Jake Sanderson(born July 8, 2002) is an American professionalice hockeydefensemanfor theOttawa Senatorsof theNational Hockey League(NHL). He was drafted fifth overall by the Senators in the2020 NHL entry draft.
| Jake Sanderson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Sanderson in 2023 | |||
| Born |
July 8, 2002 Whitefish, Montana,U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHLteam | Ottawa Senators | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
5th overall,2020 Ottawa Senators | ||
| Playing career | 2022–present | ||
Early life
editSanderson was born on July 8, 2002, inWhitefish, Montana,U.S.[1]to former NHL forwardGeoff Sandersonand his wife Ellen. His uncle Guy played for Clarkson College while his father's cousinsWadeandSheldon Brookbankboth played in the NHL.[2]Similarly, his brother Ben committed to playing ice hockey atColorado Collegeand his younger brother Sawyer plays AA hockey.[3]While his father played professionally, Sanderson and his brothers moved toPhoenix, Arizona,Buffalo, New York,andColumbus, Ohio.
In Whitefish, Sanderson competed for the Glacier Avalanche of the Glacier Hockey Association alongside his brother Ben from age eight to 11.[4]At the age of 12, the family moved toCalgary,Alberta.[4]Sanderson originally aspired to be a goaltender and even had his own set of equipment at one point, but was eventually deterred by his father and committed to being a skater. He played a mix of forward and defense growing up and eventually became a full-time defenseman at 14 years of age.[5]
Playing career
editUpon moving to Calgary, Sanderson played within the Springbank Rockies minor hockey association and earned stints with the Calgary Bantam AAA Flames and the Edge School Mountaineers Elite 15s.[6]He was eventually drafted in the fourth round of theWestern Hockey League(WHL) draft by theKootenay Icebut chose to maintain his NCAA eligibility.[7]Sanderson eventually moved to play at the Edge School before joining theU.S. National Development Team(USNDPT).[8]
As a member of the USNTDP, Sanderson was encouraged to graduate early from high school and play college hockey a year early.[9]He was scouted by two schools, theUniversity of North Dakota(UND) andHarvard University,before agreeing to UND.[7]In his final year with the USNDPT, Sanderson recorded 29 points in 47 games. As a result, he ranked 4th amongst North American skaters by theNHL Central Scouting Bureau's final ranking. Before the2020 NHL entry draft,Sanderson was named the winner of theDave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Awardfor most outstanding United States-born player in junior hockey.[10]
Collegiate
editSanderson joined theNorth Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockeyteam for the 2020–21 season while majoring in kinesiology.[2]As a freshman, he recorded two goals and 13 assists for 15 points through 22 games.[1]Sanderson recorded his first collegiate goal on December 4, 2020,[11]before missing seven games to compete at the2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championshipswith Team USA.[2]He finished his rookie season with numerous honors including being named to the All-NCHC Rookie Team,[12]NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete,[13]and earning All-NCHC Academic Team honors.[14]During the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship, Sanderson led the team in both shots on goal and blocks while seeing nearly 53 minutes of ice time during a historic five-overtime game.[15]
Sanderson returned to UND for his sophomore season as an assistant captain,[16]where he was named to the 2021 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team.[17]
Professional
editHaving completed his sophomore season, Sanderson, while recovering from a hand injury, decided to conclude his collegiate career by signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on March 27, 2022.[18]He would go on to make his NHL debut in October against theBuffalo Sabres.Sanderson scored his first NHL goal on November 23, 2022, in a 4–1 loss against theVegas Golden Knights.[19]Sanderson finished eighth in scoring on the Senators during the2022–23 season,playing well for the team. At the end of the season, Sanderson was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team.[20]
On September 6, 2023, the Senators announced that Sanderson had signed an eight-year, $64.4-million contract extension with the team.[21]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| RepresentingUnited States
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2021 Canada | |
While Sanderson is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, he has chosen to represent the United States internationally. As a member of Team USA at the2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships,he assisted the game-winning goal in the semifinals against Finland.[22]During the finals, he led all team members in ice time with 21 minutes, 41 seconds as they captured the gold medal against Canada.[23][4]
With his last year of U20 eligibility, Jake Sanderson returned to represent the United States at the2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.On December 21, 2021, it was announced he would be the captain of the team.[24]Team USA made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament after winning all four games in their group. They were defeated byCzechia4–2 in the game.[25]
On January 10, 2022, Sanderson accepted an invitation to play for the US Men's Olympic hockey team at just 19 years old. NHL players were ineligible to compete due to COVID-19 complications.[26]On February 4, 2022, Sanderson was put into isolation in California before the Olympic Games due to a positive COVID-19 test.[27]Once again Team USA won all their group games and made it to the quarterfinals. However, they were defeated in the shootout bySlovakia.[28]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2018–19 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 22 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 19 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 22 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 23 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 77 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 79 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 156 | 14 | 56 | 70 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | United States | U17 | 8th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | United States | WJC | 
|
7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | United States | OG | 5th | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | United States | WC | 5th | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Senior totals | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-NCHC Rookie Team | 2021 | [12] |
| NCHCAll-Tournament Team | 2021 | [29] |
| All-NCHC Second Team | 2022 | [30] |
| AHCAWest First Team All-American | 2022 | [31] |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Rookie Team | 2023 | [32] |
References
edit- ^ab"Jake Sanderson".Elite Prospects.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^abc"#26 Jake Sanderson".North Dakota Fighting Hawks.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^Wescott, Chris (August 25, 2020)."Draft: Jake Sanderson Profile".National Hockey League.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^abcHansen, Kyle (November 30, 2020)."Whitefish native Jake Sanderson's long, winding journey leads him to cusp of Montana hockey history".Montana Sports.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Senators' Jake Sanderson will make his NHL debut this spring. A tiny town in Montana will be cheering him on".The Athletic.RetrievedJanuary 26,2022.
