LD Jake Sanderson - USNTDP, USHL (2020, 5th, OTT)

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Good size, mobile, good defensively. Not that bad offensively either. Not high end offensive ability from the back end, but I think there might be pretty underrated offensive upside in his game.

Jake Sanderson at eliteprospects.com

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[Pavel Buchnevich]

This guy is having a very good season, and might be in contention to be the highest picked player out of the NTDP next year. He plays a good two way game from the back-end. He might lack the elite potential on either side of the puck to be the best offensive defensemen on an NHL team or best defensive defensemen on an NHL team, but he's pretty good in most facets of the game, and could eventually project as a 2 or 3.

 

[rt]

Bump. Button has him 12th and the Bob MacKenzie poll has him with an average ranking of 16th overall among surveyed scouts.

What do we know about this kid? Anyone willing to provide a scouting report and/projection and/or comparison?

How about a compare/contrast with teammate, and fellow highly rated 2020 eligible D Tyler Kleven? Seems both are headed to UND next season. They’ll likely be compared against one another for a very long time. Let’s start now!

 

[rt]

Looks like his longtime NHLer Geoff Sanderson’s son. He seems to be a swift skater like Dad but is listed at 6’1. Has a late Birthday and just turned 17 in July.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Bump. Button has him 12th and the Bob MacKenzie poll has him with an average ranking of 16th overall among surveyed scouts.

What do we know about this kid? Anyone willing to provide a scouting report and/projection and/or comparison?

How about a compare/contrast with teammate, and fellow highly rated 2020 eligible D Tyler Kleven? Seems both are headed to UND next season. They’ll likely be compared against one another for a very long time. Let’s start now!

He plays an all around game. Good size, skating, hockey IQ. Can defend and move the puck. Has some offensive ability, but he’s not going to dangle players. He’ll be a first rounder. He’s not a terribly exciting player, but he might be the best American in this draft class. I’d rank him somewhere in the middle third of the first round.

Kleven is not as good. Kleven is a pure shutdown defensemen. Bigger, more physical, maybe a little better defensively but both are good defensive players. Both players are also good skaters. The difference is their offensive skill. Kleven is not any good with the puck, Sanderson is probably a PP2 type of player.

 

[rt]

He plays an all around game. Good size, skating, hockey IQ. Can defend and move the puck. Has some offensive ability, but he’s not going to dangle players. He’ll be a first rounder. He’s not a terribly exciting player, but he might be the best American in this draft class. I’d rank him somewhere in the middle third of the first round.

Kleven is not as good. Kleven is a pure shutdown defensemen. Bigger, more physical, maybe a little better defensively but both are good defensive players. Both players are also good skaters. The difference is their offensive skill. Kleven is not any good with the puck, Sanderson is probably a PP2 type of player.

Thanks! So Kleven is probably an early to mid 2nd, then? (as of now, of course. I know it’s 10 months to the draft, and ridiculously early)

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Thanks! So Kleven is probably an early to mid 2nd, then? (as of now, of course. I know it’s 10 months to the draft, and ridiculously early)

Somewhere around there.

 

[tealhockey]

He looked pretty sharp in the first game of the year. Very capable at both ends. Most of this team, which I thought would be severely worse than last year, seemed to take at least a half step if not a full step forward

 

[DJB]

Rated #9 overall on Bob's list.

Is he that talented? Or because it's a down year for dmen and hes pushed upwards?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I consider myself a fan, but that's too high. He doesn't have the puck game to be a top ten pick, in my opinion. If you are going to rationalize it that he's a lock to be a top-flight defensive defenseman, I could understand it, but I don't think he's a lock for that either. He'll probably end up a good middle pairing defenseman. Maybe he could be a 2, but 8 is very high for a player with his skill-set. I don't see the upside as top-ten level. If I'm picking in the top 10 after a bad season, if my fan-base follows the draft, I think its hard to sell my fan-base on Sanderson as the type of player we are going to be building around.

 

[PuckProspects]

Not the best video but here's his highlights from the 5 nations tournament where he was the best player. I honestly could see him as a top 10 pick, easily the 2nd best D in the draft. Such a strong skater and his IQ is extremely high. Rarely if ever gets beat one on one. Only weakness is his overall puck handling isn't high end.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Not the best video but here's his highlights from the 5 nations tournament where he was the best player. I honestly could see him as a top 10 pick, easily the 2nd best D in the draft. Such a strong skater and his IQ is extremely high. Rarely if ever gets beat one on one. Only weakness is his overall puck handling isn't high end.

Don’t you think an above average puck game might be needed to go top 10? Unless you think someone is a no doubt top 5 shutdown defenseman like a Hjalmarsson was, does a guy who probably doesn’t project as more than a borderline PP2 guy in the NHL have enough upside to be a top ten pick? I don’t think there’s a clear answer, so I’d like to know where you and others disagree. Clearly some feel he’s worthy of a top ten pick, so I’d like to know how those that do answer the obvious questions about his offensive upside.

 

[PuckProspects]

Don’t you think an above average puck game might be needed to go top 10? Unless you think someone is a no doubt top 5 shutdown defenseman like a Hjalmarsson was, does a guy who probably doesn’t project as more than a borderline PP2 guy in the NHL have enough upside to be a top ten pick? I don’t think there’s a clear answer, so I’d like to know where you and others disagree. Clearly some feel he’s worthy of a top ten pick, so I’d like to know how those that do answer the obvious questions about his offensive upside.

I think he's this year's Seider. Seider has relatively average puck handling skills but still went 6th and I'd personally consider him the best D prospect slightly above Byram. Sanderson is slightly below both of them but is a guy any team would love to have in their top 4 with top pairing upside who can play 25 mins a game and contribute 30-40 points.

