New Defender Has Jokiharju Comparisons
Total Season Stats: GP 15, G 1, A 3, PTS 4 +3
Age: 24
Contract Status: Expiring 2 year deal, $805,000 Cap Hit, current RFA
Jacob Bernard-Docker’s arrival in Buffalo was not met with much fanfare. In the Cozens/Gilbert for Josh Norris/Docker trade, many still have reservations about this deal. Complicating that, his arrival was late as his work visa was delayed coming from Canada. Then it took him several games to even get into the lineup. But after he did, he made a decent impression. He scored his first goal for Buffalo against his former team, the Ottawa Senators. He was mostly steady in his role and is a fairly smooth skater in transition. Better than I thought he was, at least. To me, he has some Henri Jokiharju type qualities and comparisons in him. He is an inch taller though and a year younger too. He is also a RFA who will be much more cost efficient compared to what UFA Joker would have commanded. Who are we kidding, Jokiharju would have been out the door anyways, so Bernard-Docker is basically his replacement. In his short stint with the Sabres, he has looked the part that Joker played and seemed to fit right in.
On paper and to my eye, Jacob played solidly for the Sabres in his 15 games. He scored the same number of points (4) with Buffalo as he did with Ottawa, where he played 25 games. He was a +3 with the blue and gold and a +2 with the Sens. He was also more active, picking up 13 penalty minutes with Buffalo compared to only 4 with Ottawa. The Sabres had some feisty games to close out the season, showing more competitive spirit. They played more as a team looking out for each other and Bernard-Docker was a part of that.
The 26th overall pick in 2018 for the Sens has played parts of 5 seasons in the NHL so far. It’s only in his last two seasons that he has really begun to establish himself though. I feel that Bernard-Docker has good upside to offer Buffalo in a bottom 6 role at least. He should handle moving up in his defensive pairings if needed as well, like Joker did. The big bonus for Buffalo should be Docker’s salary. Coming off his 2 year, 805,000 a season contract, I imagine an affordable bridge deal is in order. Something in the area of 3 years and 2 million per season? Not a bank breaker.
So where does Jacob Bernard-Docker grade out for Buffalo? It’s obviously not a big sample size. He had a handful of games where he stood out, a few games to forget. But mostly he was solid I thought. Sometimes going unnoticed back on defense can be a good thing. He quietly went about his business most nights. He did have some nicely timed hits too but they were spaced out in between. He is not overly physical, again similar to Jokiharju. Unlike Josh Norris, with only 3 Buffalo Sabres games to his credit, I feel 15 games is enough for a grade. I want to see more but for now Bernard-Docker gets a grade of…(drum roll)