Prospect Info: Jacob Bernard-Docker (D) 3 year ELC signed

[DueDiligence]

I attribute all the whining on here about JBD to him being a first round pick. He certainly hasn't lived up to that but I can see him being another Dylan DeMelo. Being a marginal NHLer in his early 20s but developing into an adequate NHLer in his mid 20s and older.

 

[armani]

I attribute all the whining on here about JBD to him being a first round pick. He certainly hasn't lived up to that but I can see him being another Dylan DeMelo. Being a marginal NHLer in his early 20s but developing into an adequate NHLer in his mid 20s and older.

JBD could be a 1st round pick or a 7th rounder, but currently he is our first depth call up and the guy is not an NHL defenceman. His game hasn't seen any growth since he got drafted and he seems easily pushed around. Smaller Brannstrom has shown more jam to his game despite being undersized.

I hope for the Sens' sake, with his 1-way contract, that he becomes more useful in his role as #7/#8, not sure I see him play regularly. Seems very timid along the boards and gets pushed around a bit in front of the net. Demelo doesn't have those issues.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Should've just drafted K'Andre Miller instead of trying to be the smartest GM in the room trading down so Dorion can get 2 buddies that absolutely suck.

 

[aragorn]

I forget if the details came out but I want to know who’s decision it was to trade back and pass on k miller and then take jbd and then tychonik. Cause that is absolutely terrible.
On draft day I was waiting for them to pick miller. You know, the obvious pick.
Then was expecting durzi smh

I recall lots of people on here wanted Tychonik & were happy they drafted him, that turned into a terrible pick.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I recall lots of people on here wanted Tychonik & were happy they drafted him, that turned into a terrible pick.

Our scouts have been terrible at finding good D in the late 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds lately.

JBD
Tychonick
Thomson
Kleven (still a legit prospect)
Roger
Nordberg
Hamara

Not enough picked, IMO, and the quality is lacking. Nordberg might also turn into something but looking more like a long shot.

 

[armani]

Our scouts have been terrible at finding good D in the late 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds lately.

JBD
Tychonick
Thomson
Kleven (still a legit prospect)
Roger
Nordberg
Hamara

Not enough picked, IMO, and the quality is lacking. Nordberg might also turn into something but looking more like a long shot.

Sanderson is the most notable exception, superb pick, but otherwise yeah I agree with this completely.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Sanderson is the most notable exception, superb pick, but otherwise yeah I agree with this completely.

I purposely excluded high picks (Late 1st and after). I EXPECT NHL teams to find good players, D included in the top half of the first round. Sanderson has been better than advertised. No complaints there obviously.

 

[bert]

That’s overblown. He’s an average skater, Imhes just too weak.

I don't think he's average in this league by any means. He doesn't do a single thing above average.

Our scouts have been terrible at finding good D in the late 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds lately.

JBD
Tychonick
Thomson
Kleven (still a legit prospect)
Roger
Nordberg
Hamara

Not enough picked, IMO, and the quality is lacking. Nordberg might also turn into something but looking more like a long shot.

The fact that Keandre Miller was there and they traded down is wild. He actually fits the mold of the type of player they like. Up until the Greig pick the selections from the western league have been so so so so bad.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I don't think he's average in this league by any means. He doesn't do a single thing above average.


The fact that Keandre Miller was there and they traded down is wild. He actually fits the mold of the type of player they like. Up until the Greig pick the selections from the western league have been so so so so bad.

I agree Miller would have been the pick to make.

All of these teams probably would like a do over to take Miller. Not saying all the picks were terrible but some were

 

[DueDiligence]

Demelo doesn't have those issues.

Do you forget that DeMelo ( at the time 24) was a throw in to the Karlsson deal and was seen as a very marginal NHL Dman. JBD still has time to develop.

 

[bert]

Do you forget that DeMelo ( at the time 24) was a throw in to the Karlsson deal and was seen as a very marginal NHL Dman. JBD still has time to develop.

Demelo doesnt play scared. JBD does.

 

[armani]

Do you forget that DeMelo ( at the time 24) was a throw in to the Karlsson deal and was seen as a very marginal NHL Dman. JBD still has time to develop.

No I didn’t forget, I just don’t see DeMelo (or tha type of impact) in JBD having experienced them both. Yeah we can hope, but someone who doesn’t raise any part of his game or improve his skills since being drafted doesn’t exude future potential to me. Maybe the Sens pro scouts saw something to ask for DeMelo in the Karlsson trade, but he was good here and should have been kept.

