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Jacob Bernard-Docker

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker

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An up-and-down season for Ottawa Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker continued this morning, as the team announced he has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

A cursory look at Ottawa’s roster might make this move seem puzzling. Sending Bernard-Docker to the minors leaves Ottawa with no extra skaters on the active roster and just five defensemen. However, Ottawa is entering somewhat of a lengthy break between games. After suffering a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Senators don’t play again until Wednesday.

Returning Bernard-Docker (still waiver-exempt) to Belleville doesn’t give him more playing time, though, as Belleville’s schedule mirrors that of their parent club. For Ottawa, having an NHL salary off the books for a few days is a cost-saving measure.

In a less likely scenario, the move could indicate that one (or both) of Artem Zub and Nikita Zaitsev could be ready to go for Wednesday’s game against the Islanders. Both defensemen are currently on injured reserve, but neither has a specific timetable for a return.

Ottawa’s 26th overall selection in 2018, Bernard-Docker has one assist in 13 games with the big club this season. He’d spent the past week on Ottawa’s roster, recalled after Zub exited the lineup with a lower-body injury. In four games since the January 15 recall, Bernard-Docker was held off the scoresheet, had a -4 rating, and averaged 17:15 per game in a more limited role than his earlier call-ups.

Senators Notes: Norris, Zub, Bernard-Docker

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It’s been an important practice today for the Ottawa Senators, with numerous updates from head coach D.J. Smith relayed by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. The most consequential of them surrounds the status of star center Josh Norris, who Smith says is closing in on a return to the lineup, which could come this week.

The updates surrounding Norris’ injury status have been growing consistently more positive since the original shoulder injury occurred in late October, with the original fear being that Norris could miss the entire season. It was later determined that Norris wouldn’t require surgery, and he eventually returned to Senators practice in a full-contact jersey in mid-December.

Signed to an eight-year extension before the season, Norris is coming off a 35-goal season. Although he had just two points in five games before sustaining the shoulder injury, team chemistry is much-improved after their offseason additions have had time to settle in.

  • On the flip side of things, an injury-plagued season for defensive stalwart Artem Zub may be continuing. He wasn’t present at practice today according to Garrioch, He left Ottawa’s 7-0 blowout loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche yesterday with a lower-body injury, and his availability is in doubt for their game tomorrow against the Blues. Zub’s missed exactly half of Ottawa’s season thus far, only playing in 21 out of 42 games.
  • In response to the Zub injury, the team recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. The 22-year-old first-round pick has one assist in nine games with Ottawa this year and could slot in Zub’s top-pairing role alongside Thomas Chabot.

Senators Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker To AHL

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Jacob Bernard-Docker just returned to Ottawa’s lineup last week after being on injured reserve for more than a month.  However, his time with the Senators has come to an end for the time being as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been sent to AHL Belleville.

The 22-year-old has played in nine NHL games so far this season, including seeing action in Ottawa’s last three.  In those contests, he had an assist along with 14 blocked shots while averaging over 17 minutes per night which isn’t bad for a rookie.  However, he’ll have an opportunity to log a lot more minutes at the minor league level; he played in eight games with Belleville back in October, picking up an assist.

At the moment, the Senators have just six defensemen on their active roster and one of those is Erik Brannstrom who hasn’t played in nearly two weeks due to a leg injury.  Bernard-Docker’s assignment suggests that Brannstrom should be ready to return for Tuesday’s contest against Columbus.  Brannstrom has three assists in 32 games so far this season.

Jacob Bernard-Docker Out One Month, Thomas Chabot Day-To-Day

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Some injury updates are coming in today concerning the Ottawa Senators’ defense, courtesy of Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. While star defenseman Thomas Chabot is now day-to-day with a concussion, Jacob Bernard-Docker is out for at least one month with a high ankle sprain.

Chabot sustained the concussion in a November 12 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. After being checked into the boards by Travis Konecny, the team placed Chabot on injured reserve the following day. Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan reported at the time Chabot’s timeline was at least one week.

