| STORIES |
- Saturday, July 4, 2009: Late-blooming Jensen on the rise
- Tuesday, May 25, 2010: Johnston achieves rare feat
- Wednesday, November 3, 2010: Jensen a hit on first college try
- Wednesday, December 21, 2011: Emerging Jensen explodes for rare hat trick
- Tuesday, April 3, 2012: Blueline depth gets shot in the arm
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| AWARDS |
- 2008-09 USHL top plus-minus (plus-34)
- 2011-12 WCHA All-Conference Third Team
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| HISTORY |
2007-08:
- Led Rogers-Zimmerman High School in scoring for the second straight year.
- Selected in the fifth round (70th overall) by Green Bay in the USHL draft.
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2008-09
- Broke into USHL and had a good rookie campaign (52-5-17-22, 62 shots).
- Posted a USHL-best plus-34 rating, albeit on the league’s best team.
- Tied for 17th among all USHL defensemen in scoring.
- Quiet post-season as Green Bay lost in Clark Cup semifinals.
- Selected in the fifth round (150th overall) of the NHL draft by Detroit.
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2009-10:
- Returned to USHL with Green Bay and had another solid year (53-6-21-27, 106 shots).
- Plus-36 tied for fourth in USHL and made him a career plus-70 for Green Bay.
- Ranked 10th in scoring among USHL defensemen and second on Green Bay.
- Helped Green Bay to a dominating first-place finish (45-10-5).
- Tied for second in scoring among USHL defensemen (12-2-6-8) en route to championship.
- Helped United States to gold-medal finish at world junior A challenge (5-1-2-3) in November.
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2010-11:
- Made a smooth transition to the U.S. college game as sophomore at St. Cloud State (38-5-18-23).
- Logged ice time in all situations and finished with a minus-5 rating and 58 shots on goal.
- Started season on a hot streak (10-2-7-9) but didn’t slow too much afterward (28-3-11-14).
- Finished 11th among WCHA defensemen and third among WCHA freshmen blueliners in scoring.
- Fell short of a spot on the WCHA all-rookie team.
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2011-12:
- Returned to St. Cloud State as sophomore, third in team scoring (39-6-26-32, plus-14, 68 shots).
- Scored a hat trick on Dec. 17, St. Cloud State’s first since Bret Hedican in more than two decades.
- Averaged more than a point per game from his hat trick game on (20-5-16-21).
- Fourth among WCHA defensemen in scoring behind Justin Schultz, Nate Schmidt and Joey LaLeggia.
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| SCOUT COMMENTS |
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“The offensive upside is what we’re exciting about, the skating ability. His skating is his best asset and he’s a good puck-mover.” — Red Wings scout David Kolb (June 2009) … “His defensive play has come a long ways from where it was in (his draft year) — which is a credit to his coaches the past two years. He is almost impossible to beat one-on-one at this level because of his mobility … He likes to make open-ice hits and stand guys up at the blue line.” — Kolb (November 2010).
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| STRENGTHS |
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Tremendous skating is the foundation of his game, with high top speed and great agility … Likes to jump into the play … Can lead the rush by carrying the puck or making a good first pass to a forward … Plenty of untapped offensive potential with his foot-speed … Willing to battle physically and likes to throw open-ice hits, although he is hardly a bruiser … Doesn’t get into much trouble when he takes offensive risks because he has the wheels to get back defensively … Comes from a hockey family, as his dad, Jeff Jensen, played at Lake Superior State and was a Colorado Rockies draft choice … Strong academically and is majoring in engineering at St. Cloud State.
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| WEAKNESSES |
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Defensive game will need to improve to take next step … Can get caught chasing the puck in his own zone … More strength needed … Needs to avoid doing too much with the puck, such as skating it through the neutral zone when a pass will suffice … Shot has improved but still not a great strength.
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| PROJECTION |
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The swift-skating Jensen has improved by leaps and bounds since being drafted but has done it quietly without attracting much attention. He has all the tools to emerge as a top prospect — a potential No. 4 puck-moving blueliner — and could be poised for a breakthrough in 2012-13.
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Player statistics powered by www.eliteprospects.com
| Season |
Team |
League |
GP |
G |
A |
TP |
PIM |
|
Playoffs |
GP |
G |
A |
TP |
PIM |
| 2008-2009 |
Green Bay Gamblers |
USHL |
52 |
5 |
17 |
22 |
27 |
| |
Playoffs |
7 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 2009-2010 |
Green Bay Gamblers |
USHL |
53 |
6 |
21 |
27 |
35 |
| |
Playoffs |
12 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
| 2010-2011 |
St. Cloud State Univ. |
NCAA |
38 |
5 |
18 |
23 |
18 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2011-2012 |
St. Cloud State Univ. |
NCAA |
39 |
6 |
26 |
32 |
4 |
| |
|
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|
|
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Player statistics © www.eliteprospects.com