Like I said, I hope JBD turns it around. He is not physical, not offensive, cannot carry the pick out. He has good work ehtic and leadership skills as per his time on Team Canada/UND. Has some defensive IQ. Yet here we are - years into his development we get the version we get now. It’s not just a single part of his skillset he needs to improve. He needs to be able to add size to his game, more for his ability to battle in front of the net/along the boards. He is “safe” in that he is not out of position in a counter attack, but has a difficult time controlling his mark in the forecheck. Not much in terms of tools to improve his game.

 

[DueDiligence]

Demelo doesnt play scared. JBD does.

Did you watch DeMelo as a 23 year old?

 

[bert]

Did you watch DeMelo as a 23 year old?

How many players survive in this league that bail on pucks intentionally. This isn't something players stop doing. They either have it or they don't.

Did you watch him at 23? I saw him in limited games when he was on San Jose.

 

[Xspyrit]

It's true that JBD hasn't progressed enough the last few years, for me the problem is that for the way he plays he would need to be much stronger but it seems that he has the same issue Wiercioch had, can't get stronger

That being said, there's one stat interesting in his case, since 2021-22, among the 13 Sens D-men with at least 200 ES minutes, he has the lowest xGA/60 (2.44). That's also Top-60 among the 315 NHL D-men who played at least 200 ES minutes during that period of time.

15:03 minutes per game, 198th most ES TOI/GP so I don't know how sheltered he is compared to others, zone starts seem to be about even. So at least, there's that going on for him

 

[JD1]

JBD has been pretty good in his callup. Playing almost 18 a night and showing he's an NHLer

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

JBD has been pretty good in his callup. Playing almost 18 a night and showing he's an NHLer

I thought he looked good last night other than a couple moments, but those are bound to happen. Clearly getting more confident out there and not playing with as much hesitation.

 

[OgieO]

Kinda starting to look like that solid #6 (low bar, I know) we hoped at the start of year.

That's literally all we wanted. Him to be a good #6.

 

[misplacedsensfan]

I don’t think he looked good at all, but was playing too many minutes. Made multiple bad plays that resulted in extended time in our zone. Iced it for no reason when he had time to just pass it back to his d partner, which lead to the leafs second goal.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

I don't see him making the team full time. Very vanilla player with no standout qualities that is easily replaceable.

I am often wrong.

 

[swiftwin]

I've never been high on JBD, but I do think he can carve himself out an NHL career as a bottom pairing defenseman, maaaybe as a 4/5 like DeMelo. But I'm not convinced it'll be with us.

The thing with JBD is that he isn't physically gifted, he's not strong, he's not fast. He's also not offensively gifted.

That means he has to rely on his smarts to be effective defensively, which, he is to a certain extent. The only problem is that to continue to improve, he needs reps, lots of reps at the NHL level. He's getting them right now because of injuries, and we're seeing him improve slightly game by game. But when we're healthy, he shouldn't be in our lineup.

It might serve him to play on a rebuilding team to get those reps, similar to how DeMelo did with us.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I've never been high on JBD, but I do think he can carve himself out an NHL career as a bottom pairing defenseman, maaaybe as a 4/5 like DeMelo. But I'm not convinced it'll be with us.

The thing with JBD is that he isn't physically gifted, he's not strong, he's not fast. He's also not offensively gifted.

That means he has to rely on his smarts to be effective defensively, which, he is to a certain extent. The only problem is that to continue to improve, he needs reps, lots of reps at the NHL level. He's getting them right now because of injuries, and we're seeing him improve slightly game by game. But when we're healthy, he shouldn't be in our lineup.

It might serve him to play on a rebuilding team to get those reps, similar to how DeMelo did with us.

I agree. I feel the biggest change is he's finally playing wiithout looking so timid. There's some confidence and some purpose.

But ya, probably bottom pairing ceiling anyways, so basically lineup fodder.

 

[Bileur]

I can’t believe he doesn't seem to have put on significant weight in two or three years. Getting stronger has been an issue for a while.

Not a lot of defensive defensemen can hack it at 6’0 190. Gudas can impose his will on most at 6’0 208. JBD will never have that snarl but being able to battle would be huge.

Even getting to 200, if he can keep what speed he has, would likely make a big difference.

 

[Dionysus]

Starting to make plays without hesitating. If he can become a bit smoother with his reads and instinctively know where the guys should be, he can become a a solid NHL depth defenceman.

 

[Icelevel]

He had a better game last night. If he can play like that every night plus a notch or two then he could be a decent option for the bottom pair. He’d have to build on that game though and not just plateau here.