His skating borderline elite and he seems to always make the right play that effectively gets the puck out of his zone.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think he's this year's Seider. Seider has relatively average puck handling skills but still went 6th and I'd personally consider him the best D prospect slightly above Byram. Sanderson is slightly below both of them but is a guy any team would love to have in their top 4 with top pairing upside who can play 25 mins a game and contribute 30-40 points.

His skating borderline elite and he seems to always make the right play that effectively gets the puck out of his zone.

I see what you’re saying, but I would be careful to get too fixated on comparing him to Seider. For all we know, Seider doesn’t end up worthy of a top 10 pick. The pick doesn’t look like an over-draft now, but we still have to see how he pans out.

 

[bert]

I see what you’re saying, but I would be careful to get too fixated on comparing him to Seider. For all we know, Seider doesn’t end up worthy of a top 10 pick. The pick doesn’t look like an over-draft now, but we still have to see how he pans out.

Its pretty safe to say watching Seider he certainly deserved to be a top 10 pick. It was obvious a year ago at the WC. Extremely obvious if you watched the WJC then if you watched him in the AHL its an absolute no brainer. I also dont think Sanderson is THAT good of a prospect but he looks really solid.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Its pretty safe to say watching Seider he certainly deserved to be a top 10 pick. It was obvious a year ago at the WC. Extremely obvious if you watched the WJC then if you watched him in the AHL its an absolute no brainer. I also dont think Sanderson is THAT good of a prospect but he looks really solid.

I think it's too early to say anyone deserved to be a top 10 pick, and considering the reaction from nearly everyone last year, Seider was off the board at #6. He might've been less so off the board if he was picked #10 and it was viewed that he was moving up draft boards late in the season, but he was not a consensus top 10 guy.

 

[DrSense]

I personally think more and more scouts are seeing this guy as a Chabot type. He was the US18's best player and dominant at the 5 Nations, both defensively and offensively. His skating is even better than Drysdale's, and he's bigger and more physical (not that Chabot is a huge banger). Take into account his July birthday and the fact most guys in the top 10 are late '01's and I don't think it should be a surprise if he crashes the top 10, perhaps as early as 5 or 6, ala Seider last year. Happens every year, and Sanderson is as good a candidate as any. Quinn and Amirov are two others, I think.

 

[57special]

His skating is better than Drysdale's? Sez who? I do agree that there is room in the top 10 for at least one more Dman, though.

Mock draft people always undervalue Dmen. In retrospect, guys like Seider and Soderstrom look to be great picks, though most(all?) had them going lower.

If you are going to question Seider as being an overdraft, which seems bizarre to me, you certainly have to question forwards like Turcotte and Boldy, no?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I personally think more and more scouts are seeing this guy as a Chabot type. He was the US18's best player and dominant at the 5 Nations, both defensively and offensively. His skating is even better than Drysdale's, and he's bigger and more physical (not that Chabot is a huge banger). Take into account his July birthday and the fact most guys in the top 10 are late '01's and I don't think it should be a surprise if he crashes the top 10, perhaps as early as 5 or 6, ala Seider last year. Happens every year, and Sanderson is as good a candidate as any. Quinn and Amirov are two others, I think.

I think Harley last year was considered much closer in style to Chabot than Seider was, and Seider was the one of the two that moved up late. Sanderson also probably is more similar to Seider than Harley or Chabot.

 

[57special]

I think Harley is going to be seen as a steal, in years to come. Agree that he is similar to Chabot in style.

 

[PuckProspects]

I see what you’re saying, but I would be careful to get too fixated on comparing him to Seider. For all we know, Seider doesn’t end up worthy of a top 10 pick. The pick doesn’t look like an over-draft now, but we still have to see how he pans out.

100% But that can be said about any prospect. Either way Sanderson is a guy I can see why people have him a bit later will be interesting to see how he turns out.

 

[OldScool]

I think Sanderson is a lock top 10 pick in my opinion. Isnt super flashy but consistent and plays both ways. Smooth and intelligent and will be a great 1st pairing damn in NHL for 15 years IMO. Reminds me a lot of Noah Hanafin.

 

[DrSense]

His skating is better than Drysdale's? Sez who? I do agree that there is room in the top 10 for at least one more Dman, though.

Yeah, I should have said "arguably" because Drysdale is a magnificent skater in his own right. Both are effortless. I've just heard a few references to Sanderson as "perhaps the best skater in the draft", although thinking about it, Drysdale might have had the same thing said about him along the way. But to your point, not fair to state Sanderson is the better skater with any degree of certainty or inferred consensus. Either way, Sanderson and Andae are the two other truly overall elite skaters in the draft, with the three of them being perhaps better than any forward (although a few forwards like Smilanic can fly).

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah, I should have said "arguably" because Drysdale is a magnificent skater in his own right. Both are effortless. I've just heard a few references to Sanderson as "perhaps the best skater in the draft", although thinking about it, Drysdale might have had the same thing said about him along the way. But to your point, not fair to state Sanderson is the better skater with any degree of certainty or inferred consensus. Either way, Sanderson and Andae are the two other truly overall elite skaters in the draft, with the three of them being perhaps better than any forward (although a few forwards like Smilanic can fly).

Foudy is by far the best skater of the forwards, in my opinion. It’s hard to compare that to players who play a different position, but that by far might also apply to a comparison to the defensemen.

 

[57special]

Perrault, and Stutzle, too, and there is one other Dman in the Q who's name escapes me that is supposed to be a great skater(not Barron).