Getting to Know: Jake Sanderson

The Detroit Red Wings now know they'll be selecting fourth in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which takes place Oct. 6-7 virtually.
That eliminates consensus top pick Alexis Lafrenière and most likely takes forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stützle out of contention as well.
Let's just figure if either Byfield or Stützle were available at No. 4, the Wings would quickly grab him.

However, there are still plenty of high-end players that will be around when the Wings pick.
If you saw defenseman Jake Sanderson playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program at the beginning of the season, you might not have recognized him at the end.
Sanderson, the son of former NHLer Geoff Sanderson, went from No. 11 on the NHL Central Scouting mid-season list of North American skaters to No. 4 when their final rankings came out on April 8.
"We knew he was special coming in, but his development curve over the course of the year just kept getting better and better, NHL Central Scouting's David Gregory said. "We're thinking there may be no ceiling in sight. He just continues to understand how to dominate at both ends of the rink. He does it at every stage. He had an excellent game at the USHL prospects game and from that time on he just kept playing better and better.
"Oftentimes, a young player figures out how dominant they can be and understands 'I get it now, I know how to dominate and make impact on a game.' He's done that and I think the ceiling is very high with him."
Craig Button, TSN's director of scouting, moved Sanderson up from No. 33 in January to No. 12 two months later.
On June 22, Button's TSN colleague, Bob McKenzie, released his final draft rankings and had Sanderson eighth on his list.
"The son of former NHL speedster forward Geoff Sanderson, who is the pride of Hay River in the Northwest Territories, young American Jake is a shooting star in the 2020 draft class," McKenzie said. "At almost 6-foot-2 and a 185-pound frame that will greatly fill out in the years to come, he demonstrated in the first half of the season that he has the physical tools, including elite skating ability, to be a big, mobile shutdown NHL defender. But in the second half of the season he exploded offensively, and so did the projections, even though his consensus ranking on the TSN list improved by only one slot from mid-season."
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler placed Sanderson 19th in his final rankings.
"There are things about Sanderson's game and season that can't be disputed," Wheeler said. "He was excellent in the second half, which is likely linked to his summer birthday and the added runway he had (and has) to continue to develop as a result. He's an excellent skater. I used to think his skating was just very good but it's better than that, particularly in straight lines (though also laterally). He's a mature, polished defender for his age, not only in the way he defends the rush but also off the cycle with the decisions he makes on reads and pressure.
"I would, however, dispute his offensive upside. Some scouts believe Sanderson to be the clear No. 2 defenseman in this draft. Many of those same scouts believe he has the potential to be a first pairing defenseman. That's where I disagree, or at least where I have my doubts. Will Sanderson be able to run a power play as he progresses up levels as he has with the NTDP? Probably. But I don't think he's so dynamic that he's going to be a game-breaking offensive threat or a PP1 guy. There's no question he can open up his feet and create lanes for himself across the offensive zone blue line. And there's no question he can lead the rush and pull away in transition. But I don't see the small area skill that most top-pairing defensemen now have.
"Sanderson projects more as a well-rounded second-pairing defender for me and I will track his collegiate career closely to see if he can change my mind. With Senators prospect Jonny Tychonick leaving North Dakota for Omaha next fall and captain Colton Poolman graduating, Sanderson will likely be asked to do a lot behind Jacob-Bernard Docker and Matt Kiersted as a freshman with the Fighting Hawks next season."
Wheeler's colleague at The Athletic, Corey Pronman, ranked Sanderson 13th in his final 2020 NHL Draft Board: Top 122 prospects.
"Sanderson was leaned on as the top defenseman for the NTDP," Pronman said. "He ended the season on a high note at the U18 Five Nations in February co-leading the tournament in scoring. He's a great skating defenseman in all directions with size that allows him to make a ton of stops. His gap control is excellent, and he killed so many rushes with how well he closed on opponents. He's also a physical player who shows no hesitancy to close on checks with his body. Sanderson's top speed is very good, not elite, but he can lead rushes well and isn't afraid to jump into the play. His edges are excellent, allowing him to spin off pressure, to pivot and walk the offensive blue line very well.
"He was the PP1 guy for USA, but the main question on him is his offensive upside. He has skill and can make a very good first pass, but I wouldn't call him a dynamic playmaker. His production may not wow you, but he had a strong NTDP campaign points-wise relative to other top defensemen at his age historically, especially since he didn't has a U18 World Championship to compete in and he's a very young 2002 birth date."
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Dobber Hockey said, "The player many have deemed as the second-best defender in the draft has been on the rise all season. His defensive play is his biggest strength. He plays a tight gap, has a good stick, and is willing to throw his body around. He is a high-IQ player who uses his intellect in all three zones. He is one of the smoothest skaters in the draft class and makes good passes out of his own end. His offensive game is a bit more limited but he is a capable passer and has a good shot. He projects to be a minute eating even-strength blueliner who can play on the top penalty kill and the second power-play unit."
The Red Line Report was among those who had a much higher opinion of Sanderson, ranking him sixth overall in its 2020 Draft Guide: "Wild young colt imposes his will with a constantly attacking mindset from the back end. Plays a forceful game and can dominate play. Puts everyone on the other team on their heels when he has the puck. Has instant jets when he decides to take off, and accelerates through the neutral zone like a rocket, forcing defenders to back off the blue line. Tremendous top end gear, and moves very well laterally either carrying the puck or defending. Dynamic horse in the offensive zone. Scores from 45 feet out with unbelievable bar-down missiles. Has terrific accuracy. Deftly walks the line on the PP to open up shooting/passing lanes. Makes great outlets and hits long home-run stretch passes. Will jolt opposing forwards with big hits, and uses his great feet and long reach to defend. Bit of a high risk/high reward type defenseman, but he's got the highest upside of any blue-liner this year."

