Photo: NHL.com
Player Overview
Team: USNTDP
Position: D
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 185 lbs.
Introduction
Hockey twitter’s favorite player. I’m just kidding (only a little bit), but Sanderson has definitely become a hot topic of conversation with a meteoric rise up the rankings. He started the year as a fringe first round pick on many boards, and his trajectory this season has him in legitimate top-five consideration. In fact, Bob McKenzie said that 2 of the 10 scouts he paneled have the University of North Dakota commit as the third best player in the draft, behind only Lafreniere and Stutzle.
A brilliant second half of the season from Sanderson has him ranked no lower than twelfth by any major scouting service. While his defensive capabilities have always been there, it’s the offensive output that began at the turn of the calendar to 2020 that’s got a lot of people excited.
And as always, a huge thank you goes out to our partners at InStat for making this profile possible.
Defensive Ability
There really isn’t any other way to put it; Sanderson is one of the best pure defenders at this age we’ve seen in the last decade at least. He’s as close to a perfect defender as you’ll find at 17 years old. He doesn’t get beat one-on-one, he does an excellent job of using his body, he has an effective stick, he wins net-front battles, all the good stuff.
His defensive positioning is very sound. I hardly ever found Sanderson out of position in his own end, and he has the reach and skating ability to cover a lot of ground.
When defending in transition, he gives his opponent absolutely nothing. His gap control is nothing short of elite. Opposing puck carriers have zero good options when going up against Sanderson, it’s that simple.
He does an excellent job of shutting down opposing cycles, especially with his body.
He knows when to be aggressive as well, especially when an opposing transition is just beginning. Here, he quickly forces the turnover and makes the quick set-up pass that leads to a goal.
If there’s quick change of possession in the neutral zone, Sanderson is able to recover and shut it down quickly.
He also times his pinches very well. Notice in this next clip how early he recognizes where the breakout pass has to go, and then attacks to force the turnover and regain possession in the offensive zone.
There really isn’t a lot to say about Sanderson’s ability to defend other than elite. There isn’t a scenario when the opposition has the puck that I wouldn’t want Sanderson on the ice. I watched a lot of film looking for a big mistake that he made, and I couldn’t find one. Considering how much of the year he spent playing against NCAA players as old as 25, this is absolutely remarkable.
Physicality
At 6’1” and 185 lbs., Sanderson has a nice frame on him that still has some room to fill out. The fact that he can still add more muscle to his frame and get even stronger should have his opponents a bit worried.
Sanderson won’t go for the big hit if it will put him out of position defensively. But when he gets the chance to lower the boom, brace yourself. His opposition was lucky that the boards were able to keep him upright on this play.
In this next hit, Sanderson actually misses the hit and just barely clips him, but the play is still blown up.
Now imagine if he had fully connected on this hit. Ouch.
He also does a great job of not letting the opposition get around him when he commits to a hit, which is something that young defenseman often struggle with.
All in all, he’s an incredibly effective physical player that picks his spots very well. He’s only going to get stronger with age, which means even more thunderous hits coming soon.
Skating
In the modern NHL, it’s very difficult for defensemen to make a living in they can’t skate well. This shouldn’t be a problem for Sanderson, as he’s an above average skater in all four directions. With the puck on his stick, he’s strong on his skates and won’t be knocked off as he skates the puck up the ice.
From a dead stop, Sanderson’s acceleration is pretty good. He’s able to hit his top speed quickly and maneuver through the neutral zone with ease.
He’s capable of quickly winding up on his edges, skating through traffic in the neutral zone and gaining entry into the offensive end of the ice. I’d like to see more of a separation gear to his skating, but as he gets stronger and more powerful in his legs, this should improve a tad.
As the season went on, Sanderson began to trust his skating ability more and more to the point where he’d push deep into the offensive zone fairly regularly to start the cycle.
These aren’t traits you typically see out of a player whose calling card is his defense. This is a huge reason why Sanderson has vaulted up so many draft boards, as there aren’t a lot of players with this skillset.
Decision Making
This is the one area where I saw the most amount of inconsistencies and warts with Sanderson. While no player is perfect, especially young defensemen, there were a few more simple mistakes than you’d like to see from a potential top-ten pick.
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about. There were a lot of times I saw him panic when heavy pressure was applied, even when there was a pretty safe option for him to move the puck safely.
And even when he isn’t under pressure, he’ll just send a loose puck right back to the opposition even though he has time to slow things down and regroup.
Sanderson also has a tendency to chip pucks off the glass or the boards just to get it out of the zone, even when he had plenty of time to start a breakout the other way. There’s nothing wrong with using the boards when under pressure, but I’d much prefer settling it down and maintaining possession than golfing the puck into the neutral zone.
By no means are these issues going to make or break Sanderson’s NHL career. It’s very likely that he refines his game next year and works out some of these kinks. But at the end of the day, a team picking Sanderson top-10 is taking him to play against top competition. High end NHL players will take advantage of these mistakes, so it does need to be fixed.
Offensive Abilities
First half of the season, there wasn’t a lot to write home about here. Second half of the season, and Jake Sanderson shows flashes of offense like this.
Now before we get all excited about offensive dynamo Jake Sanderson, the high-end offensive ability like this rarely came out. But the fact that it was there at all is what got a lot of scouts paying more attention.
His offensive game ultimately isn’t as exciting as the clip above shows, but he’s a very smart and simplistic offensive player. He does a good job of jumping into the cycle and looking for passing options or open ice for him to attack himself.
I’d like to see him push into more dangerous areas of the ice with the puck. He has the skating to do so, and he did it more as the season went on and was able to generate some nice chances because of it.
His shot itself is pretty good for a defenseman. He has a nice release and a good amount of power behind his shot that lead to a few goals.
He’s not going to be a 20-goal scoring defenseman in all likelihood, but there’s definitely potential for him to weaponize his shot a bit more.
Sanderson isn’t a super flashy offensive guy, and he won’t be in the NHL. There’s definitely some room to grow here, and if he can unlock some more offense as time goes on, he’ll become even more effective as a two-way defenseman at the next level.
Conclusion
There is not a single bad thing I can say about Sanderson’s pure defensive game. He simply doesn’t get beat. He maintains his gap, moves play away from the middle of the ice, blocks shots, breaks up passes, finishes his hits, everything. In a league being dominated by the speed and skill of players like Connor McDavid and Nathan Mackinnon, someone like Jake Sanderson could be an excellent neutralizer of their offense abilities.
His offensive abilities won’t wow you, but he’s efficient and will be able to keep plays alive through smart passes and well-timed pinches at the blue line. He can also be a secondary option to skate the puck through the neutral zone if the forwards don’t have the space.
Nobody will deny that Sanderson can be one of the better shutdown defenders in the league. But the big question is where in the draft do you select a player like this? When discussing Sanderson with the rest of the Recruit Scouting team, our colleague Blake Beggs summarized it perfectly; if he projects to be a similar player to Jaccob Slavin (who seems to be the ceiling for Sanderson), would you be willing to take Slavin in the top-10 over all of the forward talent available this year?
At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference. Personally, I don’t see Sanderson being worthy of a top-five pick in this draft, but I’d have no issue selecting him around pick 8 or 9 and back. He’ll be the coach’s go-to guy to kill a penalty or to preserve the one-goal lead and will do that job brilliantly. That holds a lot of value in today’s NHL, and will be even more important in the playoffs when the intensity ramps up.
Rankings
#5- HockeyProspect.com
#12- Future Considerations
#11- ISS Hockey
#5- McKeen’s
#9- EliteProspects
#14- RecruitScouting