It’s unclear when Bernard-Docker suffered the ankle injury. He played the full game yesterday in a 5-1 loss to the red-hot New Jersey Devils, logging 16:46 of ice time and a -1 rating. The young defender has been solid in a bottom-four role, contributing an assist in six games between call-ups from the Belleville Senators.

At least for Ottawa, the Bernard-Docker injury comes after Artem Zub, their best defensive defenseman, was cleared to return to play. Zub’s presence is the highlighting factor for Ottawa’s right side on defense, and he’ll ease the depth issues created by Bernard-Docker’s absence.

With Chabot likely healthy by the time Bernard-Docker is ready to go again, expect Ottawa to assign the latter back to the minors.

Injury Notes: Allison, Bowers, Knyzhov

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A trio of roster transactions involving injured players were made tonight, starting with the Philadelphia Flyers. According to CapFriendly, the team has moved forward Wade Allison to injured reserve, signifying he’ll miss at least five more days with a lower-body injury.

Allison was placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 12 and will miss at least the team’s upcoming three-game road trip against Columbus, Boston, and Montreal. The 25-year-old left Saturday’s game against Ottawa after laying a hit on Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, and The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor reported yesterday that Allison won’t miss too much time. Through 14 games this season, Allison has contributed three goals and an assist.

  • The Colorado Avalanche have moved forward Shane Bowers to injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, freeing up a roster spot for any potential call-ups. On Saturday, Bowers was given a six-week timeline by head coach Jared Bednar after sustaining an upper-body injury 1:46 into his NHL career. The team did not have any extra roster spots for healthy players, with all non-dressed players out with injuries.
  • The San Jose Sharks have also moved defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov to long-term injured reserve. Knyzhov, 24, has not played hockey since suiting up for all 56 games of the shortened 2020-21 season. A groin injury kept him out for the entirety of 2021-22, and an Achilles injury is expected to keep him out until mid-February.

Ottawa Senators Recall Jacob Bernard-Docker

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The Ottawa Senators still don’t appear to have Artem Zub returning, as they have recalled Jacob Bernard-Docker from the minor leagues. Bernard-Docker was sent down just yesterday after his most recent call-up.

Ottawa is on a long losing skid after dropping another game on Saturday and now find themselves stuck at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Bernard-Docker hasn’t played for the club yet this season, bouncing up and down instead of getting into the lineup. In eight games at the minor league level, he has just a single point.

With the losses piling up, it’s hard to imagine that the young defenseman will be held out again. The team is back in action tomorrow night before heading out on the road for two games. Zub, out since the end of October with an upper-body injury, has been skating with the team and is expected back at some point in the next few matches.

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker

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Just two days after he was called up, the Ottawa Senators have re-assigned defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

Bernard-Docker, 22, was a Senators first-round pick at the 2018 draft. The blueliner had a three-year collegiate career at the University of North Dakota before turning pro in the spring of 2021. That year, Bernard-Docker made his NHL debut, playing in five games for the Senators down the stretch of their season.

Last year, Bernard-Docker spent most of his year in the AHL, playing 58 games for Belleville. He didn’t exactly impress, scoring just nine points in those games, but his defensive play was at times strong and he did earn eight games at the NHL level.

This year has been seen by many as a crucial year for Bernard-Docker’s development. He has just one point in eight games at the AHL level so far this year and will head back to Belleville with a clear mandate to improve his overall game so that he can earn another NHL call-up, and perhaps one that even includes some NHL minutes.

Ottawa Senators Recall Jacob Bernard-Docker

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The Ottawa Senators lost again last night, despite outshooting the Vegas Golden Knights 46-32, and have decided to shake up their roster. The team has recalled prospect Jacob Bernard-Docker from the AHL, giving them a new look on defense.

