Nikolaj Ehlers
| Nikolaj Ehlers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Born |
14 February 1996 Aalborg, Denmark | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing / Right 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. He currently plays for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL) and was selected by the Jets in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Junior
Ehlers played youth and junior hockey in Switzerland within the EHC Biel organization. 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,[1] one which he predominantly spent playing with the U20 team.[2]
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.[3][4][5] 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.[6][7]
On 2 September 2014, the Jets announced that they had signed Ehlers to a three-year entry level contract.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] He scored his first NHL hat-trick on 26 January 2016 against the Arizona Coyotes in Winnipeg.[11]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Denmark
| ||
| World U18 Division I Championship | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2013 Asiago | |
| World Junior Division I Championship | ||
| | 2014 Sanok | |
| World Junior A Challenge | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 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.[12] He largely contributed to helping Denmark gain promotion in each tournament.
Family
His father, Heinz Ehlers, played professionally in Europe for over 20 years, enjoying long stints most notably in the Swedish Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga, and also coached the Lausanne HC of the National League A (NLA) from 2013 to 2016. Sebastian Ehlers, Nikolaj's elder brother by three years, is presently playing for Aalborg Pirates in the top Danish league, the AL-Bank Ligaen. He also has a younger sister, Caroline.[4]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 72 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Denmark | WJC18-D1 |  |
5 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Denmark | WJC-D1 | |
5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Denmark | WJC | 8th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 15 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 8 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| RDS Cup – QMJHL Rookie of the Year | 2013–14 | [13] |
| Michael Bossy Trophy – QMJHL Top Professional Prospect | 2013–14 | [13] |
| World Junior A Challenge Most Valuable Player | 2014 | |
| QMJHL Paul Dumont Trophy | 2014–15 | [14] |
| QMJHL First All-Star Team | 2014–15 | [14] |
References
- ↑ Nikolaj Ehlers till canadisk mesterhold
- ↑ Eliteprospects.com - 2012–13 EHC Biel player statistics
- ↑ Ehlers sur l'ecran radar
- 1 2 Ehlers excited to call Halifax home for hockey
- ↑ Help from across the pond
- ↑ Ehlers gets high mid-term draft ranking on metronews.ca
- ↑ NHL Central Scouting Service mid-term draft rankings
- ↑ Penton, Kirk (2 September 2014). "Jets sign 2014 top draft pick Nikolaj Ehlers to entry-level contract". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ↑ "Jets recall Nik Ehlers". Winnipeg Jets. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ "Jets'Nikolaj Ehlers: Scores first NHL goal on power play". CBS Sports. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ NHL.com (27 January 2016). "Jets' Ehlers fourth rookie with hat trick in January". Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ↑ "Nik Ehlers profile". eurohockey.com. 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
- 1 2 "The Golden Puck Awards". oursportscentral.com. 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
- 1 2 "The Golden Puck Awards: an unforgettable evening!". QMJHL. 9 April 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Josh Morrissey |
Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 2014 |
Succeeded by Kyle Connor |