Former National Team Development Program head coach Seth Appert spoke on the Feb. 14 NHL Draft Class podcast, well before the final rankings came out, and had high praise for his young blueliner, who is committed to the University of North Dakota.
"I'd be shocked if he wasn't picked in the top 10 and I've been saying that for over a year," Appert said. "Now his offensive numbers are starting to match that. He just plays the game so efficiently, defends so hard, so physical. He's the prototypical modern-age defenseman. He's 6-2, he's mobile, he's physical, he can play against other team's best players, yet he jumps in the play and can add offense.
"I know there's a lot of good defensemen in this year, the (Jamie) Drysdale kid from Canada, the (Shakir) Mukhamadullin kid from Russia's very good, there's some real good defenders in this birth year, but I have a hard time believing that there's a defensemen out there from a complete package (standpoint) that's better than Jake Sanderson."
Sanderson was also on the Feb. 14 NHL Draft Class podcast and talked about his decision to leave his home in Montana to come to Plymouth, Mich.
"The WHL is very heavy out there in western Canada so it was definitely in the back of my mind when I was younger, I really wanted to go but my dad said just wait a bit longer and see what other options we have," Sanderson said. "My parents always wanted me to go to college so college hockey was in the back of my mind when I was younger, too. But then, I think it was after I committed to North Dakota, I don't know if that was my ninth-grade year, I got, I don't know if it was an email or something, to come visit the program, the NTDP, and then a couple months later, there was a tryout.
"So I was kind of blindsided at the tryout, I wasn't really sure what to expect but this program is second to none, just the professionalism and stuff, the coaching, and all the facilities we have to get to the next level."

In 47 games this season with the U18 team, Sanderson had 29 points (7-22-29), most among the team's defensemen, which included an assist in each of his last three games.
In his first year, with the U17 team, Sanderson had 24 points (4-20-24) in 44 games.
The main difference from his first to his second year was Sanderson went from being minus-20 to plus-13.
"I guess probably just maturity," Sanderson said. "Last year we were playing in the USHL and our team kind of struggled a bit last year, we had to face a lot of adversity. So I guess you could say I was on for a lot of goals last year but I think this year, our whole team has grown, that's kind of helped my stats and everybody else's stats."

