Nikolaj “Fly” Ehlers WW publication 6

Elijah

WW

May 17, 2021

Mr. Ewert

Nikolaj “Fly” Ehlers

Schiefele, Wheeler, Hellebuyck, Connor, and Dubois. Those are the names that come to mind when you think of the Winnipeg Jets. Often overlooked is Nikolaj “Fly” Ehlers. Ehlers was welcomed by his family, which includes Heinz (father), Tina (mother), Sebastian (brother) and Caroline (sister), on February 14th, 1996, in Aalborg, Denmark.

At a young age he moved to Germany. Then in 2013 he moved to North America for the QMJHL.

His father, Heinz, played hockey in Europe and was selected by the New York Rangers in the NHL draft, but never played a game in the NHL. Sebastian, his brother, is currently playing in the top league in Denmark.

Ehlers played  youth and junior hockey in Switzerland with EHCL Biel. He was drafted sixth overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in the CHL import draft. He played two seasons with the Mooseheads and put up 86  goals and 205 points in 114 games. He was then taken 9th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2014 NHL draft. In his first NHL season he put up 15 goals and 38 points in 72 games. He improved the next year with 25 goals and 64 points in 82 games. The next season he dropped to 60 points, but he had 29 goals that year.

The next season he only played 62 games, resulting in a career low 37 points, however, still reaching 21 goals.

Last year, in the Covid shortened season, he hit 58 points in 71 games; on track for a career high when COVID hit. If you look at his recent stats, he is scoring more and assisting less, showing he is growing into the Jets go-to goal scoring role.

This year he would have hit his career best if it was a full season. He had 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games. His full career stats are 416 games played, 136 goals, and 303 points. He also has a +49 (which means that he has been on the ice for 49 more goals that his team scored than how many the other team scored), showing he can play at both sides of the ice.

Nikolaj Ehlers is extremely underrated. The 6ft, 172 lb forward is widely considered one of the most underrated players in the NHL. In fact, in a series of polls conducted by Hockey Ranks (@hockey.ranks, Instagram), he was found to be tied for the third most underrated player in the NHL, and NHL on NBC calls him “One of the leagues most underrated players for a few years now.”

Ehlers has won many awards and had many achievements but he is not getting  recognition for it. He was rookie of the year in the QMJHL, won the QMJHL’s top professional prospect, the World Junior A challenge MVP, the first all star team in the QMJHL, he is already 5th in the Jets 2.0 franchise points. Even though he has played 100-300 games less than everyone above him, he played a huge role in the Jets  Western Conference Final run in 17-18 scoring 7 points in 15 games, and he has finished 3rd, 5th, 6th, 3rd, 4th, and 7th in Jets scoring in each of his past seasons since he joined the NHL.

He finished 37th in the NHL in points in the 20-21 season, and that may not sound great, but remember, there is over 900 players who play a game in the NHL per season, and about 540 who will play about a full season. So, that is pretty good.

I like him because he is a very good shooter and he scores a lot. He also plays a two hundred foot game with speed, and so I want to model my game after him. I think the way he plays makes him a very likeable player.

That is the story of Nikolaj “Fly” Ehlers. I hope you have learned about him.

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) celebrates his third period goal as Colorado Avalanche's Tyson Barrie (4) looks… | Jets hockey, Winnipeg jets, Nhl hockey jerseys

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