By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Date Posted: September 26, 2011
Print Edition: September 21, 2011
Picked in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft, 29th overall, 18-year-old Nicklas Jensen offers the Canucks organization another high quality right winger, and is only the second Danish player on the team. Jensen has shown his value in the recent Young Stars tournament in Penticton, where he played alongside other Canuck prospects.
Gordon McIntyre, of The Province’s The White Towel, described Jensen as “big, swift and cagey,” noting he was one of the few Canucks prospects to actually stand out in the first game of the tournament. While the chance of him landing a spot in the Canucks roster this season isn’t that high, especially with Cody Hodgson showing signs of improvement, his work ethic and adaptability is impressing all the right people.
Jensen has more than just an impressive character, though. He stands 6-2 and weighs in 188 pounds, according to the Vancouver Sun, and after he was drafted he described himself as, “a power forward and goal scorer who protects the puck well.” According to the Canucks, he’s also got a good, quick shot. On NHL.com, Chris Edwards of NHL Central Scouting had similar things to say. “His puck-handling and play-making abilities are excellent. He has an excellent wrist shot that he gets off quickly.” Vancouver can only hope that it won’t be long before he can bring that deadly combo of size and skill to the NHL.
He is originally from Herning, Denmark, a small city that Jensen described in his blog as being “known for hockey.” However, the game is different over there, so it’s been a bit of a challenge to get used to playing hockey in Canada: “the biggest differences are definitely the tempo and the rink size because it’s a lot bigger in Denmark. We have way more time to think about what we want to do over there, whereas I have to think quicker here because there is less space to work with.”
But Jensen has shown that he can make the change; he played last season with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)’s Oshawa Generals, scoring 29 goals and 58 points (fifth among OHL rookies) in just 61 games. He also had seven goals (tied for team lead) and 11 points in 10 playoff games. That’s the kind of first season that gets someone drafted in the first round.
Jensen’s father, Dan, is originally Canadian, and himself played in the OHL for three seasons before moving to Denmark. According to The Province, Jensen has never considered playing for Team Canada, despite his dual-citizenship. “I’m really proud of being a Dane. I see myself as a Dane and it’s not right for me to move to the Canadian national team,” he said.
He has had a lot of success in international tournaments, despite not playing for Team Canada. He was named the “Best Forward” within Division I at the 2010 IIHF World Under-18 tournament. He helped Denmark win the Division I 2011 World Junior Championships. He was also awarded Rookie of the Year status, after earning 12 goals and 26 points in 34 games in the 2009-2010 season in the top Danish hockey league. While it is too early to draw any kind of conclusion, what is clear is that this young Dane has a ton of potential.
