Once upon a time, nobody in the Ontario Hockey League wanted Mike Hoffman. The Gatineau Olympiques kicked him to the curb. And before he tasted any success with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League, Hoffman spent time in the ECHL.

All of that, Hoffman says, prepared him for the trials of trying to be a permanent player with the Ottawa Senators.

“I had that experience of going through the same thing in junior and coming into the pros and the AHL,” says Hoffman, who scored the game winner Saturday a 3-2 win over Columbus, set up David Legwand for the game opening goal and earned himself a (failed) penalty shot, for good measure.

“This is another stepping stone. I’m feeling more confident going forward and that helps my game a lot.”

Hoffman had a strong camp, but with two extra forwards kicking around on the Senators’ 23-man roster, he needs to continue to impress to keep playing. So far, so good. Hoffman’s speed and skill provides an surprising element from the bottom end of the forward roster. The Senators would likely lose him off waivers to another NHL team if they attempted to send him back to Binghamton.

Hoffman was bypassed twice in the NHL draft, but the Senators saw the potential when he was 19, drafting Hoffman 130^th overall in the 2009 entry draft, following a 52-goal, 94-point season and long playoff run with Drummondville of the Quebec League.

After years of inconsistency and injuries, Hoffman appears to have discovered how to use his strengths to best advantage at the highest level.

“It’s about having confidence,” he says. “You see a lot of the names in the dressing room and guys playing on other teams, that you’ve been watching on TV for years. So, it’s a mental thing, too, to set yourself up and know you’ve got to play against those guys and sometimes you’re going to have to be better than them.”

When the Senators won the Calder Cup with Binghamton in 2011, Hoffman was a role player, in and out of the lineup. Last season, he was one of the AHL’s best players before being recalled to the Senators late in the year.

“He’s always had skill,” says goaltender Robin Lehner, who has climbed through the Senators system with Hoffman. “You’ve just got to be a little patient. Every league he has been in, from junior to AHL. He gets a season in and then he gets comfortable and starts producing a lot of goals. I think that’s the same as it’s going to be here now.”