https://chl.ca/whl-wild/tag/daniel-hauser/ Tue, 28 Jul 2026 22:36:57 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-wild-announce-osborne-saab-clear-whl-waivers Tue, 28 Jul 2026 22:20:36 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-wild-announce-osborne-saab-clear-whl-waivers WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild have announced that 2006-born forward Zane Saab and 2006-born defenseman Brandon Osborne have cleared Western Hockey League waivers for 20-year-old players, and are now free agents. Saab spent two seasons with the Wild, totaling 42 points over 128 appearances in a Wenatchee uniform. Osborne joined the club ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, compiling 13 points in 56 games this past year. Following these moves, Wenatchee has reached its allotment of three 2006-born players on its roster, who will enter their final season of junior eligibility in 2026-27. The Wenatchee Wild sincerely thank Zane Saab and Brandon Osborne for their contributions to the club, and wish them all future success on and off the ice.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-announce-hiring-of-kenna-behrens-as-teams-new-athletic-trainer Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:40:39 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-announce-hiring-of-kenna-behrens-as-teams-new-athletic-trainer WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are pleased to announce the hiring of Kenna Behrens as the team’s new athletic trainer. Behrens joins the Wild organization from the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon, where she has served for the past two seasons as the athletic trainer for the NCAA Division I school’s baseball team. “I am truly honored and appreciative to be able to be a part of the Wenatchee Wild hockey team,” said Behrens. “I am looking forward to living in the beautiful city of Wenatchee, and having the opportunity to work with the staff and players. I can’t wait for the season to start.” A native of Kennewick, Washington, Behrens graduated in 2020 from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science & Health, and received her master’s degree in Athletic Training there the following year. She also brings high-level competition experience of her own to the Wild, competing for three years as a multi-event athlete for the Vandals’ track and field team. She has quickly gained experience in both the athletic training and strength & conditioning fields, spending time with Division I athletic programs at both Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee before spending three seasons as an athletic trainer in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor-league system. Last season, she added the WHL to her resume, assisting the Portland Winterhawks with the club’s strength & conditioning efforts. “Kenna comes very highly recommended,” said Wenatchee Wild general manager Bliss Littler. “We are excited to have her on staff and are looking forward to the season.” The Wild are in the process of completing their staff for the 2026-27 season, with a new equipment manager to be announced in the coming days as well. The Wenatchee Wild proudly welcome Kenna Behrens to the Wild family.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-wild-announce-acquisition-of-whl-veteran-kayden-longley-from-lethbridge-hurricanes Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:28:35 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-wild-announce-acquisition-of-whl-veteran-kayden-longley-from-lethbridge-hurricanes WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild have announced a trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL), acquiring 2006-born forward Kayden Longley from the Hurricanes in exchange for a pair of WHL Prospects Draft selections. The Hurricanes will receive Wenatchee’s third-round selection in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft originally assigned to the Brandon Wheat Kings, and the club’s fifth-round pick in the 2029 Prospects Draft. Longley is entering his fourth full season of junior competition, and brings a wealth of WHL experience and leadership to the Wild organization. The Wainwright, Alberta native has appeared in 184 WHL contests with Lethbridge and the Kelowna Rockets, appearing in 48 with the Hurricanes after a trade this past November and tallying 37 points. His final point of the 2025-26 campaign was his 100^th in WHL play. He earned a leadership role right away with his new team, serving as one of Lethbridge’s alternate captains this past year. The Wenatchee Wild proudly welcome Kayden Longley to the Wild family.