Jake Sanderson

Jake Sanderson (born July 8, 2002) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted fifth overall by the Senators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Jake Sanderson
Born (2002-07-08) July 8, 2002
Whitefish, Montana, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NHL team Ottawa Senators
National team  United States
NHL Draft 5th overall, 2020
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 2022–present

Early life

Sanderson was born on July 8, 2002, in Whitefish, Montana, U.S.[1] to former NHL forward Geoff Sanderson and his wife Ellen. His uncle Guy played for Clarkson College while his father's cousins Wade and Sheldon Brookbank both played in the NHL.[2] Similarly, his brother Ben committed to playing ice hockey at Colorado College and his younger brother Sawyer plays AA hockey.[3] While his father played professionally, Sanderson and his brothers moved to Phoenix, Arizona, Buffalo, New York, and Columbus, 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 to Calgary, 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

Upon 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 the Western Hockey League (WHL) draft by the Kootenay Ice but chose to maintain his NCAA eligibility.[7] Sanderson eventually moved to play at the Edge School before joining the U.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, the University of North Dakota (UND) and Harvard 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 the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final ranking. Before the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Sanderson was named the winner of the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award for most outstanding United States-born player in junior hockey.[10]

Collegiate

Sanderson joined the North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team 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 the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships with 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 5OT 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

Having completed his sophomore season, Sanderson, while recovering from a hand injury, opted to conclude his collegiate career by agreeing to sign 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 the Buffalo Sabres. Sanderson scored his first NHL goal on November 23, 2022 in a 4–1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights.[19] Sanderson finished eighth in scoring on the Senators during the 2022–23 season, playing well for the team. At the end of the season, Sanderson was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team.[20]

The Senators announced September 6, 2023, that Sanderson had signed an eight-year, $64.4-million contract extension with the team. [21]

International play
Medal record
Representing  United States
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 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 the 2021 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][24]

With his last year of U20 eligibility, Jake Sanderson returned to represent the United States at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. On December 21, 2021, it was announced he would be the captain of the team.[25] Team USA made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament after winning all four games in their group. They were defeated by Czechia 4–2 in the game.[26]

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.[27] On February 4, 2022, Sanderson was put into isolation in California before the Olympic Games due to a positive COVID-19 test.[28] Once again Team USA won all their group games and made it to the quarterfinals. However, they were defeated in the shootout by Slovakia.[29]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2018–19 U.S. National Development Team USHL 222570 20110
2019–20 U.S. National Development Team USHL 19212148 —————
2020–21 U. of North Dakota NCHC 22213154 —————
2021–22 U. of North Dakota NCHC 23818266 —————
2022–23 Ottawa Senators NHL 774283212 —————
NHL totals 774283212 —————

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States U17 8th 50110
2021 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 70220
2022 United States OG 5th 1 0 1 1 0
Junior totals 120330
Senior totals 10110

Awards and honors
Award Year Ref
College
All-NCHC Rookie Team 2021 [12]
NCHC All-Tournament Team 2021 [30]
All-NCHC Second Team 2022 [31]
AHCA West First Team All-American 2022 [32]
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team 2023 [33]

References
  1. "Jake Sanderson". Elite Prospects. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  2. "#26 Jake Sanderson". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  3. Wescott, Chris (August 25, 2020). "DRAFT: Jake Sanderson Profile". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  4. Hansen, Kyle (November 30, 2020). "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson's long, winding journey leads him to cusp of Montana hockey history". Montana Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  5. "Senators' Jake Sanderson will make his NHL debut this spring. A tiny town in Montana will be cheering him on". The Athletic. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  6. Gilbertson, Wes (October 3, 2020). "Jake Sanderson's ascent to top NHL Draft prospect included several seasons in Calgary". Calgary Sun. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  7. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (January 15, 2020). "Top UND recruit Jake Sanderson 'has everything you want'". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  8. Dittrick, Ryan (October 1, 2020). "THANKS, DAD!". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  9. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (November 29, 2020). "Jake Sanderson takes route rarely traveled to get to UND". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  10. Morreale, Mike G. (June 4, 2020). "Sanderson, top 2020 Draft prospect, named top junior player by USA Hockey". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  11. @TheNCHC (December 4, 2020). "Jake Sanderson snipes his first collegiate goal to pull @UNDmhockey even on the power play" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. "FIVE TEAMS REPRESENTED ON 2020-21 NCHC ALL-ROOKIE TEAM". NCHC. March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  13. "NCHC ADDS 62 NEWCOMERS TO 2020-21 ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM". NCHC. July 21, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  14. "Six UND rookies added to 2020-21 NCHC All-Academic Team". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 21, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  15. "Ottawa Senators: Top Prospects Shine in 5OT NCAA Tournament Game". Ricky Miller. March 31, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  16. "Mark Senden named captain, four honored as assistants". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 22, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  17. "Jake Sanderson named to 2021 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  18. "Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson". Ottawa Senators. March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  19. Schlossman, Brian Elliot (November 24, 2022). "Former UND defenseman Jake Sanderson scores first NHL goal". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via Yahoo! Sports.
  20. Warne, Steve (27 June 2023). "Ottawa Defenceman Jake Sanderson Named to NHL's All-Rookie Team". The Hockey News. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  21. "Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson to eight-year contract extension". Ottawa Senators. Sens Communications. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  22. "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson collects game-winning assist to lift Team USA into World Juniors gold medal game". 406 Sports. January 4, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  23. Hansen, Kyle (January 6, 2021). "Whitefish's Jake Sanderson helps lead Team USA to World Juniors gold medal". Montana Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  24. Hansen, Kyle (November 30, 2020). "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson's long, winding journey leads him to cusp of Montana hockey history". Montana Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  25. "Jake Sanderson Named Captain of U.S. National Junior Team". USA Hockey. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  26. 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. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  27. "Senators prospect Sanderson to join U.S. Olympic team". TSN. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  28. Rainbird, Daniel (February 4, 2022). "United States' Olympic men's hockey team missing Sanderson, 2 others due to COVID-19". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  29. Bumbaca, Chris (February 16, 2022). "US men's hockey team eliminated from 2022 Winter Olympics after shootout loss vs. Slovakia". USA Today. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  30. @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) – via Twitter.
  31. "Five Different Teams Represented on All-NCHC First Team". NCHC. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  32. "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  33. "NHL announces 2022-23 All-Rookie Team". NHL.com. June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
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