Jake Sanderson

Jake Sanderson
Sanderson in 2023
Born	(2002-07-08) July 8, 2002 (age 22) Whitefish, Montana, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Ottawa Senators
National team	United States
NHL draft	5th overall, 2020 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	2022–present

Jake Sanderson (born July 8, 2002) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted fifth overall by the Senators in the 2020 NHL entry draft.

Early life

Sanderson was born on July 8, 2002, in Whitefish, Montana, U.S. ^[1] to former NHL forward Geoff Sanderson and his wife Ellen. His uncle Guy played for Clarkson College while his father's cousins Wade and Sheldon Brookbank both played in the NHL. ^[2] Similarly, his brother Ben committed to playing ice hockey at Colorado College and his younger brother Sawyer plays AA hockey. ^[3] While his father played professionally, Sanderson and his brothers moved to Phoenix, Arizona, Buffalo, New York, and Columbus, Ohio.

In Whitefish, Sanderson competed for the Glacier Avalanche of the Glacier Hockey Association alongside his brother Ben from age eight to 11. ^[4] At the age of 12, the family moved to Calgary, Alberta. ^[4] Sanderson originally aspired to be a goaltender and even had his own set of equipment at one point, but was eventually deterred by his father and committed to being a skater. He played a mix of forward and defense growing up and eventually became a full-time defenseman at 14 years of age. ^[5]

Playing career

Upon moving to Calgary, Sanderson played within the Springbank Rockies minor hockey association and earned stints with the Calgary Bantam AAA Flames and the Edge School Mountaineers Elite 15s. ^[6] He was eventually drafted in the fourth round of the Western Hockey League (WHL) draft by the Kootenay Ice but chose to maintain his NCAA eligibility. ^[7] Sanderson eventually moved to play at the Edge School before joining the U.S. National Development Team (USNDPT). ^[8]

As a member of the USNTDP, Sanderson was encouraged to graduate early from high school and play college hockey a year early. ^[9] He was scouted by two schools, the University of North Dakota (UND) and Harvard University, before agreeing to UND. ^[7] In his final year with the USNDPT, Sanderson recorded 29 points in 47 games. As a result, he ranked 4th amongst North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final ranking. Before the 2020 NHL entry draft, Sanderson was named the winner of the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award for most outstanding United States-born player in junior hockey. ^[10]

Collegiate

Sanderson joined the North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team for the 2020–21 season while majoring in kinesiology. ^[2] As a freshman, he recorded two goals and 13 assists for 15 points through 22 games. ^[1] Sanderson recorded his first collegiate goal on December 4, 2020, ^[11] before missing seven games to compete at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships with Team USA. ^[2] He finished his rookie season with numerous honors including being named to the All-NCHC Rookie Team, ^[12] NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, ^[13] and earning All-NCHC Academic Team honors. ^[14] During the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship, Sanderson led the team in both shots on goal and blocks while seeing nearly 53 minutes of ice time during a historic five-overtime game. ^[15]

Sanderson returned to UND for his sophomore season as an assistant captain, ^[16] where he was named to the 2021 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team. ^[17]

Professional

Having completed his sophomore season, Sanderson, while recovering from a hand injury, decided to conclude his collegiate career by signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on March 27, 2022. ^[18] He would go on to make his NHL debut in October against the Buffalo Sabres. Sanderson scored his first NHL goal on November 23, 2022, in a 4–1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights. ^[19] Sanderson finished eighth in scoring on the Senators during the 2022–23 season, playing well for the team. At the end of the season, Sanderson was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team. ^[20]

On September 6, 2023, the Senators announced that Sanderson had signed an eight-year, $64.4-million contract extension with the team. ^[21]

International play

Medal record
Representing   United States
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2021 Canada

While Sanderson is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, he has chosen to represent the United States internationally. As a member of Team USA at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, he assisted the game-winning goal in the semifinals against Finland. ^[22] During the finals, he led all team members in ice time with 21 minutes, 41 seconds as they captured the gold medal against Canada. ^{[23] [4]}

With his last year of U20 eligibility, Jake Sanderson returned to represent the United States at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. On December 21, 2021, it was announced he would be the captain of the team. ^[24] Team USA made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament after winning all four games in their group. They were defeated by Czechia 4–2 in the game. ^[25]

