With the 2025-26 season approaching quickly, it is time to start looking at what the Ottawa Senators have to work with. They finally made it back to the playoffs, but this season is going to be about building off the success they found last season.
In this 2025-26 Player Preview series, we are going to look at all of the players and what to look for from them this season, starting with Jake Sanderson.
Sanderson by the Numbers
Drafted: 5th Overall (First Round) in 2020 by the Senators
Position: Defense (shoots left)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 204 pounds
Age/Birthdate: 23 years old (7/08/2002)
Country: United States
2024-25 Stats: 11 goals, 46 assists, 57 points in 80 games
Career Stats: 25 goals, 102 assists, 127 points in 236 games
How He Got Here
After being selected fifth overall in 2020, a lot of people had some trouble justifying the selection. It didn’t take any time at all for people to start to recognize that Sanderson had the potential to be a star defenseman. Through his first three seasons, Sanderson has earned a big extension, earning over $8 million per season, and has turned into a phenomenal two-way threat on the back end.
Sanderson’s play has earned him votes for the Calder Trophy, the Lady Byng twice, and he finished 10th in Norris Trophy voting last season. The NHL Network rated Sanderson as the 13th-best defenseman in the league and the fourth-best player in the league under 26 years old, trailing just fellow defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, teammate Tim Stutzle, and Jack Hughes.
Related: Ottawa Senators Stanley Cup Checklist – 2025 Offseason Update
Sanderson earned himself a spot on the 4 Nations Face-Off roster for Team USA and played very well, including his go-ahead goal in the final game of the tournament. He has also been invited to Team USA’s Olympic camp.
Sanderson’s Role in 2025-26
It is pretty simple to lay out what Sanderson’s role is for this season. He is going to be on the top power play, he is going to kill penalties, and be the go-to guy for even strength. His role is to do it all, and he has done a good job of doing that so far in his career.
The Senators struggled with 5-on-5 scoring last season, and Sanderson was a part of that. Sanderson scored just 17 5-on-5 points last season, ranking 13th on the team. While he isn’t in his role to be producing at a point-per-game pace or…
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