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-defenseman-tait-named-to-hockey-canada-u18-mens-summer-training-camp Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:29:57 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-defenseman-tait-named-to-hockey-canada-u18-mens-summer-training-camp WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2009-born defenseman Boston Tait has been selected to Hockey Canada’s national Under-18 Men’s Summer Training Camp as part of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Tait was one of just 27 players and only nine defensemen chosen to participate in the camp. A native of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Tait excelled last season with the Wild, playing his first full WHL season as a 16-year-old and picking up 23 points in 62 appearances. He was once named the circuit’s Rookie of the Week, scoring his first WHL goal on December 7 and adding three assists over a four-game week. He is also one of 25 players at the U18 Men’s Summer Training Camp who competed in last year’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Nova Scotia, ranking second in the tournament with six assists and serving as an alternate captain for eventual gold medalist Canada Red. The U18 camp is considered the second step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, allowing players to compete against other top Canadian talent while being evaluated for inclusion on this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is considered to be one of the top preseason showcases for National Hockey League prospects in the summer prior to their draft seasons, and has been contested since 1991. This year’s U18 Men’s Summer Training Camp is set for July 27 to August 1 at NAIT Arena and Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, and will include practices and a game against Sweden on July 30. A pre-tournament game against Czechia on August 1 is also scheduled before the tournament roster is finalized. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will take place in downtown Edmonton from August 3 to 8. Canada has medaled in the tournament each of the last four years, earning three straight gold medals from 2022 to 2024. The Wenatchee Wild congratulate Boston Tait on his selection to Hockey Canada’s national Under-18 Men’s Summer Training Camp, and wish him all success in his quest to again represent Team Canada on the international stage.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-alumnus-huson-finds-no-shortage-of-hats-headsets-to-wear-in-colorado Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:29:49 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-alumnus-huson-finds-no-shortage-of-hats-headsets-to-wear-in-colorado COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - There's no doubt: Wenatchee Wild alumnus Kyle Huson comes from a sports family. Younger brother Cody played Division I baseball at Abilene Christian University in Texas. Older sister Lindsay played volleyball at Division II Western Colorado University. His dad, Jeff, enjoyed a 12-year Major League Baseball career with seven teams, including four years with the Texas Rangers and a 1998 season in Washington state with the Seattle Mariners. Kyle's chosen sport was hockey, landing an NCAA Division I scholarship out of Wenatchee and eventually taking his game all the way to the broadcast booth in his home state of Colorado. He started following the sport in Texas when he was just a few years old, transfixed by a Dallas Stars game that he attended with his family. The timing for his family's move to Colorado shortly after that game couldn't be better - the National Hockey League also moved into the neighborhood, with the Nordiques' relocation from Quebec City in the summer of 1995. Jeff soon found himself asking for high-level help in getting Kyle started in the sport. "My dad actually met Patrick Roy's wife at the gym, since we lived in the same neighborhood," said Huson. "He said, 'My son wants to get into hockey, but I'm a baseball guy. I'm from Arizona, and I know nothing about this. Can you help me get started?' They got in touch with Littleton Hockey, and got me into skating lessons there, and I just got on the ice and started playing. I never took off the skates after that." The sport began taking off in the Denver area just as Huson first stepped onto the ice, aided by Colorado's 1996 Stanley Cup championship and the Avs' budding rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as their subsequent title run in 2001 led by legendary defenseman Ray Bourque. "Growing up, I was entrenched in the perfect time in Colorado to get into hockey," said Huson. "They'd just moved (from Quebec), and you've got (Joe) Sakic, (Patrick) Roy, (Peter) Forsberg, and then Rob Blake joins the team, and obviously Ray Bourque joined and had his amazing run. It was an incredible time to be a hockey fan in Colorado, and get started." The move to Colorado gave the family a firm "home base" while Jeff continued his baseball career, which wrapped up with the Chicago Cubs in 2000. His absence during the baseball season meant some heavy-duty coordination between Jeff's wife Wendy and Kyle's grandparents, who lived just up the road in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in order to keep the family's busy school and activity schedule intact. During the offseason, however, Jeff could always be spotted at his kids' activities and spending extra time with his family. Having a dad on the major-league diamonds certainly did have its perks, though - nine-year-old Kyle got to serve as a bat boy for the Cubs during his dad's final season and shag batting-practice balls from slugger Sammy Sosa and pitcher Kerry Wood, who was known for grabbing a bat and taking his hacks in between turns in the pitching rotation. "I'm able to reflect back and think, that's not normal," said Huson. "Not every kid