USHL: QA with Jake Hansen

Columbus Blue Jackets third-round pick Jake Hansen is averaging nearly a point-per-game heading into the USHL's break for Christmas. The 18-year-old Sioux Falls Stampede winger has especially turned it up of late, scoring five goals and one assist in his last three games. McKeen's recently had an opportunity to talk with Hansen and discussed his play of late with Sioux Falls Stampede, his split season in 2006-07, being drafted by Columbus, high school hockey with White Bear Lake, his commitment to the University of Minnesota, and modeling his game after the Finnish Flash and Peter the Great.

McKeen's: I noticed looking at the stats the last three games that you are on a goal-scoring tear. Tell me a bit about that streak.

Hansen: The team was struggling. We weren't winning games, so coach [Kevin Hartzell] decided to change the lines up. He decided to move Jack Connolly with me and Connolly's the best playmaker I've ever played with. He just finds me in the slot. He's one of the main reasons I got hot there, starting in Sioux City, he fed two passes to me and I scored on both of them. That continued against Cedar Rapids, he found me twice. He's such a good player and it's been fun to play with him. He's been helping out a lot because he can dish the puck so well.

McKeen's: I also noticed in that last game against Cedar Rapids that you had a Gordie Howe hat trick. Tell me about that.

Hansen: The kid asked me to fight in warm-ups. So, I was thinking about it. I was like, "All right, I might as well do it. It's good to get the fight done before Christmas Break." So I asked my coach and he said, "That's fine." So, we started out and I gave a pass to Gabe [Guentzel] up on the point, we were on the powerplay right away, and Gabe took a shot, kind of a lucky shot, through traffic, went it. So that was the first assist. And then the second goal, the rebound came right back to me, put it on the backhand, scored, and we were up 2-0. So then, coach told me, "I don't want you to fight." Then the kid asked me to go. So he (Hartzell) was like, "Just wait until the end of the game if we need momentum or something." Then they scored back-to-back goals and then I asked him if I could do it, and he said, "That's fine." So, then I dropped the gloves for the Gordie Howe hat trick.

McKeen's: I saw that was against David Boehm, is that right?

Hansen: Yeah.

McKeen's: Did he give any indication; I guess it is interesting that he called you out during warm-ups. What did he say?

Hansen: He just asked if we were going tonight. He asked me at the Fall Classic to go, I guess he was looking, he wanted to get his first tilt out of the way, he was asking me. I just didn't want to do it because we were down by one goal and I wanted to play. Coach just told me to stay out of it. Then finally, he asked me. We kind of had issues, we had some rough stuff during the second game that we played, when we played them two weekends ago. We talked about it, and basically, he was just tripping and finally he just asked me to go and I just said, "Yeah, let's do it."

McKeen's: How do you feel you fared?

Hansen: Oh, it was good, it was a fun fight. It was a good 45-second fight. He went nuts, he threw a lot of punches, just went crazy at the start and I just held him off with my right hand and then as soon as he got tired, I just started throwing left bombs.

McKeen's: You are off to a good start this year with 13 goals and 9 assists in 23 games. How much did playing a split season last year help you transition into this year?

Hansen: Oh, it helped a lot. I mean, coming down from high school season, the speed, the skill, the toughness is so much more. I came down and was a third-liner and it really kind of developed my all-around game, because coming down here, you know you've got to play defense if you want to play. So, it was a huge help for me to come down here and start to have a somewhat good start to the season.

McKeen's: Playing that split season last year, the playoffs and eventually winning the Clark Cup, how was that experience as a split-season player, having not played the majority of the season there. Was it awkward at all?

Hansen: No, I was there long enough where I could make friendships and hang out with some of the guys and like I said, make friendships. It was kind of a treat for me, because I go from high school and I go here and I win the biggest trophy in the USHL. So, I can't complain.

McKeen's: The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted you in the third round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. How did you find that out and what was your reaction when you did?

Hansen: Well, I mean, I knew I was going to get drafted, it was just where it was going to be and what team I was going to go to. So, it was kind of nice, because it kind of puts confidence in yourself, showing the hard work that you've done and stuff. So, I was pretty excited to get drafted. I didn't know I was going to get drafted by Columbus, because they were one of the teams I didn't really talk to. I just talked at the Combine once, so it was nice. It's a good organization to be a part of and I'm excited to hopefully get there and keep working to get there to my goal, the NHL.

