The Ottawa Senators made a brilliant signing on Wednesday

The Ottawa Senators are a team on the come-up. Over the last handful of years, they have been rebuilding nicely.

A lot of high draft picks have accumulated and they are now looking to continue taking steps as a winning team.

One of the bigger pieces to that puzzle is going to be Jake Sanderson. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and he is looking amazing for them so far.

In 2022-23 (his rookie season), Sanderson skated in 77 games. In those games, he scored four goals and had 28 assists for 32 points.

The Ottawa Senators are looking for big things from Jake Sanderson in his career.

His underlying numbers were also very good. He is clearly someone who has translated his game to the National Hockey League.

What is his game? Well, he is a very good skater who has the ability to play a strong two-way game that includes some amazing puck moving.

On Wednesday, the Ottawa Senators locked him up. The numbers on his extension are eight years at 8.05 million dollars.

This deal kicks in next season as he will play the final year of his entry-level contract in 2023-24. It will be quite the upgrade in pay for him once the new contract’s money starts rolling in.

This is a very good move by the Senators. There is a risk involved because they gave him a lot of money and a lot of term after just one season.

However, they are just getting ahead of the curve. Sanderson is a beast and a legit breakout season is coming for him.

By that time, the Senators will be happy knowing they have him locked into the numbers that they do.

Sanderson is the type of player that could end up being good enough for a Team USA roster in the not-so-distant future. That just goes to show how good he is.

The Senators look smart for selecting him with pick five in 2020 and they will eventually look smart for extending him when they did.

With superstars like Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk surrounding him, some big things are coming for this team. They might not be a playoff team this season but they are building toward some sustained success.