As summer arrived, the last place Jake Sanderson wanted to be was at a hockey rink.
Sanderson’s 2024-25 season with the Ottawa Senators was a breakout year following a slow start to the season. He was a late addition to the United States’ roster at the 4 Nations Face-Off, scoring a goal in the championship game. Then, he helped the Senators make the playoffs for the first time in eight years before scoring an overtime game-winning goal in Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs to keep his team alive.
The defenseman did not want a repeat of the previous summer, where he spent too much time in hockey rinks and not enough time resting. Yes, there would be time for skates at some point. But Sanderson needed time away. So, he spent most of his summer in his hometown of Whitefish, Mont., a resort town with a population of just over 9,000 according to the 2024 U.S. Census. Sanderson focused on his hobbies: fishing, hiking and mountain biking, before returning to Ottawa in early August.
That emphasis on rest and recovery, Sanderson believes, has been key to his early-season success.
“I feel, this year, much more energized coming into the rink,” Sanderson told The Athletic last Saturday. “I just feel I have more energy this season.”
That emphasis on rest has paid off for Sanderson, who appears to have an inside track at a spot on the United States’ Olympic team when it travels to Milan in February. It would be the youngster’s second time with the United States after playing in 2022, when NHL players weren’t permitted to play at the Games.
Tim Stützle comes so close to finishing an insane goal… but he missed. #GoSensGo
What a pass by Sanderson. pic.twitter.com/HqToceCjyE
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) December 12, 2025
“Ever since I went in college, when they didn’t bring the NHL (players), and I realized how awesome it was,” Sanderson said. “That hunger to go back is still there. So, hopefully, you never know what happens, but that’s a long ways away right now.”
Those chances have been bolstered by an improved start this year compared with last year, with 24 points in 31 games, including 13 points in his last 15 games this season. Sanderson’s 24 points, before Saturday evening’s NHL action, are tied for third-most among American defensemen this year with the Montreal Canadiens’ Lane Hutson, trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski and the New York Rangers’ Adam Fox.
For comparison’s sake, Sanderson had 15 points in his first 28 games last year.
“I think (Sanderson’s) just improving with age,” Senators head coach Travis Green said. “He’s relatively young still in the league. Years one to seven, you’re just going to improve (by) getting stronger, your training, being in the league longer, understanding the game a little more, feeling more comfortable with what you can and can’t do as you become a better player.
“That’s something that he should be proud of, that he really wants to do well at both ends of the rink. He wants to be a really good offensive player, but he also doesn’t want to do it at the risk of giving up goals that he shouldn’t. And that, I think, speaks volumes of the maturity level that (Sanderson) has. He’s a well-respected player at a young age, already in our locker room, and rightfully so.”
The 23-year-old is fourth in points among defencemen who average 25 minutes per game, featuring a who’s who of elite defenders such as Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen, Quinn Hughes and Werenski. Sanderson is also fifth in points per game (0.77) in that cluster, and is also second in power-play points among said group. Sanderson is also fourth in net rating (a combination of offensive and defensive ratings according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s metrics) in that group.
D-men w/ over 25 min. played per game
Player
AVG TOI
G
A
P
PPP
Net Rating
25:21
10
27
37
10
14.2
26:39
9
23
32
9
7.6
26:08
7
22
29
12
7.9
25:13
6
18
24
11
7.7
25:09
4
18
22
10
10.0
27:26
2
21
23
12
2.3
25:15
2
11
13
2
3.1
25:48
4
7
11
2
0.2
Unsurprisingly, Sanderson’s team-leading defensive rating of 4.2 is tied with partner Artem Zub, a duo whom Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper called “elite” earlier this season. Entering Ottawa’s Thursday night game against Columbus, according to MoneyPuck, the duo registered the second-lowest expected goals against rate per 60 minutes at 1.86, trailing the pairing of K’Andre Miller and Sean Walker in Carolina.
Jake Sanderson’s chances of playing for Team USA at the Olympics seem high based on his 24 points in 31 games this season. (Marc DesRosiers / Imagn Images)
There’s been a lot more noise and praise surrounding Sanderson since his eye-opening 4 Nations performance in February. And he’s keeping that attention at arm’s distance.
“Personally, I don’t, honestly, even hear much of it going on. Because I don’t have Twitter or anything like that,” Sanderson said. “But yeah, I think just getting more used to the league, getting older, getting more confident with my play. Our team right now is playing a certain style where we’re playing hard, and it allows me to be more aggressive down the walls in the O-zone and keep more pucks alive.”
It has been over a year since Sanderson sought out Jonathan Sigalet, a skills coach who’s worked with defensemen such as Werenski and Vegas Golden Knights rearguard Noah Hanifin, as well as young forwards such as Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier and Chicago’s Frank Nazar.
Throughout last season, Sanderson and Sigalet’s relationship was remote, with the latter working with Sanderson through videos. This past summer, Sanderson spent time with Sigalet in Vancouver, where they skated a “handful” of times and worked on concepts that helped with his transition game and offensive zone play, among other skills. Even after a season where he showed significant improvement, Sanderson wanted to learn more.
“You’d never know anything different from talking to him,” Sigalet said. “He’s the same, humble, down-to-earth guy, no matter how much things start to go his way.”
But it couldn’t be all work and no play for Sanderson this summer. Sigalet remembers his brother, Stefan, hosting a get-together with Sanderson, his other clients and various family members. For a moment, Sigalet couldn’t find Sanderson. Until he went into his brother’s basement and found Sanderson, decked out in street hockey goaltending gear, “making kick saves” on breakaways against the Sigalet children.
“They don’t even realize how cool it is. They’ve got this NHL All-Star,” Sigalet said.
And as Sanderson continues his upward trajectory, it’s only fair to wonder about his chances of winning the Norris Trophy, given to the league’s best defenseman. Sanderson finished 10th in voting last year. He faces an uphill climb to be in contention this year, with Makar looking like a runaway favorite through the first quarter and a bit of the season.
Werenski, a finalist for last year’s award, is in the hunt, too. Not only are Sanderson and Werenski good friends, but the latter was also in Vancouver working alongside Sanderson and Sigalet. Sanderson said last season he wanted to skate like Werenski, who finished second in Norris voting last season, and defend like fellow American Jaccob Slavin.
“As cool as that is, I feel like it reciprocates back to him,” Werenski said. “I look up to him in a lot of ways, too. And the way he works, and the way he plays the game. I feel like our group in the summer, me, him, Quinn, Luke (Hughes), we’re all learning from each other and taking things from each other.
“I’m just really happy for him with how he’s played these last couple of years, really getting to show what he could do at the 4 Nations, (and) the year he’s having this year.”
But what’s important for Sanderson is that he is progressing, with his play featuring him among the league’s very best at his position.
“He’s just starting to scratch the surface of what he can become,” Sigalet said.
— Aaron Portzline contributed to this story.