The Ottawa Senators have added a young defenseman to their roster and by the sound of things it won't be very long before fans can expect to see him in action at the National Hockey League level.
On Sunday the Senators announced that they had officially signed 19 year old defenseman Jake Sanderson to his entry level contract, Sanderson was of course Ottawa's first round pick (5th overall) at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Sanderson's season with the University of North Dakota has come to an end and it would seem that the Senators are eager to get him into their system to begin developing the young forward.
The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta is also reporting that the 3 year entry level deal signed by Sanderson begins effective immediately, which was a hint that Sanderson could soon be playing for the Senators at the NHL level. That news appears to have been confirmed by Sanderson's agent who spoke with Ottawa Senators insider Bruce Garrioch.
According to Sanderson's agent Brian Bartlett, Sanderson has signed this deal with the idea that he will be playing in the NHL this year, and I suspect that this means the 2021 - 2022 regular season.
"He's signing with the intention he'll be able to play NHL games this year," Bartlett told Garrioch
19 years old is a relatively young age for a defenseman to make the jump to the NHL, but given that the Senators are currently 32 points out of a playoff spot there will be relatively little pressure on his shoulders should he make an appearance this season. If anything the Senators would be putting him out there purely with the intention of developing their young roster, which is something that Sanderson will fit into nicely in the years to come.
Over his 2 seasons with the University of North Dakota, Sanderson appeared in 45 games, scoring 10 goals and adding 31 assists for a combined total of 41 points from the blue line. He was a combined plus minus of +25 over the course of those two seasons and had just 10 penalty minutes to his name.
