Steve Jensen (original) (raw)

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American ice hockey player (1955–2022)

Ice hockey player

Steve Jensen
Jensen, U.S. Olympic Hockey Team 1976
Born (1955-04-14)April 14, 1955Minneapolis, 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 StarsLos Angeles Kings
National team United States
NHL draft 58th overall, 1975Minnesota North Stars
WHA draft 64th overall, 1974Vancouver 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

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.

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 | | |

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 —

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]

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