Just this week, head coach D.J. Smith explained that Bernard-Docker’s development in the minor leagues was important, even as the team was dealing with an injury to Artem Zub. Today, after watching the team give up five goals in the first half of last night’s game, he has been recalled.

Whether he ends up in the lineup right away is unclear, but the two most likely candidates to come out are Nikita Zaitsev and Erik Brannstrom. Both played fewer than 18 minutes last night, with Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson, and Travis Hamonic taking the brunt of the responsibility.

Bernard-Docker, 22, has 13 games of NHL experience under his belt since signing out of the University of North Dakota, including eight last year. In eight games for the Belleville Senators this year he has just one point. The right-shot defenseman was selected 26th overall in 2018.

Nikita Zaitsev Back In COVID Protocol

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Less than 12 hours after being removed from the COVID protocol, Ottawa Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev was added back to it just before tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his place, Jacob Bernard-Docker, recalled earlier today, is making his season debut.

Amazingly, the Senators have almost completely exhausted their reserve defenders. Max Guenette, the last healthy defenseman signed to an NHL contract in the minor leagues, was also recalled today, though he was reassigned before the game started. With a third of the team on the COVID protocol and Erik Brannstrom dealing with a broken hand, the Senators’ depth is being seriously tested.

In previous years losing Zaitsev might have been a big blow, but the 30-year-old defender has seen his role changed in Ottawa this year. Not only is he averaging more than five fewer minutes of ice time, but he also was scratched entirely at one point. In 11 games he has recorded just a single point, a far cry from the impressive 36-point rookie campaign he had in 2016-17 that earned him a seven-year, $31.5MM extension from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Still, healthy, eligible players are extremely valuable for the Senators right now as they try to navigate a difficult stretch. The team is now 3-9-1 on the year, not exactly the forward step they were hoping for from the young squad.

Ottawa’s Erik Brannstrom Suffers Broken Hand

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It’s almost becoming comical at this point. On Thursday, the Ottawa Senators placed top-four defenseman Nikita Zaitsev in COVID Protocol, where he joined fellow defensemen Josh Brown, Victor Mete, and Nick Holden. Later that night, fellow top-four defender Artem Zub was knocked out of Ottawa’s match-up with the Los Angeles Kings with an upper-body injury. Now, just 24 hours later, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that young defenseman Erik Brannstrom suffered a broken hand in last night’s game as well and is out indefinitely.

It was just the second game of the season for Brannstrom, 22, who has still been trying to carve out a role for himself with the Senators. It could explain why Brannstrom not only played the whole game on Sunday, but skated in an abnormally high 18:56, perhaps trying to impress his coaches who were already short on blue line options. Whether this had any impact on the extent of the injury remains unknown. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch follows up on Dreger’s report by adding that the Senators are currently waiting for a determination on whether Brannstrom will need surgery or not. He believes that the blue liner will miss at least two months. It’s a critical setback for the 2017 first-round pick, who has not yet played up to expectations despite ample opportunity in Ottawa.

It will be hard for the Senators and their fans to focus on the long-term damage of the Brannstrom injury though when the short-term impact is so immense. The loss of Brannstrom on top of Zub plus the current COVID absences leaves the Senators with just seven healthy defenseman in the pro ranks, only four of whom are currently in the NHL. Fortunately, workhorse No. 1 defenseman Thomas Chabot is among the living, but the depth falls off immensely behind him. Veteran utility defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who has played in just six games this season, is the next best option, while the other two healthy NHLers are Dillon Heatherington, who made his season debut on Thursday, and Lassi Thomson, who made his NHL debut on Thursday. In Belleville, top prospect Jacob Bernard-Docker is almost a guaranteed recall before the Senators game on Saturday and an unheralded player such as Jonathan Aspirot or Maxence Guenette will likely receive the call as well. In turn, Belleville will have to load up on loans and tryouts in order to get by without their own defenders. The entire Senators organization needs their defense to get healthy as soon as possible.

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