Player Discussion Jake Sanderson (D) PART 3

[Micklebot]

Okay I overestimated his offensive game then. I thought he would be much more dynamic at even strength. With the puck and without. But does lot seem to be coming

He's shown some flashes of that, not sure if he's dialed it back to focus on D or if there's something else at play.

What seems to be missing to me this season is the effortlessly beating the forchecker and starting the rush, he used to make a quick pivot after retrieving the puck to give himself space to either skate the puck up ice or make a clean first pass starting the rush.

In the OZ he can dance along the blue line to open up lanes, but only really seems to do that stuff on the PP. We might see more pinching for offense down the road.

The skill set is there, he has the skating, and the hands. He's just always had more of a D first mindset, and with our goalies struggling, I suspect he's taking fewer risks.

 

[Dionysus]

The 1st 10 or so games he was superb. Better than last season easily. The last stretch his skating has looked labored to me. Not able to effortlessly escape the forecheck and transition to offense. Last game he looked closer to what I expect from him when healthy.