Ottawa Senators sign Jake Sanderson to entry level contract

The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Jake Sanderson to an entry level contract, as per the team.

Sanderson was the Senators’ second first-round pick of the 2020 draft, selected fifth overall after they had also nabbed Tim Stützle third overall. While Stützle was chosen with the San Jose Sharks’ pick that they had acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade, Sanderson was selected with Ottawa’s original first round pick.

The Sens signed the defenseman after the University of North Dakota had been eliminated from their bracket in the NCAA to the University of Notre Dame in a 2-1 OT loss. Sanderson had eight goals and 26 points in 23 games this season for North Dakota.

Sanderson also got some time at the international level this season, as he got to join the U.S. men’s team at the Olympics and the U.S. world junior team before the tournament was cancelled. He only played in one game in both tournaments and even got an assist at the Olympics.

He’ll be joining a Senators team in desperate need of defense, as they rank 22nd in the league in goals against per game with 3.25, as well as 27th in 5v5 Corsi against per 60 minutes, and 26th in expected goals against per 60 minutes.