“Am kicking myself” – Jake Sanderson hopes to recover from hand injury ahead of Ottawa Senators training camp
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Jake Sanderson
Canadian–American ice hockey defenseman Jake Sanderson remains hopeful his nagging hand injury will be in the past when the Ottawa Senators training camp opens later this year in September. The 20-year-old prospect, who’s the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, was unable to take part in on-ice sessions during the Senators’ development camp earlier this month.
Sanderson has had a couple of surgeries on his hand in 2022 — once after it was stepped on during a late-season game playing with the University of North Dakota, and secondly, after a “freak accident” while working out in the gym.
“I want to be out there, but I’ve learned to be patient throughout this process,” Sanderson said, as quoted by NHL.com. “Obviously, I’m kicking myself and wish I could be out there with the guys and be able to skate with them, but I know my time will come and I’ve got to be patient.”
“Don’t want to disappoint myself”
The Montana native Sanderson was one of two players on his team with better than a point-per-game pace (26 points; eight goals, 18 assists). The other one is forward Riese Gaber (37 points; 15 goals, 22 assists in 34 games).
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“I don’t want to disappoint myself if I’m not ready for [camp],” Sanderson said. “I’m pretty happy with how things are going with my hand. I’m progressing every single day and I’m feeling more comfortable with it. There will be a time when I know I’m 100 per cent, but right now I’m just focused on the day-to-day stuff.”
The expectations are set high anticipating Sanderson’s eventual debut in the National Hockey League (NHL). Meanwhile, the Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has said Sanderson has a chance to be perhaps the best defenseman Ottawa has ever drafted.
“I was part of a group that drafted Erik Karlsson and Thomas Chabot,” Dorion told TSN 1200 in May. “And I feel that we have someone … that the impact can be as good or better than those two guys. We have something special in Jake Sanderson.”
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Sachin Arora
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