To say that Jake Sanderson has had high expectations since being drafted by the Ottawa Senators would be a massive understatement. He dominated NCAA hockey for two seasons at the University of North Dakota, and Ottawa fans had been eagerly awaiting his arrival for quite some time. A lot of that is because of how good he looked in the NCAA, but some of it is also because the Senators defense corps has been a clear weak spot for years now, and Sanderson was viewed as a potential “saviour.”
The problem with that is clear: hoping a 20-year-old can be a “saviour” means that anything less than a star-caliber player is disappointing for the fanbase.