What does the future hold for the Senators' other 2018 first-round draft pick?
For Ottawa Senators fans, the 2018 NHL Entry Draft will always be known as the draft where former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin passed on Brady Tkachuk at third overall in favour of Jesperi Kotkaniemi. One pick later, the Senators got their future captain and power forward and the rebuild was officially underway.
What doesn’t often get talked about is their selection of defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker at #26 in that same draft. The Senators acquired that pick in the three-way trade at the deadline with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights, which also brought in the now departed Filip Gustavsson.
While Tkachuk was picked out of Boston University and was NHL-ready right away, Bernard-Docker (or JBD as he's known in the Twittersphere) was off to the University of North Dakota.
Under the guidance of head coach Brad Berry, Bernard-Docker toiled at NoDak for three seasons and also won gold for Canada at the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championships. Later that season, he received the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Best Defensive Defenseman Award.
Since leaving school, JBD has played primarily in Belleville where he has shown enough to be a recall for eight games in 2021-22 and 19 games last season. As an RFA this summer, the Senators signed him to a two-year, $1.61M contract. The first year of the contract has a value of $785,000 while the second holds a value of $825,000 in the National Hockey League.
The progression has been steady and what we know of JBD is that anything he contributes to the offensive ledger will be a bonus. This kid has shown himself to be the same defensive minded player he was at North Dakota. He knows what he is and what he needs to be.
But when you consider who the top four or five are with Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub, Jake Sanderson, Jakob Chychrun and likely Erik Brannstrom, this makes sense. The defense core doesn’t need another player with more offensive than defensive upside. With Travis Hamonic recently re-signing, Bernard-Docker is going to have to battle for ice time.
He has struggled to gain head coach DJ Smith’s trust, which is not unusual for a younger player, if you consider the development path of Brannstrom.
JBD looked most comfortable when paired with Thomas Chabot. He makes a good first pass and boxes out well for a player who is only 6’0” feet and 190 pounds. He isn’t a risk taker and hasn’t developed the confidence to consistently try to skate with the puck or make plays.
The question is what is his projected ceiling? If a defensive-minded rear guard is what the Senators are looking for then they have it. His frame leaves some question as to whether he could battle or box out against bigger players.
In the right match ups, he looks good. Can he play in the league? He can. But where he falls on Ottawa's depth chart remains to be seen.
PROSPECT RATING: B+