Senators Add Jake Sanderson to an Exciting Young Core

University of North Dakota defenseman Jake Sanderson has signed on the dotted line giving Senators fans an exciting glimpse into the future.

The crowd at the Canadian Tire Centre Saturday was electric. The 17,201 in attendance, the largest audience in Ottawa since the pandemic hit in 2020 were treated to an exciting game that featured end-to-end action.

Yes, the Senators fell to the Florida Panthers 4-3 in a shootout, despite leading 3-0, but everyone appeared to be having a raucous time on a night where goalie Anton Forsberg made 46 saves and Drake Batherson returned to the lineup after missing 28 games due to a high ankle sprain.

Outshot 49-22, Senators head coach D.J. Smith credited the boisterous fans for keeping his club in the game, “Without fans tonight, you’re in trouble probably. And you can see for the first time since Covid and all this, that the fans were pushing our guys to find another gear. It’s unfortunate we didn’t win. We had lots of chances in overtime, but we know where we got to get to.”

Smith added, “If you’re an Ottawa Senator fan, that’s pretty exciting to watch Timmy (Stützle) and the boys flying out there with scoring chances up and down. It’s coach’s nightmare. We want to see a little less of that, but if I’m a fan. these are the stars of the future in the league.”

And that future got a little brighter Sunday afternoon with the official announcement of the much-anticipated signing of University of North Dakota d-man Jake Sanderson to a three-year entry-level contract.

Sanderson, the Senators 2020 fifth overall Entry Draft selection is currently recovering from a hand injury that required surgery after being cut by a skate in what was his final game at UND on March 12.

The Senators are hopeful to include the 19-year old in their lineup prior to the conclusion of this season.

In a team media release, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion noted, “We’re very pleased to get Jake under contract. An important cog to our future on defence, Jake is an effortless skater who possesses all the tools to be a complete NHL defenceman. A mature leader despite his young age, he played big minutes in college with a blend of poise and confidence. While he still has progress to make in overcoming a current injury, we are hopeful of seeing him in our lineup before the end of the season.”

Sanderson arrives in Ottawa with a solid resumé.  Among his accolades:

2018-18 US National U17 team captain

2019-20 US National U18 team captain

USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year

2020-21 NCAA All-Rookie Team

NCAA All-Tournament Team

NCCA NCHC Regular Season Champion

2020 USA World Junior Gold Medallist

2021-22 UND alternate captain

Captain of 2022 USA U20 World Junior Team

Member of 2022 USA Olympic Team

Known as a flawless skater, who defends well, separating the opposition from the puck while maintaining great gap control, much like his dad, Geoff, Jake has an offensive flair in his repertoire.

Geoff, a left wing, played 1104 regular-season games for eight different clubs, recording 700 career points, including two 40-plus goal campaigns for the Hartford Whalers.

A left-shot defenseman, the Whitefish, Montana-born Sanderson notched 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 23 games for UND this season, and totalled 41 points in 45 NCAA contests.

The addition of the six-foot-two, 190-pound, Sanderson makes the Senators’ blue line that much stronger.

Thomas Chabot and Sanderson will eventually form a one-two punch on the left side of the club’s blue line for many seasons to come.

While there’s plenty of speculation how the team’s back end will appear in the 2022-23 campaign, the top two pairings are set to feature either a combination of Chabot/Artem Zub, Sanderson/Travis Hamonic or Chabot/Hamonic, Sanderson/Zub.

The dual Can-Am citizen adds to a core of youngsters; Batherson, Josh Norris, Stützle, Brady Tkachuk among them, that is sure to finally put people in the seats at the Canadian Tire Centre for the foreseeable future.