That emphasis on rest and recovery, Sanderson believes, has been key to his early-season success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel, this year, much more energized coming into the rink,\u201d Sanderson told The Athletic last Saturday. \u201cI just feel I have more energy this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
That emphasis on rest has paid off for Sanderson, who appears to have an inside track at a spot on the United States\u2019 Olympic team when it travels to Milan in February. It would be the youngster\u2019s second time with the United States after playing in 2022, when NHL players weren\u2019t permitted to play at the Games.<\/p>\n
Tim St\u00fctzle comes so close to finishing an insane goal\u2026 but he missed. #GoSensGo<\/a> <\/p>\n What a pass by Sanderson. pic.twitter.com\/HqToceCjyE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEver since I went in college, when they didn\u2019t bring the NHL (players), and I realized how awesome it was,\u201d Sanderson said. \u201cThat hunger to go back is still there. So, hopefully, you never know what happens, but that\u2019s a long ways away right now.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 24 points, before Saturday evening\u2019s NHL action, are tied for third-most among American defensemen this year with the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Lane Hutson, trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 Zach Werenski and the New York Rangers\u2019 Adam Fox.<\/p>\n For comparison\u2019s sake, Sanderson had 15 points in his first 28 games last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI think (Sanderson\u2019s) just improving with age,\u201d Senators head coach Travis Green said. \u201cHe\u2019s relatively young still in the league. Years one to seven, you\u2019re 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\u2019t do as you become a better player.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s 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\u2019t want to do it at the risk of giving up goals that he shouldn\u2019t. And that, I think, speaks volumes of the maturity level that (Sanderson) has. He\u2019s a well-respected player at a young age, already in our locker room, and rightfully so.\u201d<\/p>\n The 23-year-old is fourth in points among defencemen who average 25 minutes per game, featuring a who\u2019s 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<\/a> according to Dom Luszczyszyn\u2019s metrics<\/a>) in that group.<\/p>\n D-men w\/ over 25 min. played per game<\/p>\n Player<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n AVG TOI<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n G<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n P<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n PPP<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Net Rating<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 25:21<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n 27<\/p>\n 37<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n 14.2<\/p>\n 26:39<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n 32<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n 7.6<\/p>\n 26:08<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n 29<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n 7.9<\/p>\n 25:13<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n 7.7<\/p>\n 25:09<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n 10.0<\/p>\n 27:26<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n 2.3<\/p>\n 25:15<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n 13<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 3.1<\/p>\n 25:48<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 0.2<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Sanderson\u2019s team-leading defensive rating of 4.2 is tied with partner Artem Zub, a duo whom Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper called \u201celite\u201d<\/a> earlier this season. Entering Ottawa\u2019s 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\u2019Andre Miller and Sean Walker in Carolina.<\/p>\n \n Jake Sanderson\u2019s 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)<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a lot more noise and praise surrounding Sanderson since his eye-opening 4 Nations performance in February. And he\u2019s keeping that attention at arm\u2019s distance.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t, honestly, even hear much of it going on. Because I don\u2019t have Twitter or anything like that,\u201d Sanderson said. \u201cBut 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\u2019re playing hard, and it allows me to be more aggressive down the walls in the O-zone and keep more pucks alive.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been over a year<\/a> since Sanderson sought out Jonathan Sigalet, a skills coach who\u2019s worked with defensemen such as Werenski and Vegas Golden Knights rearguard Noah Hanifin, as well as young forwards such as Anaheim\u2019s Cutter Gauthier and Chicago\u2019s Frank Nazar.<\/p>\n Throughout last season, Sanderson and Sigalet\u2019s 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 \u201chandful\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d never know anything different from talking to him,\u201d Sigalet said. \u201cHe\u2019s the same, humble, down-to-earth guy, no matter how much things start to go his way.\u201d<\/p>\n But it couldn\u2019t 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\u2019t find Sanderson. Until he went into his brother\u2019s basement and found Sanderson, decked out in street hockey goaltending gear, \u201cmaking kick saves\u201d on breakaways against the Sigalet children.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t even realize how cool it is. They\u2019ve got this NHL All-Star,\u201d Sigalet said.<\/p>\n And as Sanderson continues his upward trajectory, it\u2019s only fair to wonder about his chances of winning the Norris Trophy, given to the league\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Werenski, a finalist for last year\u2019s 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.\u00a0Sanderson said last season<\/a> he wanted to skate like Werenski, who finished second in Norris voting last season, and defend like fellow American Jaccob Slavin.<\/p>\n \u201cAs cool as that is, I feel like it reciprocates back to him,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cI 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\u2019re all learning from each other and taking things from each other.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just really happy for him with how he\u2019s played these last couple of years, really getting to show what he could do at the 4 Nations, (and) the year he\u2019s having this year.\u201d<\/p>\n But what\u2019s important for Sanderson is that he is progressing, with his play featuring him among the league\u2019s very best at his position.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just starting to scratch the surface of what he can become,\u201d Sigalet said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Portzline contributed to this story.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27782507-scaled.jpg\")
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