gets to do that, and I'm so appreciative of those times that I was able to do that. I think it helped me, and it helped my siblings too, to get that dugout experience and that clubhouse experience and understanding the professionalism that you have to carry yourself with, and the way that you have to compete in everything that you do. It gave us a cool, unique perspective that I think carried us a long way." Huson points to his path in hockey as proof that everyone's path to success is different, and that playing different sports or being a late bloomer isn't a hindrance to achieving goals. In his first two years of high school, he moved from midget minor A hockey to getting looks from college and junior scouts as a member of the Colorado Thunderbirds AAA program. Former Wild assistant coach Ryan McKelvie spotted him as the Thunderbirds played through their 2009-10 season, and he would earn a spot on the Wenatchee roster that fall. The fit was a good one - Huson went on to play 111 North American Hockey League games with the Wild, netting 40 points over two seasons. It was good enough that after his first season with the Wild, Huson decided not to pursue a roster spot in the United States Hockey League, staying in north-central Washington for his 20-year-old season. The bonds he built with his teammates and the atmosphere at Town Toyota Center each night convinced him that becoming a leader in Wenatchee and the conversations he was already having with Division I coaches far outweighed the risks of moving on to an unknown situation elsewhere. "I fell in love with the town, and had a great billet family in Pam and Rodney Arena," said Huson. "The thing that I remember aside from the hockey portion of it, every home game day, I'd go to Smitty's Pancake House and get the same meal. Lorrie Bradley was always there - I'd get the Farmers' Breakfast with the Swedish crepes, and they'd bring me out hot chocolate with whipped cream. It just became my staple for each and every home game, and I miss being able to do that." Playing for the Wild did yield a Division I scholarship to the University of Connecticut, playing alongside former Wenatchee teammate Shawn Pauly. He immediately became a regular in the Huskies' lineup, playing in all 73 games as a freshman and sophomore and picking up a dozen points in those two years. Though he was out of the lineup more often during his final two seasons with the Huskies, he got a chance to witness the growth of the UConn hockey program firsthand, as the program transitioned from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East in 2014. Much of the coaching staff from the transition is still in place, though the program finally reached its first two NCAA tournaments in 2025 and 2026. Being in the UConn program allowed Huson to not only get a good education and build friendships with his teammates, but it allowed him to get his feet wet in broadcasting, handling play-by-play for the school's student station, WHUS-FM. Much of his radio work at UConn was with the school's baseball team, but he was able to join the team for the 2016 Women's Final Four in Indianapolis, as the Huskies earned an unprecedented fourth straight national championship. Broadcasting became a family affair, too - coming out of college, Huson landed an internship with the former Root Sports television network in Denver. His dad Jeff had joined the Colorado Rockies as a color commentator on the team's television broadcasts in 2006, giving the two the chance to once again go to the ballpark together each day, just as they had when Jeff was finishing his playing career with the Cubs. The Frederick Keys minor-league baseball team provided the next opportunity, where Kyle spent two seasons as the Class-A team's Broadcasting, Public Relations & Community Relations Assistant. He added hockey to the list shortly after, joining USA Hockey in its digital content department, as well as contributing to the NHL's social media efforts. He got a front-row seat to several of the country's biggest hockey moments of the early 2020s, providing features and content for three World Junior teams, as well as one trip to the World Championships and the 2022 Paralympic gold medal run, in which the Americans outscored their opponents 30-1. 2021 included a trip to Latvia with the World Championship team featuring former UConn teammate Tage Thompson, as well as the U.S. World Junior team's title, with the entire tournament played in a "bubble" behind closed doors in Edmonton, Alberta. "Being a part of the World Junior team that won gold with Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, Spencer Knight, Alex Turcotte, Brock Faber, that team was stacked," said Huson. "It was so special, because we were sitting in a bubble for a month, and had to quarantine in the hotel for four days before we could even start anything." Today, he works a number of different sports for the University of Wyoming, where his dad was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. A resume that featured mostly basketball and baseball a decade ago now includes sports such as soccer and lacrosse, as well as color commentary for Colorado College hockey television broadcasts. Much of the work that goes into calling Wyoming and Colorado College sporting events happens well beforehand, with several hours of preparation before the cameras and microphones are ever turned on. "You prepare your A material through your Z material, if it's going to be a blowout or not," said Huson. "You have to read the game, too - you can't just be saying something that you want to get in there because you've done this prep on it. You think it's a cool stat, but it has nothing to do with the flow of the game, so I try to keep that in perspective too. Usually, I'll put the kids to bed and I'll just sit and watch TV with my wife and do some prep on the computer for a couple of hours, and pulse that out over a few nights." Huson is still putting his storytelling and digital skills to work, as the digital marketing manager for Cascade Maverik Lacrosse, a sister company to Bauer Hockey in a sport that is widely considered one of America's fastest-growing. He and his wife also have grown their family, with two young children that keep them active. "Among all the craziness, my dream has always been to be a dad, and so I'm living my dream right now, even when they're fussy," said Huson. "Being with them and watching them grow, the personality that my son is starting to get at three years old, everything is so special and I feel really blessed to be in the position in life where I'm at."]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-alumnus-emerson-signs-first-professional-contract-with-ahls-abbotsford-canucks Fri, 17 Jul 2026 22:03:26 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-alumnus-emerson-signs-first-professional-contract-with-ahls-abbotsford-canucks ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are pleased to announce that alumnus Quinn Emerson has signed his first professional contract, joining the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks for the 2026-27 season on a one-year contract. Emerson played two years for the organization during Wenatchee’s time in the British Columbia Hockey League. The native of Manhattan Beach, California recently graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio after an outstanding four-year NCAA Division I career that saw him lead the team in scoring as a senior with 33 points. He piled up 136 games in a Bowling Green uniform over his four years, missing only eight games in his tenure with the Falcons and scoring 65 points in his NCAA career. He was one of only 88 players to be nominated for this year’s Hobey Baker Award, which is awarded annually to the top player in NCAA hockey. During his 2019-20 season in Wenatchee, the forward totaled eight goals and eight assists over 53 regular-season games, leading the Wild to the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup playoffs. After spending his 2020-21 campaign in the North American Hockey League with the Lone Star Brahmas, he returned to the Wild in 2021-22 and racked up 14 goals and 23 assists before departing for the college ranks. He briefly held Wenatchee’s Junior A record with seven goals in a single playoff series during the 2021-22 postseason. He joins an Abbotsford club only a year removed from its first AHL Calder Cup championship. Last year’s team finished ninth in the AHL’s Pacific Division and out of the Calder Cup playoff race for the first time in its five-year history. The Wenatchee Wild congratulate Quinn Emerson for signing his first professional contract with the Abbotsford Canucks, and wish him continued success as he begins the next stage of his hockey career.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-draft-picks-mcmillan-morrison-eligible-for-34-games-in-2026-27 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:09:20 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-draft-picks-mcmillan-morrison-eligible-for-34-games-in-2026-27 WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2011-born forward Parker McMillan and defenseman Jevin Morrison will be eligible to play 34 games during the 2026-27 season under Hockey Canada’s Western Canadian Development Model (WCDM). The 34-game limit equates to one-half of a WHL regular season in the two players’ 15-year-old seasons. McMillan, Wenatchee’s second overall selection in this year’s WHL Prospects Draft, excelled at Yale Hockey Academy of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) last season – the Surrey, British Columbia native piled up 91 points in 25 regular-season games with the school’s Under-15 Prep team before adding 10 points in three outings at the CSSHL Western Championships in Penticton, British Columbia. McMillan was right at home in limited action with Yale Academy’s U18 team, posting a goal and an assist in four regular-season contests, and a goal and two assists in two games at the U18 Western Championships. He was named the U15 Prep division’s Most Valuable Player and Top Forward. It was his second straight year earning CSSHL hardware, after landing a spot on last season’s U15 Prep Rookie All-Star team for its British Columbia and United States-based members. Morrison was Wenatchee’s fifth overall selection in the Prospects Draft, and made an impression on his competition in Alberta, coming to the Wild from the Red Deer Rebels AAA club. The Sylvan Lake, Alberta product showcased his skills at both ends of the ice, rolling up 17 goals and 47 assists in 24 games with the Rebels U15 squad, followed by 12 points in nine Alberta Elite Hockey League playoff games. After leading his Red Deer group to an AEHL U15 title in 2025, his team nearly repeated the feat this year, dropping an overtime decision to the Lethbridge Golden Hawks in the provincial final. His 64 points this season led all AEHL U15 blueliners, and earned him a spot on the division’s First All-Star Team. This past May, the two players became the WHL franchise’s highest draft picks since its first spring in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2019. That spring, the former Winnipeg ICE selected current National Hockey League forwards Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie with the first and second overall picks in the WHL Prospects Draft. The 2026-27 season begins on September 19, with a home game against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Season tickets are on sale now by phone at 509-888-7825, or by visiting the team office at Town Toyota Center, and single-game tickets are set to go on sale in August. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-forwards-miles-brown-named-to-hockey-canadas-program-of-excellence Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:46:52 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wenatchee-forwards-miles-brown-named-to-hockey-canadas-program-of-excellence WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce that 2010-born forwards Kalen Miles and Riley Brown have been invited to take part in Hockey Canada’s national Under-17 Development Camp as part of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. The pair were two of 80 players nationwide named to the U17 camp, all of whom have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League clubs. The U17 camp is viewed as an opportunity to introduce top Canadian players to the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence, and allow them to compete against other top players in the country while being evaluated for inclusion on this year’s U17 World Challenge roster. The 2026 U17 World Challenge is scheduled for November 1 to 7 in Oakville, Ontario and will feature two Canadian teams and four other international squads. A Canadian team has won the tournament four of the last five years, with the two Canadian rosters facing off against each other in the last two championship games. Wenatchee defenseman Boston Tait participated in last year’s tournament with the Canada Red squad, picking up six assists and serving as an alternate captain as his team knocked off Canada White 6-3 to claim gold. Miles made an outstanding impression in his first Wenatchee outings last season, posting two goals and two assists in his first six WHL games. The 10^th overall pick in last year’s WHL Prospects Draft, his Teddy Bear Toss goal on December 14 against the Everett Silvertips was his first marker with the Wild, while his second goal on March 20 against Everett would be the game-winner that evening. Miles would go on to earn points in four of his first six WHL games. The Edmonton, Alberta product also made a strong case with his play at Northern Alberta Xtreme in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), posting 36 points in 30 regular-season games for NAX’s U18 Prep team before notching seven more in six games at the league’s Western Championships in Penticton, British Columbia. NAX would finish second at the Western Championships, and Miles was named to the circuit’s Prairie Division All-Freshman Team. Miles impressed in tournament play last season as well, finishing with seven points in five games at the WHL Cup against other top Western Canadian players. He helped his Alberta team take a bronze medal in the tournament, and fired off three goals and two assists against British Columbia in his final round-robin outing of the tournament. Brown was Wenatchee’s second-round WHL Prospects Draft pick last year, going with the 33^rd overall selection in the WHL Prospects Draft. Though he did not appear in a regular-season game for the Wild, he displayed his talents throughout the season on the Saskatchewan provincial circuit, picking up 10 goals and 15 assists in 29 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 AAA team. The Milestone, Saskatchewan native added nine points in 13 playoff games, helping Moose Jaw reach a decisive Game 5 of the Saskatchewan Under-18 Male AAA Hockey League final. The Wenatchee Wild congratulate Kalen Miles and Riley Brown on their selections to Canada’s Under-17 national development camp, and wish them all success in their quest to represent Team Canada on the international stage.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-announce-trade-with-tri-city-americans-2 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:17:29 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/wild-announce-trade-with-tri-city-americans-2 WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild have announced a trade with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL), acquiring a pair of future WHL Prospects Draft selections in exchange for 2010-born forward Owen Kraft. The Wild will receive Tri-City’s third-round pick in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft, and the Americans’ third-round pick in the 2029 Prospects Draft originally assigned to the Seattle Thunderbirds. A native of Moorhead, Minnesota, Kraft was selected by the Wild in the second round of the 2025 U.S. Priority Draft, and has played primarily for the last two seasons with the Moorhead Bantam AA program in his home state. The Wenatchee Wild wish Owen Kraft all future success as he continues his development in the sport.]]