- ^Gilbertson, Wes (October 3, 2020)."Jake Sanderson's ascent to top NHL Draft prospect included several seasons in Calgary".Calgary Sun.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^abSchlossman, Brad Elliott (January 15, 2020)."Top UND recruit Jake Sanderson 'has everything you want'".Grand Forks Herald.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^Dittrick, Ryan (October 1, 2020)."Thanks, Dad!".National Hockey League.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^Schlossman, Brad Elliott (November 29, 2020)."Jake Sanderson takes route rarely traveled to get to UND".Grand Forks Herald.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^Morreale, Mike G. (June 4, 2020)."Sanderson, top 2020 Draft prospect, named top junior player by USA Hockey".National Hockey League.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^@TheNCHC (December 4, 2020)."Jake Sanderson snipes his first collegiate goal to pull @UNDmhockey even on the power play"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^ab"Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team".NCHC. March 8, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon April 12, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"NCHC Adds 62 Newcomers to 2020-21 Academic All-Conference Team".NCHC. July 21, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon September 17, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Six UND rookies added to 2020-21 NCHC All-Academic Team".North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 21, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Ottawa Senators: Top Prospects Shine in 5OT NCAA Tournament Game".Ricky Miller. March 31, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 30,2021.
- ^"Mark Senden named captain, four honored as assistants".North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 22, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Jake Sanderson named to 2021 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team".North Dakota Fighting Hawks. September 14, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson".Ottawa Senators.March 27, 2022.RetrievedMarch 27,2022– via NHL.
- ^Schlossman, Brian Elliot (November 24, 2022)."Former UND defenseman Jake Sanderson scores first NHL goal".Grand Forks Herald.RetrievedFebruary 14,2023– via Yahoo! Sports.
- ^Warne, Steve (June 27, 2023)."Ottawa Defenceman Jake Sanderson Named to NHL's All-Rookie Team".The Hockey News.RetrievedJune 27,2023.
- ^"Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson to eight-year contract extension".Ottawa Senators. September 6, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 7,2023– via NHL.
- ^"Whitefish native Jake Sanderson collects game-winning assist to lift Team USA into World Juniors gold medal game".406 Sports. January 4, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^Hansen, Kyle (January 6, 2021)."Whitefish's Jake Sanderson helps lead Team USA to World Juniors gold medal".Montana Sports.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021.
- ^"Jake Sanderson Named Captain of U.S. National Junior Team".USA Hockey.December 21, 2021.RetrievedDecember 21,2021.
- ^Murphy, Brian (August 18, 2022)."USA vs. Czechia final score, results: Americans upset in quarters, bid for back-to-back World Juniors gold ends".The Sporting News.RetrievedJuly 27,2023.
- ^"Senators prospect Sanderson to join U.S. Olympic team".TSN.January 10, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 26,2022.
- ^Rainbird, Daniel (February 4, 2022)."United States' Olympic men's hockey team missing Sanderson, 2 others due to COVID-19".Yahoo! Sports.RetrievedJuly 27,2023.
- ^Bumbaca, Chris (February 16, 2022)."US men's hockey team eliminated from 2022 Winter Olympics after shootout loss vs. Slovakia".USA Today.RetrievedJuly 27,2023.
- ^@NCHC (March 16, 2021)."The 2021 #FrozenFaceoff All-Tournament Team: F – Collin Adams, F – Gavin Hain, UND, F – Riese Gaber, UND, D – Nick Perbix, @SCSUHUSKIES_MH, D – Jake Sanderson, UND, G – Adam Scheel, UND,🏅 MOP: UND freshman forward Riese Gaber"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Five Different Teams Represented on All-NCHC First Team".NCHC.March 9, 2022. Archived fromthe originalon March 12, 2022.RetrievedMarch 16,2022.
- ^"Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay".USCHO.April 8, 2022.RetrievedApril 8,2022.
- ^"NHL announces 2022-23 All-Rookie Team".NHL.June 26, 2023.RetrievedJune 26,2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL,orEliteprospects,orEurohockey,orHockey-Reference,orThe Internet Hockey Database