NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Jake Sanderson

One burning question will remain on the minds of Buffalo Sabres fans between now and the start of the NHL Draft on Oct. 6: Who will be available when the team selects eighth overall?
According to Dan Marr, the director of the NHL's Central Scouting Services, eighth is a pretty good place to be.
"The top eight is where you want to be if you want to get a marquee prospect," Marr said. "Not every club is going to have the same order, so they could conceivably get somebody who they have five or six on their list and they're going to be tickled pink to be able to do that.
"I know they've really been working hard preparing. They probably are going to have to get their eyes checked after watching so much video they had collected on these prospects. They're going to get a marquee NHL prospect here."
Alexis Lafreniere is the consensus favorite to be selected first overall. After him, most projections have forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stutzle going second and third in some order - though, as we have seen in recent years, those projections are never a guarantee.
Neither is this one. But, over the coming days we can do our best to profile some of the candidates who might be available when the Sabres pick. We continue today with American defenseman Jake Sanderson.

Jake Sanderson - LHD, U.S. National Team U-18 (USHL)

6-foot-2, 185 pounds

2019-20: 47 GP, 7 G, 22 A, 29 P

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Sanderson is the son of former Sabres forward Geoff Sanderson, who spent parts of three seasons in Buffalo and was a member of the team that won an Eastern Conference title in 1999.
The younger Sanderson is a fleet-of-foot defenseman who uses his skating both to contribute offensively on the rush and to close gaps defensively in the neutral zone. He is regarded as a high-end defender who could project to be a top-pair defenseman in the NHL.
NHL Central Scouting ranks Sanderson fourth among North American skaters and second among defensemen, behind fellow blueliner Jamie Drysdale (who we will profile Tuesday). It's a big jump from the agency's mid-term rankings, which had Sanderson 11th.
"One of the main factors in that move for him was typically we have our lists together, we're looking at our order, we bring up the question, 'Who's the player who you would want to build your team around?'" Dan Marr, director of NHL CSS, explained.
"When you look at all these names, is there one person that you would really identify because of his character, his leadership, his talent? Who is that someone you would want to build your team around? Jake Sanderson was our consensus player, and that's why he got moved up the chart."

What they're saying

Marr: "Jake Sanderson is a complete package. Good two-way game. Jake doesn't have that dynamic game about him [compared to Drysdale], but in his own zone he's smart and composed to make the first pass, get the puck out of the zone. At the offensive blue line, again, he's smart, he's composed to set up plays where you can create an offensive opportunity, an offensive chance."

What he's saying:

On who he watched during the Stanley Cup playoffs: "I've been really watching Miro Heiskanen. He is somebody who I like to play like, just the way he skates, how mature he is. He's just so efficient how he plays the game. He's a very mature player for his age even though he's one of the younger players in the league. He just plays very smart."
On his father's influence: "My dad's been awesome. He's been here every step of the way throughout my life, just helping me with my hockey career and he kind of introduced me to the game so it's great having him. He just kind of tells me to enjoy the moments. It only happens once in your life. He says getting drafted is kind of the easier part but what comes after that is the most important part in what you do with it."
On his greatest attributes: "I describe myself as a two-way defenseman, somebody you can put in all situations on the ice. Whether it's penalty kill or power play, I think I'm somebody who thrives in those situations and I think I'm a unique player just because I can play that hard-nosed style defensive game but also I'm using my skating and using my skill and my hockey sense up the ice as well."

Watch this

Check out Sanderson cutting through traffic on an end-to-end rush before circling back to finish an offensive play: