Defenseman Nick Jensen eyes big audition with Red Wings
TRAVERSE CITY -- Nick Jensen eyes the coming two weeks as the audition opportunity of his hockey career.
The Detroit Red Wings finish up camp at Centre Ice Arena with Monday’s Red and White game, then head back to Detroit to jump into an eight-game exhibition season. For Jensen, a smooth-skating defenseman who has played the last three seasons in Grand Rapids, this autumn marks the end of his waiver-exempt status, meaning that he either gets a job in Detroit, or he gets exposed on the waiver wire.
“These coming exhibition games are going to be huge for me,” Jensen said Sunday. “It’s going to give me my best case possible to show not only Detroit but every team in the league that I feel like I can play in the NHL. I’ve got to make it hard on the Detroit staff, but if they don’t want me, I want to get picked up by another team.”
The departure of Kyle Quincey means there’s an opening on the Wings defense corps, with the possibility of there being two pending the status of Niklas Kronwall, who is dealing with a bad knee. The math is still tough for Jensen, because fellow defense prospects Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul are also waiver-eligible. Ouellet has impressed with his numerous stints in Detroit, and Sproul appeals because he’s 6-foot-3 and has a monster of a right-handed shot, but Jensen has his assets, too.
“Lots of people talk about the D spot we have open and Jensen’s name is probably not mentioned enough,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think Nick Jensen in the two camps he’s been in has done a really good job and has had a real good impact. I know he’s done a good job for three years in GR.
“Nick, when he is playing his best, uses his speed as a defensive weapon. He’s got great, great ability to cover ground and he's really competitive. If he does a great job defending, does a great job getting the puck out of our end, he’s going to make a play for him to be the guy on the hockey team.”
Griffins coach Todd Nelson called Jensen “a pretty consistent guy” who at the AHL level is “able to sometimes dominate a game.” Nelson said he wants to see Jensen make more plays under pressure, which is exactly what Jensen aims to do when he gets into exhibition games.
“I want to show that I can skate and move the puck up to the forwards and create offense from the d-zone, not necessarily just scoring,” Jensen said. “That’s the biggest thing I want to showcase.
“I always want to work on making plays but keeping my eyes up and knowing every option that’s on the ice. Making all the plays like the Mike Greens and Nik Kronwalls do – they always make the perfect play. Not always the best play but sometimes the easy play, so I have to work on that more.”
Jensen, Sproul and Ouellet are good friends, and if anything, the competition for a job is spurring each to play his best hockey. Having three hungry prospects around isn’t bad for the regulars, either.
“Anytime there is competition for spots, it helps everybody because it just pushes everybody,” Danny DeKeyser said. “Nobody gets too comfortable. You’re always looking over your shoulder, knowing there are guys coming up who can potentially take your spot.”
Jensen, drafted in the fifth round in 2009, spent three seasons at St. Cloud State before turning pro, so at 26, he’s on the older side for a prospect aiming at an NHL job. That’s why exhibition is so big for him – if he doesn’t persuade the Wings to keep him, maybe a scout from a different NHL team puts in a favorable report.
“I believe the waiver is there to protect the player a little bit, so they can’t just send me down every year,” Jensen said. “I think it gives me a little bit more of an opportunity to play with another team. I know guys who have gone through waivers and have gotten picked up and they've had pretty good NHL careers. So that’s what I’m hoping to do if Detroit decides to make the decision to send me down.”
Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Check out our Red Wings Xtra app on Apple and Android!