On January 10, 2022, Sanderson accepted an invitation to play for the US Men's Olympic hockey team at just 19 years old. NHL players were ineligible to compete due to COVID-19 complications. ^[26] On February 4, 2022, Sanderson was put into isolation in California before the Olympic Games due to a positive COVID-19 test. ^[27] Once again Team USA won all their group games and made it to the quarterfinals. However, they were defeated in the shootout by Slovakia. ^[28]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2018–19	U.S. National Development Team	USHL		22	2	5	7	0		2	0	1	1	0
2019–20	U.S. National Development Team	USHL		19	2	12	14	8		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	U. of North Dakota	NCHC		22	2	13	15	4		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	U. of North Dakota	NCHC		23	8	18	26	6		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	4	28	32	12		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Ottawa Senators	NHL		79	10	28	38	23		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				156	14	56	70	35		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2018	United States	U17	8th		5	0	1	1	0
2021	United States	WJC			7	0	2	2	0
2022	United States	OG	5th		1	0	1	1	0
2024	United States	WC	5th		8	0	4	4	0
Junior totals					12	0	3	3	0
Senior totals					9	0	5	5	0

Awards and honors

Award	Year	Ref
College
All-NCHC Rookie Team	2021	[12]
NCHC All-Tournament Team	2021	[29]
All-NCHC Second Team	2022	[30]
AHCA West First Team All-American	2022	[31]
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team	2023	[32]

References

1. "Jake Sanderson". Elite Prospects. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
2. "#26 Jake Sanderson". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
3. Wescott, Chris (August 25, 2020). "Draft: Jake Sanderson Profile". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
4. Hansen, Kyle (November 30, 2020). "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson's long, winding journey leads him to cusp of Montana hockey history". Montana Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
5. "Senators' Jake Sanderson will make his NHL debut this spring. A tiny town in Montana will be cheering him on". The Athletic. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
6. Gilbertson, Wes (October 3, 2020). "Jake Sanderson's ascent to top NHL Draft prospect included several seasons in Calgary". Calgary Sun. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
7. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (January 15, 2020). "Top UND recruit Jake Sanderson 'has everything you want'". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
8. Dittrick, Ryan (October 1, 2020). "Thanks, Dad!". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
9. Schlossman, Brad Elliott (November 29, 2020). "Jake Sanderson takes route rarely traveled to get to UND". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
10. Morreale, Mike G. (June 4, 2020). "Sanderson, top 2020 Draft prospect, named top junior player by USA Hockey". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
11. @TheNCHC (December 4, 2020). "Jake Sanderson snipes his first collegiate goal to pull @UNDmhockey even on the power play" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "Five Teams Represented on 2020-21 NCHC All-Rookie Team". NCHC. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
13. "NCHC Adds 62 Newcomers to 2020-21 Academic All-Conference Team". NCHC. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
14. "Six UND rookies added to 2020-21 NCHC All-Academic Team". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 21, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
15. "Ottawa Senators: Top Prospects Shine in 5OT NCAA Tournament Game". Ricky Miller. March 31, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
16. "Mark Senden named captain, four honored as assistants". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. July 22, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
17. "Jake Sanderson named to 2021 NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
18. "Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson". Ottawa Senators. March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022– via NHL.com.
19. Schlossman, Brian Elliot (November 24, 2022). "Former UND defenseman Jake Sanderson scores first NHL goal". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved February 14, 2023– via Yahoo! Sports.
20. Warne, Steve (June 27, 2023). "Ottawa Defenceman Jake Sanderson Named to NHL's All-Rookie Team". The Hockey News. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
21. "Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jake Sanderson to eight-year contract extension". Ottawa Senators. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023– via NHL.com.
22. "Whitefish native Jake Sanderson collects game-winning assist to lift Team USA into World Juniors gold medal game". 406 Sports. January 4, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
23. Hansen, Kyle (January 6, 2021). "Whitefish's Jake Sanderson helps lead Team USA to World Juniors gold medal". Montana Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
24. "Jake Sanderson Named Captain of U.S. National Junior Team". USA Hockey. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
25. Murphy, Brian (August 18, 2022). "USA vs. Czechia final score, results: Americans upset in quarters, bid for back-to-back World Juniors gold ends". The Sporting News. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
26. "Senators prospect Sanderson to join U.S. Olympic team". TSN. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
27. Rainbird, Daniel (February 4, 2022). "United States' Olympic men's hockey team missing Sanderson, 2 others due to COVID-19". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
28. Bumbaca, Chris (February 16, 2022). "US men's hockey team eliminated from 2022 Winter Olympics after shootout loss vs. Slovakia". USA Today. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
29. @NCHC (March 16, 2021). "The 2021 #FrozenFaceoff All-Tournament Team: F – Collin Adams, F – Gavin Hain, UND, F – Riese Gaber, UND, D – Nick Perbix, @SCSUHUSKIES_MH, D – Jake Sanderson, UND, G – Adam Scheel, UND,🏅 MOP: UND freshman forward Riese Gaber" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
30. "Five Different Teams Represented on All-NCHC First Team". NCHC. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
31. "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
32. "NHL announces 2022-23 All-Rookie Team". NHL.com. June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tim Stützle	Ottawa Senators first round draft pick 2020	Succeeded by Ridly Greig