Granted, when Jensen was selected by the Wings in the 2009 draft, Detroit's defensive corps consisted of veterans Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Niklas Kronwall, Andreas Lilja and Brett Lebda.
Plus, the Wings were encouraged with the play of a few promising youngsters in Jonathan Ericsson and Derek Meech and were hopeful former first-round draft pick Jakub Kindl would eventually take the next step in becoming a contributing member of the team.
It was apparent Jensen wasn't going to make the Red Wings overnight. After being drafted, he spent one more season with the USHL'S Green Bay Gamblers (2009-10), three years playing for St. Cloud State (2010 - 2013) and most of four seasons (2013-14 through 2016-17) in Grand Rapids, including a short three-game stint in Toledo (2013-14), before he finally made his Red Wings debut on December 20, 2016 in Tampa Bay.
In his first NHL game, Jensen registered his first career point, assisting on Anthony Mantha's goal in Detroit's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.
Despite the defeat, the 26-year-old rookie performed well in his NHL debut. Besides the assist, Jensen was even, played 15:33, had two shots on goal, registered a hit and a takeaway.
Jensen stayed with the Wings for the rest of the season, appearing in 49 games. He had four goals among his 13 points, was minus-7 with an average ice time of 17:45.
On February 27, 2017, Detroit signed Jensen to a two-year contract extension worth $1.625 million with a cap hit of $812,500.
This upcoming season, Jensen will be in the final year of his deal and depending on how Detroit's offseason and training camp shake out, Jensen could be a potential trade candidate to free up a roster spot on Detroit's back end.
The Minnesota native is an excellent, fast skater and his contract is very affordable, which should attract interest from at least a handful of teams looking to upgrade their No. 5 or 6 defensemen.
81 - Number of games he played. Jensen and Ericsson each played in 81 games, one less than captain Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Dylan Larkin, who played in all 82 games for the Wings.
0 - Jensen failed to score a goal last season after scoring four goals the previous season.
15- He registered 15 assists and 15 total points after having nine assists and 13 points during the 2016-17 campaign. His 15 points ranked fourth among Detroit's defensemen. Mike Green led all Wings defensemen with 33 points, followed by Kronwall's 27 points and Trevor Daley, who accumulated 16 points.
-8- After being minus-7 in 49 games as a rookie, Jensen was minus-8 last season.
16:15- His average ice time last season after averaging 17:45 the year before.
150 - Detroit selected Jensen in the fifth round, 150th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The Wings didn't have a first-round pick in 2009; their first choice was Landon Ferraro in the second round, 32nd overall. With their second pick, they chose Tomas Tatar, also in the second round, 60th overall.
100 - On February 6, Jensen played in his 100th NHL game, at Little Caesars Arena against the Boston Bruins. The Wings lost, 3-2, to the Bruins with Jensen being minus-3 while logging 16:10 total ice time.
10 - Jensen played in all 10 games for Team USA in the IIHF World Championship in Denmark. He had a goal and three assists for the Americans, who won the bronze medal.
