Nikolaj Ehlers

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Nikolaj Ehlers
Nikolaj Ehlers.jpg
Ehlers in 2014
Born (1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 25)
Aalborg, Denmark
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Winnipeg Jets
EHC Biel
National team  Denmark
NHL Draft 9th overall, 2014
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 2013–present

Nikolaj Ehlers (born 14 February 1996) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ehlers previously played ice hockey in Switzerland, where his father Heinz was a coach, and then moved to North America in 2013 to play with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). After one year with Halifax he was selected ninth overall by the Jets in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and spent one more season in juniors before making the NHL. Internationally Ehlers has played for Denmark at both the junior and senior level, including at two World Championships.

Playing career[]

Junior[]

Ehlers played youth and junior hockey in Switzerland within the EHC Biel organization. He played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Swiss Eastern team.[1] He made his National League A debut at age 16 (and was thus the youngest player in the league at the time), playing with the senior EHC Biel squad during the 2012–13 NLA season,[2] one which he predominantly spent playing with the U20 team.[3]

After being drafted sixth overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in the 2013 CHL Import Draft, Ehlers joined the team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the 2013–14 season.[4][5][6] Following a strong start to the season, he received a top-25 (number 22) mid-term ranking amongst North American skaters for the 2014 NHL Draft.[7][8]

On 2 September 2014, the Jets announced that they had signed Ehlers to a three-year entry level contract.[9] Ehlers was returned to junior for a second season with the Halifax Mooseheads for the 2014–15 season. Ehlers finished third in QMJHL regular season scoring in posting back-to-back 100 point seasons. Ehlers was leading the QMJHL in playoff scoring upon elimination with 31 points in just 14 games.

Professional[]

On 22 April 2015, Ehlers was recalled to the Winnipeg Jets post-season run which ended the same day.[10] Ehlers returned to the Jets training camp for the 2015–16 season and started the regular season with the team, playing in his first NHL game on 8 October 2015 in Boston. He scored his first NHL goal against the New York Rangers at the Madison Square Garden on 13 October 2015.[11] He scored his first NHL hat-trick on 26 January 2016 against the Arizona Coyotes in Winnipeg.[12] On 4 October 2017, Ehlers signed a seven-year extension with the Jets.[13]

International play[]

Nikolaj Ehlers 1, Denmark U20 - Latvia U20, 19.12.201319.12.2013 in Sanok.jpg
Ehlers at the 2014 World Junior Division IA
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Denmark Denmark
World U18 Division I Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Asiago
World Junior Division I Championship
Gold medal – first place 2014 Sanok
World Junior A Challenge
Silver medal – second place 2014 Kindersley

Internationally, Ehlers has played for the Danish U18 national team at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships Division I-A tournament and the U20 national team at the Division I-A grouping of the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[14] He largely contributed to helping Denmark gain promotion in each tournament.

Personal life[]

Ehlers was born in Denmark but moved to Germany at a young age while his father, Heinz, played hockey there. Heinz played in several leagues in Europe, and was selected by the New York Rangers in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, though he never played in North America. After his playing career Heinz became a coach, and currently is the head coach of the SCL Tigers in the Swiss National League A. Ehlers would later move back to Denmark for several years, and then to Switzerland in 2007 when his father took up a coaching position.[15] , Nikolaj's older brother by three years, is currently playing for the Odense Bulldogs in the AL-Bank Ligaen, the top league in Denmark. He also has a younger sister, Caroline.[5] San Jose Sharks centre Alexander True is Ehlers' cousin.

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 EHC Biel SUI U17 7 4 5 9 12 — — — — —
2011–12 EHC Biel SUI U20 28 17 17 34 6 — — — — —
2012–13 EHC Biel SUI U20 32 26 23 49 34 — — — — —
2012–13 EHC Biel NLA 11 1 1 2 0 7 0 3 3 0
2013–14 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 63 49 55 104 51 16 11 17 28 18
2014–15 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 51 37 64 101 67 14 10 21 31 14
2015–16 Winnipeg Jets NHL 72 15 23 38 21 — — — — —
2016–17 Winnipeg Jets NHL 82 25 39 64 38 — — — — —
2017–18 Winnipeg Jets NHL 82 29 31 60 26 15 0 7 7 2
2018–19 Winnipeg Jets NHL 62 21 16 37 15 6 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Winnipeg Jets NHL 71 25 33 58 30 4 2 0 2 2
2020–21 Winnipeg Jets NHL 47 21 25 46 15 6 2 1 3 2
NHL totals 416 136 167 303 145 31 4 8 12 6

International[]

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Denmark WJC18 D1A 11th 5 3 8 11 2
2014 Denmark WJC D1A 11th 5 2 4 6 4
2014 Denmark WJAC 2nd 4 6 3 9 4
2015 Denmark WJC 8th 5 1 3 4 2
2016 Denmark WC 8th 8 4 2 6 4
2016 Denmark OGQ NQ 3 1 1 2 0
2017 Denmark WC 12th 7 0 4 4 18
2021 Denmark OGQ Q 3 5 4 9 2
Junior totals 19 12 18 30 12
Senior totals 21 10 11 21 24

Awards and honours[]

Award Year
RDS Cup – QMJHL Rookie of the Year 2013–14 [16]
Michael Bossy Trophy – QMJHL Top Professional Prospect 2013–14 [16]
World Junior A Challenge Most Valuable Player 2014
QMJHL Paul Dumont Trophy 2014–15 [17]
QMJHL First All-Star Team 2014–15 [17]

References[]

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. ^ Nikolaj Ehlers till canadisk mesterhold
  3. ^ Eliteprospects.com - 2012–13 EHC Biel player statistics
  4. ^ Ehlers sur l'ecran radar
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Ehlers excited to call Halifax home for hockey
  6. ^ Help from across the pond
  7. ^ Ehlers gets high mid-term draft ranking Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine on metronews.ca
  8. ^ NHL Central Scouting Service mid-term draft rankings
  9. ^ Penton, Kirk (2 September 2014). "Jets sign 2014 top draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers to entry-level contract". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Jets recall Nik Ehlers". Winnipeg Jets. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Jets'Nikolaj Ehlers: Scores first NHL goal on power play". CBS Sports. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  12. ^ NHL.com (27 January 2016). "Jets' Ehlers fourth rookie with hat trick in January". Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Jets extend Nikolaj Ehlers". NHL.com. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Nik Ehlers profile". eurohockey.com. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  15. ^ Campbell, Tim (17 October 2015). "Dynamic Dane's dynamite dad". WinnipegFreePress.com. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Golden Puck Awards". oursportscentral.com. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Golden Puck Awards: an unforgettable evening!". QMJHL. 9 April 2015.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Josh Morrissey 		Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick
2014 		Succeeded by
Kyle Connor
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