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Steve Jensen

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Steve Jensen
Jensen, U.S. Olympic Hockey Team 1976
Born (1955-04-14)April 14, 1955
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died November 29, 2022(2022-11-29) (aged 67)
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Minnesota North Stars
Los Angeles Kings
National team  United States
NHL draft 58th overall, 1975
Minnesota North Stars
WHA draft 64th overall, 1974
Vancouver Blazers
Playing career 1975–1986

Steven Allan Jensen (April 14, 1955 – November 29, 2022) was an American professional ice hockey player[1] and owner and director of Heartland Hockey Camps.[2] Jensen was a forward who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976–82. For 39 years, Jensen served as founding owner and director of the Heartland Hockey Camp located in Deerwood, Minnesota, and was a full-time teaching professional with more than four decades of instruction experience, including 12 years of experience playing International and NHL hockey. He was a five-time member of the United States men's national ice hockey team and played in the 1976 Canada Cup.

Early life and college

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As a hockey player at Armstrong High School, in Plymouth, Minnesota, Jensen was an All-State performer. At the college level, he was a participant in 2 NCAA championship games, helping win the National Championship, in 1975, while playing at Michigan Tech. For two consecutive years, Jensen was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. As a freshman at MTU, Jensen was awarded the Matovich Top Student/Athlete Award

Hockey career

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Jensen started his professional career in his hometown with the Minnesota North Stars, and in 1977 he helped make history when the North Stars become the first team in the NHL to have four rookies score 20 or more goals. He then played four years with the Los Angeles Kings, where he became only the fifth American in NHL history to score more than 100 career goals. During the 1980–81 and 1981-82 NHL seasons Jensen was the active leading goal scoring American in the NHL.[3] After retiring from the NHL, Jensen spent four seasons playing and coaching in the professional leagues of Switzerland and Austria. During the 1983-84 Swiss-2 season, while playing for EVZ in Zug, Jensen became the only hockey player in Swiss history to score seven goals in a pro game. During his two seasons as a player in Switzerland, he had 61 goals in 56 games.

Jensen also had extensive experience in international hockey. As a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team,[4] he led the team in goal scoring with 52 goals. During the 1976 Olympic Games, in Innsbruck, Austria, Jensen tied with Russia's Vladimir Shadrin with six goals in six games, to lead the tournament in goals scored. During the 1976 World Ice Hockey Championships, in Katowice, Poland, three months after the Olympics, Jensen led Team USA in scoring with four goals and five assists in nine games. Jensen was also on Team USA's preliminary roster for the 1979 World Championships in Vienna, Austria, and the 1981 Canada Cup, but declined the invitations in order to operate his summer hockey camp business. Jensen did play for the U.S. National Team in 1983, winning the Pool B 1983 Ice Hockey World Championships, in Tokyo, Japan.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74 Michigan Tech WCHA 40 17 9 26 32 — — — — —
1974–75 Michigan Tech WCHA 41 16 32 48 18 — — — — —
1974–75 American National Team Intl 17 4 1 5 — — — — — —
1975–76 Minnesota North Stars NHL 19 7 6 13 6 — — — — —
1975–76 American National Team Intl 64 52 44 96 42 — — — — —
1976–77 Minnesota North Stars NHL 78 22 23 45 62 2 0 1 1 0
1977–78 Minnesota North Stars NHL 74 13 17 30 73 — — — — —
1977–78 Fort Worth Texans CHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1978–79 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 23 8 31 57 2 0 0 0 0
1979–80 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 21 15 36 13 4 0 0 0 2
1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 74 19 19 38 88 4 0 2 2 7
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 45 8 19 27 19 — — — — —
1981–82 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 14 5 8 13 4 1 0 0 0 0
1983–84 Grazer SV AUT 31 28 35 63 28 — — — — —
1983–84 EV Zug NLB 16 23 13 36 — — — — — —
1984–85 EV Zug NLB 40 38 20 58 — — — — — —
1985–86 Springfield Indians AHL 4 3 3 6 2 — — — — —
1985–86 ATSE Graz AUT-2 — — — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 438 113 107 220 318 12 0 3 3 9

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1975 United States WC 9 2 0 2 2
1976 United States OLY 6 6 0 6 10
1976 United States WC 7 4 5 9 8
1976 United States CC 5 1 0 1 2
1978 United States WC 10 3 0 3 2
1983 United States WC-B 7 3 6 9 —
Senior totals 44 20 11 30 —

Positions

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  • 1983 Assistant Coach, U.S. National Team, World Championships
  • 1984 Austrian League, Head Coach for GSV in Graz, Austria
  • 1985 Austrian League, Head Coach for ATSE in Graz, Austria
  • 1992 Jr. B USA Hockey National Runners-up, Head Coach Heartland Winterhawks
  • 1993 USA Hockey Festival Champions, Assistant Coach of Team West
  • 2005 ACHA National Championship Runners-up, Head Coach FGCU[5]
  • 2006 1st Head Coach in ACHA history to lead a # 16 seed to victory over # 1 seed
  • 2007 Led FGCU to their 4th consecutive ACHA National Tournament appearance
  • 2007 Led all coaches in the college hockey ranks with 34 wins at FGCU
  • 2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey UI8 State Champions, Coach of Everblades
  • 2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey SE Regional Championship Runners-up, Coach of Everblades
  • 2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Champions, Head Coach[6]
  • 2009 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Championship Runners-up, Head Coach
  • 2010 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Champions, Head Coach

Jensen served USA Hockey for 17 years as a certified hockey official. From 1985 to 1998, he officiated over 1,500 USA youth hockey games. He served as Head Scout of the USA Hockey SE Region for the Aberdeen Wings, a member of the North American Hockey League.

Jensen was the first Minnesota-born hockey player to attend Michigan Tech on a scholarship. He worked for CBS Sports as a color commentator during the 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs, and had a brief appearance in the 1981 film Airplane II. In 1985, he became the first entrepreneur to privately own an ice arena in the state of Minnesota.

The Heartland Hockey Camp, which Jensen founded in 1985, was named Small Business Success Story, by Twin Cities Business Magazine, in 2009.[7]

Personal life and death

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Steve Jensen was the uncle of Washington Capitals blue-liner Nick Jensen.

Jensen died on November 29, 2022, at the age of 67.[8]

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1974, 1975 [9]

References

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  1. ^ "1975 NHL Amateur Draft - Steve Jensen". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  2. ^ "Hockey Camps for Youth and Adults | Heartland Hockey Camp". Heartlandhockey.com. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  3. ^ "NHL Player Search - Player - Steve Jensen". Legends of Hockey. 1978-07-15. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  4. ^ "Vintage Minnesota Hockey". Vintage Minnesota Hockey. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  5. ^ Head Coach: Mr. Steve Jensen. hockey.fgcu.edu
  6. ^ Heartland Hockey wins over national championship. heartlandhockey.com
  7. ^ "Twin Cities Business Magazine". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  8. ^ "NHL Veteran Passes Away at 67-years-old". Blade of Steel. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  9. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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