Wheeler rankkasi JBD:n keväällä vielä Ottawan kolmanneksi parhaaksi prospectiksi.JBD on ollut varmasti pettymys Sensille, koska varattiin korkealla ja pitäisi olla tehokas hyökkäävä puolustaja ja ylivoiman pyörittäjä. Mexence Guénette on ajanut JBD ohi Sensin pakkihierarkiassa.
2023 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 24 Ottawa Senators
The Senators' pool is thinner on top-end talent than it has been in years.
theathletic.com
The clock is now starting to tick on Bernard-Docker becoming the defensively reliable, complementary D partner that the Sens were hoping he’d become when they drafted him in the first round back in 2018. Whether he makes the jump full time or not, this will be his last year on this list because of his age. I still think he gets there, though. JBD’s game has always been better than his statical profile, which can make a player more difficult to explain.
His game doesn’t have a ton of dimension to it but it also doesn’t really have any holes in it. His wrister comes off his blade hard and he does a good job crossing over through his footwork to place it through lanes or take space off the blue line. He’s a heads-up outlet passer who can occasionally stretch the ice. He plays through layers fine as a passer. His stride is fairly powerful, pushing him through neutral ice to join or occasionally lead rushes.
And then defensively, he’s an impressive one-on-one defender, funneling carriers to the outside and playing physically on gaps at the right time. He’s also sound positionally within his own zone, rarely chasing the play or losing his man in coverage. He lacks soft skill for the NHL level but I still like him as a solid and effective no-fuss two-way third-pairing defenceman.
Sokolov oli rankingissa vitonen ja Thomson seiska. Mainittu Guenette oli silloin vasta 13.