Even in a hockey context, the term Great Dane still conjures up a canine image for most observers. Ehlers may be the player to change that.
Winnipeg's first-round pick (No. 9) in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Aalborg, Denmark, native made the roster for the 2015-16 season as a 19-year-old coming out of his first NHL training camp.
Even in a hockey context, the term Great Dane still conjures up a canine image for most observers. Ehlers may be the player to change that.
Winnipeg's first-round pick (No. 9) in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Aalborg, Denmark, native made the roster for the 2015-16 season as a 19-year-old coming out of his first NHL training camp.
A gifted player with the puck who can both pass and finish with equal aplomb, his offensive skills help make up for a slightly undersized 6-foot, 172-pound frame.
After a scoreless debut against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 8, 2015, Ehlers notched a point in eight of his next nine games. The speedy left wing earned his first two assists on a pair of Mark Scheifele goals in Winnipeg's second and third games. A slap shot blasted past New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in Winnipeg's 4-1 win on Oct. 13, 2015 gave Ehlers his first NHL goal.
After scoring goals in three consecutive games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings in October 2015, Ehlers earned his first multipoint game on Jan. 26, 2016 with three goals in a 5-2 home win against the Arizona Coyotes. That made Ehlers the first rookie to score a hat trick for the Jets/Thrashers franchise since Kamil Piros against the Lightning on April 6, 2003.
Despite ranking just 11th among Winnipeg's skaters in total ice time, Ehlers finished tied for sixth in scoring with 38 points and fifth with 167 shots.
Ehlers, whose father, Heinz, was drafted in the ninth round (No. 188) by the Rangers in the 1984 NHL Draft, gave a number of hints he could be a dynamic presence in the NHL. As a rookie with Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2013-14, Ehlers finished fourth in the league in scoring with 104 points and led all first-year players in goals (49), assists (55) and points.
Ehlers, who also led the QMJHL with a plus-65 rating, earned awards as the league's top rookie, top offensive rookie and top prospect, as well as selections to the QMJHL's All-Rookie Team and its Second All-Star Team.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- QMJHL All-Rookie Team (2014)
- QMJHL Second All-Star Team (2014)
- Canadian Major Junior Rookie of the Year (2014)
- QMJHL First All-Star Team (2015)
