Steven Allan Jensen (April 14, 1955 – November 29, 2022) was an American professional ice hockey player[1] and owner and director of Heartland Hockey Camps.[2] Jensen was an offensive player who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976–82. For the past 39 years, Jensen has served as founding owner and director of the Heartland Hockey Camp located in Deerwood, Minnesota and is now a full-time teaching professional with more than 30 years of instruction experience, including 12 years of experience playing International and NHL hockey, five U.S. National Teams, and the 1976 Canada Cup.
Steve Jensen | |||
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![]() Jensen, U.S. Olympic Hockey Team 1976 | |||
Born |
(1955-04-14)April 14, 1955 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
Died | November 29, 2022(2022-11-29) (aged 67) | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
Position | Left wing | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Minnesota North Stars Los Angeles Kings | ||
National team |
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NHL Draft |
58th overall, 1975 Minnesota North Stars | ||
WHA Draft |
64th overall, 1974 Vancouver Blazers | ||
Playing career | 1975–1986 |
As a hockey player at Armstrong High School, in Plymouth, Minnesota, Jensen was an All-State performer. At the college level, he was a participant in 2 NCAA championship games, helping win the National Championship, in 1975, while playing at Michigan Tech. For two consecutive years, Jensen was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. As a freshman at MTU, Jensen was awarded the Matovich Top Student/Athlete Award
Jensen started his professional career in his hometown with the Minnesota North Stars and in 1977, he helped make history, the Minnesota North Stars becoming the first team in NHL to have four rookies score 20 or more goals. He then played four years with the Los Angeles Kings, where he became only the fifth American in NHL history to score more than 100 career goals. During the 1980–81 and 1981-82 NHL seasons Jensen was the active leading goal scoring American in the NHL.[3] After retiring from the NHL, Jensen played four seasons playing and coaching in the professional leagues of Switzerland and Austria. During the 1983-84 Swiss-2 season, while playing for EVZ in Zug, Jensen became the only hockey player in Swiss history to score seven goals in a pro game. During his two seasons, as a player in Switzerland, he had 61 goals in 56 games.
Steve also had extensive experience in international hockey. As a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team,[4] he led the team in goal scoring with 52 goals. During the 1976 Olympic Games, in Innsbruck, Austria, Steve was tied with Russia's Vladimir Shadrin, with six goals in six games, to lead the tournament in goals scored. During the 1976 World Ice Hockey Championships, in Katowice three months after the Olympics, Poland, Jensen led Team USA in scoring with four goals and five assists in nine games. Jensen was also on the preliminary roster of the 1979 Team USA World Championship, in Vienna, Austria and 1981 Canada Cup teams, but declined the invitation in order to operate his summer hockey camp business. Jensen did play for the U.S. National Team, winning the Pool B 1983 Ice_Hockey World Championships, in Tokyo, Japan.
Season | Age | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
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1975-76 | 20 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 19 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -5 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 14.3 | ||
1976-77 | 21 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 78 | 22 | 23 | 45 | -6 | 62 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 160 | 13.8 | ||
1977-78 | 22 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 13 | 17 | 30 | -30 | 73 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 9.8 | ||
1978-79 | 23 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 72 | 23 | 8 | 31 | -28 | 57 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 114 | 20.2 | ||
1979-80 | 24 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 76 | 21 | 15 | 36 | -39 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 149 | 14.1 | ||
1980-81 | 25 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 74 | 19 | 19 | 38 | -6 | 88 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 118 | 16.1 | ||
1981-82 | 26 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 45 | 8 | 19 | 27 | -14 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 10.3 | ||
Career | 7 Seasons | NHL | 438 | 113 | 107 | 220 | -128 | 318 | 89 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 800 | 14.1 |
Season | Age | Team | Lg | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | S | S% | TOI | ATOI |
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1973-74 | 18 | Mich. Tech Huskies | WCHA | 40 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 32 | |||||||||
1974-75 | 19 | Mich. Tech Huskies | WCHA | 41 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 18 | |||||||||
1974-75 | 19 | United States | NAT_TM | 17 | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
1974-75 | 19 | United States | WEC-A | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
1975-76 | 20 | United States | NAT_TM | 64 | 52 | 44 | 96 | 42 | |||||||||
1975-76 | 20 | United States | OLYMPICS | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
1975-76 | 20 | United States | WEC-A | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | |||||||||
1976-77 | 21 | United States | CAN-CUP | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
1977-78 | 22 | Fort Worth Texans | CHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
1977-78 | 21 | United States | WEC-A | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
1981-82 | 26 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | |||||||||
1984-85 | 29 | EV Zug | Swiss-2 | 36 | 38 | 19 | 57 | ||||||||||
1985-86 | 30 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |||||||||
Career | 2 Seasons | AHL | 18 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 6 | ||||||||||
Career | 1 Seasons | CAN-CUP | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
Career | 1 Seasons | CHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
Career | 2 Seasons | NAT-TM | 81 | 56 | 45 | 101 | 42 | ||||||||||
Career | 1 Seasons | OLYMPICS | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||
Career | 1 Seasons | SWISS-2 | 36 | 38 | 19 | 57 | |||||||||||
Career | 2 Seasons | WCHA | 81 | 33 | 41 | 74 | 50 | ||||||||||
Career | 3 Seasons | WEC-A | 26 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 12 |
Jensen served USA Hockey for 17 years as a certified hockey official. From 1985 to 1998, he officiated over 1,500 USA youth hockey games. He served as the Head Scout, of the USA Hockey SE Region, for the Aberdeen Wings, a member of the North American Hockey League.
Jensen was the first Minnesota-born hockey player to attend Michigan Tech on a scholarship. He worked for CBS Sports as a color commentator during the 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs, and had a brief appearance in the 1981 film Airplane II. In 1985, he became the first entrepreneur to privately own an ice arena in the state of Minnesota
The Heartland Hockey Camp, which Jensen founded in 1985, was named Small Business Success Story, by Twin Cities Business Magazine, in 2009.[8]
Steve Jensen was the cousin of David Jensen and the uncle of Washington Capitals blue-liner Nick Jensen.
Jensen died on November 29, 2022, at the age of 67.[9]
Award | Year | |
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All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1974, 1975 | [10] |
NHL Network (1975–1979) | |||||||
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