Getting the most out of Sanderson will be an essential development for the team to maximize its potential this season.
If the Ottawa Senators are going to take a marked step forward in their developmental curve, the organization will have to rely on the organic growth of its best young players.
Early on, much of the attention focused on the health of this team's young core. Plenty of digital ink has been spilled covering Josh Norris and his recovery from a surgically repaired left shoulder. After having offseason surgery to repair a nagging issue with his wrist, Thomas Chabot is healthy for the first time in two and a half years.
It feels odd to mention Tim Stützle as another candidate for a bounceback season when he produced 70 points and played at an almost point-per-game level. After recording 39 goals and 90 points in the season prior, his play is clearly capable of reaching another level.
One player who deserves his share of the limelight is Jake Sanderson. The left defencemen led the Senators in average ice time per game (23:13) last season while contributing 10 goals and 38 points in 79 games.
It was a quick turnaround for Sanderson following his participation with Team USA at the World Championships. He returned to Montana to spend time with his family before travelling to Northville, Michigan, to participate in the Hughes family's annual offseason training sessions at the USA Hockey Arena.
The off-ice work that Sanderson put in this offseason was noticeable. In a media scrum last week, Josh Norris referred to him as the 'Hulk' while acknowledging that he could not hang with him in the gym.
When asked about the gains he made this summer, Sanderson was coy.
"Yeah, that's funny. I feel like I didn't really change my approach during the summer," Sanderson said. "I'm always trying to get stronger and faster and bigger. But, it's maybe (my) age helping me get a little bit bigger."
On the ice, there is room for growth, as well. His production levels are impressive for a sophomore defenceman, but a deeper dive into Sanderson's five-on-five production rates reveals a player capable of more. Sanderson's five-on-five points per 60 of 0.75 ranked sixth amongst the Senators' defencemen per NaturalStatTrick.
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The Senators had more difficulty burying chances when Sanderson was on the ice. At five-on-five, the team only scored on 8.44 percent of their shots - the sixth-lowest rate amongst the team's defencemen. Sanderson's first assists rate of 0.19 matched Travis Hamonic's.
Sanderson's points rate should improve naturally with better luck and positive normalization. To put this into perspective, if Sanderson produced points at a similar clip to Artem Zub last season, that extra 0.35 points per 60 would translate into an additional seven or eight points for Sanderson over his 1,274 five-on-five minutes. Coupled with the redistribution of the departed Jakob Chychrun's power play minutes, there are several reasonable ways to believe Sanderson's offensive numbers will continue to grow.
"I feel like I'm only just getting started with that side of my game," he explained. "I felt like my first year, even the bit last year, I'm just trying to be solid defensively because I take it. I take pride in that, but when you're playing with good players, you're going to get opportunities and you've got to bear down and bury them."
Unlike many of the league's other top young defencemen, Sanderson is unique because he already exhibits incredible defensive aptitude. Usually, it is the opposite, where it takes time for young players to mature physically, gain experience, and learn the intricacies of defence.
A lot of the publicly available analytical data shows that Sanderson positively impacts his teammates' play and performance when he is on the ice.
Evolving-Hockey's 'total defence' (DEF) metric that combines all of a skater's shorthanded and even strength contributions into one value, believed Sanderson accrued the 26th-most defensive value amongst all NHL defencemen last season. (For what it is worth, Artem Zub led Senators defencemen and was ranked 22nd.) HockeyViz's data backs that up by showing that Sanderson does an excellent job suppressing shots and expected goals when he is on the ice. (Note: the dark blue areas on the ice indicate this. Pay attention to how dark the left side of the ice is where Sanderson predominantly defends.)
Rather than point to any one skill that makes him a staunch defender, Sanderson attributed his strength to the work he put in at an early age.
"Honestly, a big part of my defensive game started in junior when I played at the National Development Program," he explained. "Seth Appert was my coach there. He's in Buffalo now. He kind of pulled me aside early on there and he said defense is a huge part of the game and you can go a long ways with it. At the time, I wasn't the most skilled player. Even now, there are defencemen that have way more skill than me, but I feel like a lot of them aren't willing to do the dirty stuff and play hard both ways.
"It's definitely hard to jump (and play good defence at the NHL level). In college, it's whatever, but then you get into the NHL, and it's a totally different animal. I feel like for me, it starts having a good camp, being competitive. Even in practice, if we're doing some hard drills, bear down because it's going to lead into the game that night. So, you know, just making sure your habits are in line."
Sanderson appreciated the Senators' philosophical shift to prioritize balancing the defensive pairings' handedness. He believes it will benefit the collective and help them play better in their own end.
"I think the moves Steve (Staios) made this off-season made a lot of sense for us," Sanderson said. "Having (Nick Jensen) here and some guys that really came back, came ready to play this season. Personally, I've been practicing with Travis Hamonic during camp and I feel like he's taken a big step compared to last year. He's ready to go. I said it last night, everyone's fighting for jobs. It doesn't matter if you're on the team or not. You want to play in certain spots on the ice and in the game. So, you know, you've got to be ready."
A wrinkle of training camp thus far is that new head coach Travis Green has shaken up the defensive pairings. The seventh overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, Carter Yakemchuk, has exclusively seen time with Thomas Chabot. A lower-body injury has kept Artem Zub on the sidelines, which has forced some shuffling.
When asked if he has a preferred style of partner that benefits him more, Sanderson emphasized the importance of playing with a defensive defenceman."
"Honestly, yeah, I feel like style of partner I like to play with a more, you know, defensive, reliable (defenceman)," said Sanderson. "I feel like both Travis and Artem do that for me. They're very reliable and I know what I'm getting out of them every night. They just bring in their competitive (nature), and that just makes me more competitive being with them."
Getting the most out of Jake Sanderson will be an essential development for the team to maximize its potential, but self-improvement means nothing to him if there is not a proportional amount of team improvement.
"(My goal is) to win," Sanderson explained. "I feel like there's only so much I can do individually to make myself happy when, at the end of the day, we're losing; none of that matters. Obviously, I want to hold myself to a high standard. I have it close in my head, but I feel like, I don't want to say we're running out of time, but you only get to play this game for so long in your life and you want to make the most of it."