10 Observations From a Year of NCAA Data Tracking
It’s hard to conjure a better fit for Jake Sanderson (EliteProspects’ No. 9-ranked prospect in 2020) than the University of North Dakota.
Questions about Sanderson’s offensive upside will be answered almost immediately, as few teams – NCAA or otherwise – activate their defencemen off the point with more frequency. Even without possession, the UND defenders move in to support the offence and create confusion.
Despite the United States National Team Development Program U18 team’s more rigid offensive structure, Sanderson scored in the 95th percentile among junior defenders in Expected Primary Points per 60, the sum of xG and xA1. In short, he created a lot of offence without an environment conducive to creating – he’ll have more opportunities to do so with UND.