In January, Sanderson played in the 2020 BioSteel All-American Game, which had two teams with the top American-born prospects eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Sanderson was named MVP of the game after recording two assists as Team Knuble defeated Team Gomez, 6-1.
In February, Sanderson competed in the Five Nations Tournament in Chomutov, Czech Republic and had a tournament-high seven points (3-4-7).
"He's our guy, he's our rock," Appert said. "He drives our team, he's our captain, he's our best player and he plays the game the right way. The beauty of Jake is Jake could be considered the best offensive defenseman in this first year, in this class around the world, but he doesn't cheat the game at all. So what Jake is is Jake is a savage defender. He eats up people.
"He just went a full tournament playing against the best players in the world, he was not on the ice for a goal-against 5-on-5, the whole tournament against the best players. Now he produced offense, I think he tied for the tournament lead in scoring. He scores, he's starting to score a lot. He still produces a ton of offense for us. He does it with real minimal risk and without sacrificing the defensive integrity of our team."
Geoff Sanderson was a forward who played 1,104 games for the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers.
Appert said while the two Sandersons played different positions, he can see some of Geoff in his son.
"Geoff played 1,100-some games in the NHL without being a superstar," Appert said. "That's not easy to do. Superstars can play 1,100 games in the NHL without having to do everything the right way. When you're more of a secondary offensive guy like Geoff Sanderson was, to play 1,100 games, you're doing things the right way, you're taking care of your body, you're a good teammate, you're playing both sides of the puck. All the things that then get passed down to his son.
"So not only did he get the experience of growing up and being around it and learning that from the locker room, from his dad, from those experiences, his dad was an unbelievable NHLer without being a superstar. That's even a more important skill to pass on because superstar, non-superstar, that's more genetically driven. The habits and the details to your game, the way you live your life, those are things that are more learned and Jake has certainly learned those things from his dad."
Sanderson credits his dad for one of his best assets -- his skating.
"I think I get my skating from him because he was a little speedster out there so I think we're both pretty strong skaters," Sanderson said. One thing Sanderson didn't follow in his dad's footsteps was being a forward. "When I was younger, around my bantam age, I'd kind of go back and forth between forward and defense," Sanderson said. "But at the time, the next year I had to make a decision because I had a tryout, so I chose defense because at the time I was pretty good at skating backwards and I had really good patience with the puck when I was younger."
Now that Sanderson is older, he's watched the league change and evolve, especially for defensemen.
"I think you gotta be mobile," Sanderson said. "I think the game's changing. There still is a lot of those big, strong defensemen but you look at a guy like (Vancouver's) Quinn Hughes or (Colorado's) Cale Makar, they can dance at the blue line and stuff and can also play that strong game so I think having a mixture of strength and mobility is good."
Hughes and Makar, who just won the Calder Memorial Trophy, are not the only fine young defensemen that Sanderson enjoys watching these days.
"I like watching (Dallas Stars') Miro Heiskanen right now just because he's a young, coming-up star defenseman," Sanderson said. "I see similarities between our games just because kind of the way we're built and stuff, longer, lengthier guys. He kind of has that long stride, pretty strong. He's an unreal, two-way defenseman. I love watching him."
Sanderson joined Lafrenière, Byfield, Stützle and defenseman Jamie Drysdale on a video conference call with Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky on May 6.

NHL Central Scouting ranked Lafrenière first, Byfield second and Drysdale third among North American skaters and Stützle first among European skaters.
Gretzky acknowledged that his year's draft, which was supposed to be at Montreal's Bell Centre June 26-27 but was postponed and now made virtual, will be different.
Sanderson said even though it won't be like other drafts, he's still looking forward to it.
"I think obviously going to a draft and in a hockey rink and having that experience is a big part of it but even being able to meet other guys from different countries, that's a big part of it, too," Sanderson said. "But I think being with your family, seeing how the NFL did it, they did a pretty good job so I'm excited to see what they do."