JBD and Nick Jensen are teammates in Da Beauty League, the weekly 4-on-4 summer league in Minnesota.
When new Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green breaks out his cocktail napkin and begins scribbling down possible names for shootout participants this fall, defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker might be the last player you'd expect to find on his list.
To be honest, nothing has changed.
But in 4-on-4 summer hockey in Minnesota this week, JBD did show off some softer mitts than any Sens fan might have imagined. Even seeing him get a breakaway is a rare thing. But here we are.
Bernard-Docker was skating on Wednesday night in Da Beauty League, a summer league based at Braemar Arena in Edina, Minnesota. The league features games with NHL, AHL, PWHL, and NCAA players. Games are scheduled every week until the end of August, when players begin to ramp up for their respective training camps a few weeks later.
Bernard-Docker and newcomer Nick Jensen are the only Ottawa Senators taking part. In fact, they were drafted to the same team (Walser) at Tuesday's draft. Jensen and a few other big names were absent for the league openers on Wednesday night. But JBD scored twice as Walser came away with a smooth 15-9 victory over TRIA.
The 2018 first-rounder played his first full NHL season in 2023-24, playing 15:34 a night and gaining a reputation for shot-blocking. He was 32nd in the league with 156 blocked shots. But scoring? It's not his thing. JBD had four goals in 72 games, and barring any more off-season deals in Ottawa, he's likely to fill the same kind of role again this fall.
Here's the full list of players and rosters in the DBL.
Some background on Da Beauty League from their website:
"Originally founded in 2015, da Beauty League wanted to bring beauties together and grow the sport of hockey. To do this, we host games with some of the best NHL players at Braemar Arena in Edina and, at the end of the season, donate the money to a few hockey non-profits.
"Our fans are families, die-hard hockey fans, and people that just want to have fun in the summer. People come to see the games, get autographs, and just hang out.
"There is also a very select group of people that come for da coffee at Braemar – apparently, it’s pretty good hockey rink coffee."
Editor's note: No chance. There's no such thing as good rink coffee.