> https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/former-wild-goaltender-jensen-helping-nait-women-achieve-goals-of-their-own Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:25:12 +0000 Austin Draude https://chl.ca/whl-wild/article/former-wild-goaltender-jensen-helping-nait-women-achieve-goals-of-their-own EDMONTON, Alberta - As a junior hockey player, Brendan Jensen's task was to stop goals from being achieved. 16 years later, his focus has changed to helping goals of a different kind come true. Jensen grew up in El Granada, California, on the Pacific coast between San Francisco and San Jose - he first skated shortly after his sixth birthday, but his start in hockey came earlier than perhaps any other player who has put on a Wild uniform. His first exposure to the sport came as a newborn, attending a San Jose Sharks game at the Cow Palace in nearby Daly City, a building that last hosted a National Hockey League game in 1993. His parents instilled plenty of competitive spirit, Midwestern grit, and his love for hockey - his dad, Lars, served as the head wrestling coach at San Francisco State University for 33 years, leading the program to the school's only NCAA Division II team championship in 1997. His mom, Chanda, took care of the hockey and the Midwestern roots, growing up on a farm and attending games in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Kalamazoo, Michigan. "My mom was the driving influence there," said Jensen. "She went to Western Michigan, and obviously went to a few hockey games there. When the Sharks came around, my dad was involved in a pretty physical contact sport - they went a few times, and that kind of spurred it when I was a little guy. I went to my first wrestling meet when I was a month old, and I guess I went to my first Sharks game when I was two weeks old. Being a Sharks fan and growing up in that environment of California hockey - and that Gretzky era, too - definitely helped." After climbing through the Bay Area ranks, the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants spotted the young goaltender and selected him with their sixth-round pick in the league's 2008 Bantam Draft. After spending one more year at the AAA level with the Los Angeles Selects, he moved full-time into juniors, splitting his first season between the Giants and Wenatchee. Jensen won his first three starts and shut out the Prince George Cougars for the last of those wins, but those three wins were followed by three losses, and a reassignment to Wenatchee. At just 16 years old, he could not be placed with a Canadian team, and the move to the Wild allowed him to play for an American team close enough for his WHL club to keep tabs on him. The move was a good one for all involved - for Wenatchee, bringing in Jensen represented a natural swap after eventual NHL draft pick Mac Carruth moved on to join the WHL's Portland Winterhawks the previous offseason. Jensen joined the North American Hockey League club during a trip to Alaska just before Thanksgiving, and promptly earned an overtime win in his first start. Two weeks later, he stopped 22 shots in shutting out the St. Louis Bandits, who had edged the Wild for a national championship the previous season. He would win six of his first seven starts in Wenatchee, and nabbed wins in three of four appearances in the Robertson Cup playoffs, to go with a sterling 1.63 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. The team would win the NAHL's regular-season championship before winning the West Division playoff title, earning its way into the Robertson Cup championship tournament despite earning an automatic bid by hosting the tournament. "That division was pretty interesting," said Jensen. "I remember an extended road trip where we played the three teams in Alaska, and then went down to Texas and played in the same month. Being a 16-year-old in school, that was interesting to navigate. I have fond memories of going to school there, and with the community and fan base, almost every night it felt like it was a sellout. It was a neat environment to play in as a 16-year-old." Vancouver happily brought Jensen back the following season, where he added eight more wins to his total. He tacked on his final two WHL wins early in 2011-12 with the Giants before winning 16 games for the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Spruce Grove Saints and helping them reach the semifinals that spring. The 2012-13 season was even better, winning 23 games for the United States Hockey League's Fargo Force. That group proved nearly impossible to put away in the Clark Cup playoffs, winning a pair of five-game victories against the Waterloo Black Hawks and Sioux Falls Stampede before being dispatched in three straight by a Dubuque Fighting Saints team that featured three future NHL players. "That was another special