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.

 

[Adrianopolous]

We need to start the discussion

 

[OD99]

His read on the tie goal was brutal. He was so far over to the right and didn't even look at his man...that was Pee Wee stuff.

He needs to get someone to fix his head, and start playing proper hockey again.

 

[LuckyPierre]

So that everyone's on the same page, he is tops in the league among defenders in power play assists, and third in power play points. His ability to facilitate smooth zone entries is underrated, and he makes quick decisions and keeps his feet moving at the line.

At the same time, I also feel that he has some room for improvement in terms of puck distribution and shot threat on the power play.. a few bobbled pucks and failed zone keeps that could be cleaned up.

All this to say, his play is a major reason why Ottawa's power play is ranked fourth in the league. A hot power play can keep this team competitive.

Of course, concern about his play at even strength is justified, but with adequate support those concerns go away. He'll have to continue to adjust to life without Zub in the medium term and play more conservatively 5 on 5.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

So that everyone's on the same page, he is tops in the league among defenders in power play assists, and third in power play points. His ability to facilitate smooth zone entries is underrated, and he makes quick decisions and keeps his feet moving at the line.

At the same time, I also feel that he has some room for improvement in terms of puck distribution and shot threat on the power play.. a few bobbled pucks and failed zone keeps that could be cleaned up.

All this to say, his play is a major reason why Ottawa's power play is ranked fourth in the league. A hot power play can keep this team competitive.

Of course, concern about his play at even strength is justified, but with adequate support those concerns go away. He'll have to continue to adjust to life without Zub in the medium term and play more conservatively 5 on 5.

Him and Timmy have confidence with the puck on their stick on the PP that is completely unrivaled on the team. They don't look like they're trying not to have the puck taken away and pass it off to a teammate like so many do, they look like they want to make something happen everytime.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

We need to start the discussion

About what? Trading him because he's a young d-man who struggled for a month?

 

[Senovision]

We need more out of Jake.
1 goal.
-14.
Averages 2 shots on goal.
$8 million
If he had a big tough guy who could put up numbers as his partner he would be better.
Who is that partner? And how do we acquire him?

 

[PlayOn]

We need more out of Jake.
1 goal.
-13.
$8 million

We do.

Feels like we make the same mistakes every year. Player does well in a role, we hand them 64 million dollars, then later we realize they are 22 and placing them as 1C, 2C, 1D etc with little support around them doesn’t always work through their growing pains. Or maybe even with injuries they’re playing through.

Sanderson will be fine eventually but maybe it’s gonna be a down year for him. Hopefully he figures it out sooner rather than later.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

We need to start the discussion

Agreed, take it to the mainboard.

 

[PlayOn]

Maybe we should find him faster partners

 

[Micklebot]

Maybe we should find him faster partners

Idk what skating speed really tells you here, defensive Dmen like Hamonic, Zub and Kleven aren't jumping into the rush, and as a result aren't chasing guys down as much, the opportunity for speed bursts isn't the same as it would be for guys that are more offensive oriented and more prone to joining the rush, or pinching and needing to get back in position in a hurry.

 

[PlayOn]

Idk what skating speed really tells you here, defensive Dmen like Hamonic, Zub and Kleven aren't jumping into the rush, and as a result aren't chasing guys down as much, the opportunity for speed bursts isn't the same as it would be for guys that are more offensive oriented and more prone to joining the rush, or pinching and needing to get back in position in a hurry.

Yeah that’s a fair point. I still don’t understand how Hamonic is faster than Zub in all three categories though, he looks slower than him

 

[Micklebot]

Yeah that’s a fair point. I still don’t understand how Hamonic is faster than Zub in all three categories though

Likely because Zub is typically in good position and doesn't need to skate hard as often? idk.

 

[BigRig4]

Broken foot could have played a part in that

 

[DylanSensFan]

I am not up for trading Sanderson, but I would bench him.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I wouldn't be looking to trade him, that's foolish imo, but I think the team needs to pivot off the offensive expectations and maybe look at an offensive specialist on a lower pairing, or a swap to have a different look elsewhere. It's hurt the team to have little to no offense from the backend.

 

[Micklebot]

Broken foot could have played a part in that

To be fair, it's not far off from last year's stats.

 

[PlayOn]

I am not up for trading Sanderson, but I would bench him.

Chabot - Jensen
Kleven - Hamonic
Sebrango - JBD

Are we just trying to throw away 2 pts or what?

 

[Micklebot]

Not sure what to make of this, but:

Games​	TOI​	CF​	CA​	CF%​	GF​	GA​	GF%​	xGF​	xGA​	xGF%​
First 12​	205.42​	62.22​	68.64​	0.48​	1.17​	2.63​	0.31​	2.34​	3.06​	0.43​
Last 12​	199.38​	62.29​	55.37​	0.53​	1.20​	3.31​	0.27​	2.65​	2.26​	0.54​

He seems to have much better underlying numbers in the last dozen games, but the results have been brutal.