‘Wow, every shift matters even more.’ And even when I was up here, I was able to soak in stuff from guys that were playing really good hockey.”

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It was a year of adapting for Halliday, the 104th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. When he did crack the Sens’ lineup, it was typically on the fourth line, averaging 8:31 ice time per game, sometimes seeing as few as eight or nine shifts a night.

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“I think it was also (about) learning how to do different roles,” he said. “I’ve always been a points guy, and in most leagues I’ve played in the top six. It really gave me a lot of time to work on my faceoffs with Ben Sexton every practice. And I was sitting in the press box and unfortunately (Jake Sanderson) and (Thomas Chabot) got hurt last year, and I’m sitting with those guys, watching the game, seeing how they’re breaking it down because they’re two top Dmen in the league. I tried to be like a sponge and learn a bit so that when I did get in I understood how to play the game a little bit better.”

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Halliday did remarkably well with minimal opportunity, recording 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 30 games as a rookie with Ottawa.

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On May 5, he agreed to a two-year, $2.15 million deal with the Sens.

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“You always believe in yourself as a player,” Halliday said, “but to have the GM, the head coach, all those type of guys reiterate that to you and reward you and not just say it too, that was really exciting.

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“If you would have told me I was in the American league to start and I ended up in the NHL at the end, it was unbelievable.”

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In Halliday’s exit interview, coach Travis Green and general manager Steve Staios emphasized foot speed, playing with pace and taking the next step in Green’s system.

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“I sat out a lot of the year,” he noted, “so it was really kind of just giving me a lot of motivation, even to skate with (technical skating specialist) Shelley (Kettles) extra, have her come down to Toronto, come up here and (workout) extra in the weight room. I just want to make a difference with the team next year.”

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If his gear wasn’t held hostage by Air Canada earlier in the week, Halliday would’ve been on the ice with Kettles ahead of the kids’ camp. The rest of the biggest off-season of his career (aren’t they all?) will be spent with Matt Nichol, the Senators’ director of sport performance, in Toronto.