group," said Jensen. "We won a Game 5 against Waterloo, a really talented team with a couple of future NHLers like us in Fargo. We played in Sioux Falls before the new arena, which was like playing in a barn - it was pretty tight. It felt like if they shot it from the other blue line, it would be a pretty good scoring chance." After winning six games with Fargo to round out his junior career, Jensen battled simply to get ice time the following two seasons, stuck behind talented goaltenders at both the University of Manitoba and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. After playing just three games for NAIT during the program's perfect run to the 2016 Alberta Collegiate Athletic Conference crown, he nearly won them another title the following year, winning 18 games on the way to an ACAC Player of the Year honor and a return to the conference final. Jensen took a one-year sabbatical from college hockey, earning a cup of coffee in the pros with the Southern Professional Hockey League's Evansville Thunderbolts. It was a brief one, playing only in a pair of early-season games, but he says his exposure to pro hockey set him up well for the second half of his collegiate career. "I think that's everybody's dream, to play professional hockey," said Jensen. "I didn't play nearly well enough there, but I think it's a cool experience if anybody can try to play pro. It's another good learning experience. I enjoyed my time - I was there in a couple of different stints, being there in training camp and getting cut, and then coming back and playing right away, and then soaking in the experience before getting cut again. It made me realize that I needed to get my degree, so that's one of the reasons I came back to NAIT to get my final two years, but I definitely got some growth from it too." While he worked on getting his degree, he also set to work on frustrating the ACAC's best players - his 2.08 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 2018-19 both ranked second in the ACAC, as did his 1.90 goals-against average and .933 save percentage the following year. Before wrapping up his playing career, Jensen caught the coaching bug as well, helping the St. Albert Flyers win Alberta's minor midget provincial title in 2019. His varied coaching experiences - an assistant at West Fargo High School in North Dakota, state and district evaluation camps for USA Hockey, Pure Goaltending camps and assisting the NAIT women during their COVID season, just to name a few - helped him to see the game in a lot of different ways and prepared him for his next opportunity with the Ooks. "To be able to understand [the game] at the youth level, and to be able to teach small skills that especially at this level, I might take for granted as a head coach is huge," said Jensen. "We still run a pretty big hockey school here, started by Perry Pearn back in the day. We usually have 250 to 275 young kids right before we get camp started. Over the course of three weeks. Those developmental tools are on full display there, and then getting involved at West Fargo High School and working all the way up there has really helped. Then again, in St. Albert before I got the assistant's job here, getting my feet wet as a coach and learning those ropes at the U16 AAA level that they used to have up here in Alberta, has helped me." His next opportunity with the Ooks is also his current opportunity, as he gets set to begin his sixth season as NAIT's head women's coach. He takes a 76-34 record out of his first five years with the program, finishing in the conference's top three in all five seasons, and credits a strong support structure and good mentors at NAIT for helping him ease into his role as the program's head coach. The Ooks' goaltenders in particular have benefited from Jensen's experience at their position - second-year netminder Jorja Imrie finished second in the ACAC with a .935 save percentage this past year, splitting time with third-year goaltender Ella Howard, who represented Great Britain in the country's bid to qualify for the 2026 Olympics in Italy. The women's game itself is enjoying a surge in popularity following the Milan Olympics and the Professional Women's Hockey League's third season - more than 7.7 million Americans watched the United States defeat Canada in overtime for the Olympic gold medal, while the PWHL expanded from eight teams to 12 for the upcoming season amid record-breaking attendance figures leaguewide. Jensen and his fellow coaches are especially excited for the ongoing growth of the women's game, knowing that growth also means more opportunities for the women they've coached to showcase their skills. "It's awesome to see the investment, and to see women's hockey really take off," said Jensen. "I've been to a couple of those (PWHL) Takeover Tour games here in Edmonton, and seeing a sold-out Rogers Place is unbelievable. The city's been really dying for a team to come up here, and to see it grow and expand as rapidly as it has is definitely much-needed. To see it grow and expand as rapidly as it has, it's definitely much-needed. It leads to further opportunities for the student-athletes that I coach every day, and for my coaching staff. Those expanded opportunities are huge, and it's been a long time coming."]]>