The Senators' fifth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft appears ready for stardom.
Coming into the 2023-24 NHL season, the question fans and pundits were asking about Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson was whether he could be as dynamic offensively as he is defensively.
Sanderson has begun to answer the question emphatically, coming out of the gate with two goals and five points in the first four games. He's not only proving he's worth his new eight-year, $64.4 million extension, but he's showing he may be a Norris contender this year and for years to come.
Here’s why:
1. Sanderson will take that next step offensively
The sample size is small but Sanderson already has five points, compared with 32 all of last season. And he's just taken over as quarterback on the top power play unit.
Sanderson says he studied the games of players like Rasmus Dahlin and Roman Josi who both reached double digits in goals last season; he noticed they shoot more and wants to incorporate that into his game.
“Whether it’s on the PK or power play, I’m just going to jump up and trust my legs to get up there,” Sanderson told the Athletic.
If Sanderson maintains this, he'll be one of the elite defencemen in the NHL.
2. Offence translates to Norris Trophy love
Last season, Erik Karlsson won the Norris because he reached 100 points, not because he's a great defender. Since the 2016-17 season all six Norris Trophy winners have been either first or second in scoring among defencemen, except Victor Hedman in 2017-18 who was fifth.
Will Sanderson be top five in D scoring? It's hard to know. But a significant uptick, combined with his defensive play, should yield Norris trophy votes at season's end.
3. Senators’ Success
Team success is not always the best predictor of winning the Norris. Just ask Karlsson who won it last season on the 29th best team in the NHL. However, Karlsson is the exception, not the rule.
Since the lockout, only two defenceman have missed the playoffs and won the Norris: Karlsson and Adam Fox. In Sanderson’s case, the Senators are poised to take a big step forward and make the playoffs. If they do, Sanderson will have a real chance at collecting Norris trophy votes.
And given his age, this obviously won't be the last year Senator fans are having this conversation, speculating about Jake Sanderson’s Norris trophy candidacy.