Nikolaj Ehlers

Nikolaj Ehlers (born 14 February 1996) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He also became the fourth player since 2000 to have a streak of 30 games, joining Radim Vrbata, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Radulov.

Ehlers earned his second CHL Player of the Week honour on 10 March after he recorded five goals and seven assists for 12 points over three games against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Charlottetown Islanders, and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Ehlers finished his sophomore season with 37 goals and 64 assists for 101 points through 51 games.

He was nominated for two awards, including the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player, but ultimately only won the Paul Dumont Trophy as the QMJHL's "Personality of the Year."

He played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Swiss Eastern team.

He made his National League A debut at age 16 (and was thus the youngest player in the league at the time), playing with the senior EHC Biel squad during the 2012–13 NLA season, one which he predominantly spent playing with the U20 team.

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ehlers gained Patrick Kane and Tyler Seguin as his linemates with Biel.

He later reflected that the two NHL players played a large role in convincing him to come to Canada and play for their junior teams.

He continued to collect points through January and February to best Jonathan Drouin's 29 game points-streak record set in 2012–13.

On 17 February, Ehlers tallied two assists to maintain a points streak of 30 games dating back to 29 October.

Ehlers previously played ice hockey in Switzerland, where his father Heinz was a coach, and then moved to North America in 2013 to play with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

His play in Denmark earned him attention in North America and he was eventually drafted sixth overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in the 2013 Canadin Hockey League Import Draft.

Prior to joining the Mooseheads, Ehlers spoke with fellow Danishmen Oliver Bjorkstrand and Mikkel Bødker to prepare himself for the change.

Ehlers made an immediate impact in the CHL while starting off playing on a line with Brent Andrews and Andrew Ryan.

Through the first 16 games of the season, Ehlers led all rookies with eight goals and nine assists.

After one year with Halifax he was selected ninth overall by the Jets in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and spent one more season in juniors before making the NHL in 2015.

Internationally Ehlers has played for Denmark at both the junior and senior level, including at three World Championships.

Ehlers played youth and junior hockey in Switzerland within the EHC Biel organization.

Although he had missed some games due to the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Ehlers continued to lead all rookies with 56 points through 38 games.

As a result, he was ranked 22nd among North American skaters eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's (CSS) mid-term rankings.

He was also selected to participate in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and was named an alternate captain for Team Orr.

Through February and early March, Ehlers recorded three hat-tricks in consecutive games while also maintaining an eight game multi-point streak to accumulate 47 goals and 50 assists in 59 games.

He finished his rookie season on a 14-game point streak and finished the regular season with 104 points in 63 games for the Mooseheads.

As a result of his outstanding rookie season, Ehlers received the RDS Cup as Rookie of the Year and Michael Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL's Top Prospect.

He was also named to the QMJHL's Second All-Star Team and Rookie All-Star Team.

Ahead of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Ehlers was ranked 13th among North American skaters by the CSS and 10th by Bob McKenzie of The Sports Network.

He also earned high rankings from Corey Pronman of ESPN for his skating, puck handling, and playmaking.

Leading up to the draft, NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr also praised Ehlers quickness and playmaking abilities.

When speaking of Ehlers, Marr said: "He's proven to be a skilled forward who can work some magic. He's got that quickness where he can separate from a check and get to the net. He's got soft hands and passes with authority, is a clever playmaker and very unselfish. Most teams are viewing him as a first-round candidate."

Ehlers was eventually drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Winnipeg Jets.

Following the draft, Ehlers was encouraged by the Jets' coaching staff to add weight and muscle ahead of the 2014–15 season as he weighed only 163 pounds.

On 2 September, Ehlers signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Jets with an annual average value of $1.625 million.

Following the signing, he then participated in the 2014 Young Stars Classic where he notched four points in the two games, including the game-winner.

Ehlers played in six preseason games with the Jets, scoring one goal and two assists, before returning to the Mooseheads for the 2014–15 season.

Upon rejoining the Mooseheads, Ehlers was named an alternate captain alongside Austyn Hardie and captain Ryan Falkenham.

In this new role, Ehlers immediately returned to his rookie-year form and recorded 32 points throughout 11 games in November.

In this time span, he also recorded five goals and eight assists over three games and was subsequently honoured with the CHL Player of the Week ending on 30 November.

In December, Ehlers again missed time to represent Denmark at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

In his first game back from the tournament, Ehlers recorded four points to lead the Mooseheads 6–3 over the Gatineau Olympiques on 9 January 2015.