Winnipeg Jets Forward Nikolaj Ehlers To Play Professionally?
Nikolaj Ehlers’ final game at the Young Stars Classic over the weekend certainly won’t hurt his chances of making the Winnipeg Jets.
As a 19-year-old, Ehlers options appeared to be make the Jets or be returned to junior hockey. But to borrow a line from Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie shed some light on Ehlers’ situation on Monday’s edition of Insider Trading. Here’s the full transcript of what McKenzie had to say, with the emphasis all mine:
“I talked to his agent, Andre Rufener from Switzerland, and right now the goal for Ehlers is single-minded, to make the Winnipeg Jets roster. If he doesn’t, in concert with the Winnipeg Jets, they will decide what’s best for his development and they will look at any and all their options.
“Rufener did suggest that returning to Halifax of the Canadian Hockey League was at the very bottom of the list and if they can avoid that at all costs, they will. They will explore their European options. They will also look at the fine print of the transfer agreement to see if it’s possible for him to play in the American Hockey League the way Julius Honka did when he left Swift Current to play for Dallas’ farm team…it’s pretty clear Nikolaj Ehlers would like to not go back to Halifax if possible this season.”
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The full segment can be found here with the part about Ehlers starting about three and a half minutes in.
As McKenzie mentioned, a similar situation happened last off-season with Julius Honka. Defending Big D has a good breakdown of it here but the crux of it is that when Honka was drafted by Swift Current, he was loaned to them from his professional team in Finland. When Dallas drafted Honka, the NHL ruled he was not subject to the CHL-NHL transfer agreement because he was loaned. The agreement forbids CHL players to play in the AHL before they are 20 (a rule that doesn’t apply to European players).
It’s hard to say how that situation translates to Ehlers, who was drafted by Halifax out of the top professional hockey tier in Denmark. What we do know is that Honka and his agent has opened the door for teams to try this kind of thing and that Ehlers, his agent, and possibly the Jets would like to find him another option besides returning to the QMJHL.
More from Jets White Out
- How expansion and relocation around the league have affected the Winnipeg Jets
- 5 interesting Winnipeg Jets prospects to check out at the Young Stars Classic
- 3 takeaways from Adam Lowry being named captain
- What to think about Nikolaj Ehlers and his dynamic skill set?
- Winnipeg Jets name Adam Lowry team captain