McKeen's: You mentioned the Combine. What was that experience like?

Hansen: It was great. It's just amazing to see just the talent around you and the different players, the Russians, the Swedes, it was pretty exciting. The workout was hard but it was kind of interesting to see the teams talk to you and the questions they asked and the perspectives they go from in how they're going to pick you and stuff.

McKeen's: Any teams ask you any off-the-wall questions.

Hansen: Some of them just asked like they asked me about my old teammates, like Brad Malone, who played on the team last year and they asked me, "Who should we pick: You or him?" So, it's kind of tough, because Brad's one of my good friends. What do you say to that?

McKeen's: At what point did you learn that you might be drafted? Was that something that came up prior to the Combine or during your junior year?

Hansen: No, during the Elite League, I talked to my Elite League coach and he was like, "You might have a good chance of getting drafted." Then, all of the sudden, the mid-rankings came out and I was ranked, like, 80th. It was a big surprise. It was like, "Wow, I could get drafted this year." I just kept on excelling and playing well and kept on moving up. So, I have no complaints. I'm happy.

McKeen's: What are some of the things that Columbus has told you to work on and what parts of your game do they like?

Hansen: They like my grittiness. I'm a goal scorer, that's why they said they picked me, because they know I can score goals, I'm a playmaker. So, one thing they just said to work on was getting in the weight room and don't take anything for granted and just keep working, giving 100 percent. They said, basically, focus on the weight room, get stronger.

McKeen's: Tell me a little bit more about some of the strengths of your game. I have noticed you definitely have some good speed.

Hansen: Yeah, just my grittiness, my toughness, to be down low. I love … behind the net is my favorite part to be in. Scoring goals is great, but it's also nice to set up your linemates, giving them a nice pass, but I love being down low. I love battling down low and I love being on the powerplay, too. It's fun to work it and make pretty plays.

McKeen's: I have noticed that you sometimes play the point on the powerplay. Is that something you did in high school or is that something more recently with Sioux Falls?

Hansen: High school, yeah. It was something they did. They (Sioux Falls) want me to use my shot and my vision to find people and just taking it and moving it. It gives them a different perspective, because you've got a forward up top. So, it kind of gets them a little confused and you can move it around a little more. But, it's just nice, because we have four great forwards, Jack Connolly, [Nick] Dineen, and [David] Grun, and so it's kind of nice to put me out there and we can just move it around and try and catch them off guard.

McKeen's: You committed to Minnesota a little over a year ago. Although it might be somewhat obvious, what made you decide on Minnesota and what other schools were under consideration?

Hansen: It was basically, almost all of the WCHA schools. I talked to schools out East, but basically it came down to North Dakota and Minnesota. I visited North Dakota and visited Minnesota, and I'm close to home, and [Don] Lucia, and John Hill, and Mike Guentzel, they're probably the best coaches in the WCHA. I couldn't complain. I know they develop great NHL players and I think that they have a great coaching staff. I think with the Gophers, they like to play with more skill, they kind of let you run around a little more in the offensive zone and that's something that really intrigued me in going there.

McKeen's: What was the recruiting process like that coach Lucia and the Gophers staff led you through?

Hansen: First, they started with e-mails and then just talking over the phone, and then basically talking to them after every Elite weekend, just saying that they've been watching me and that they're going to keep an eye on me. Then, I kept on playing good and it came down to, "We want you to come and visit," and "we're going to give you a scholarship." Then we visited there and then they put the money on the table for me (in the form of a scholarship), so it was just a decision on what school I wanted to go to more.

McKeen's: You had a standout year in high school last year that most people know about or can read about, but tell me about your hockey prior to your junior year.

Hansen: Sophomore year was a great year. We started the year ranked first or second in the state, we just had a rough start. The team wasn't clicking and I just came on at the end of the year, and that's actually when I first started talking to the Gophers. I had played on the second line at the start and then toward the end they decided to put the three power forwards together, me, Grun, and [Tony] Roth, and it was pretty quick. We made a good run for it; we just couldn't get past Hill-Murray in section championship.

McKeen's: Did you play in the White Bear Lake system growing up?

Hansen: Yep, White Bear the whole way up.

McKeen's: I saw on the Stampede's website that your favorite player is Teemu Selanne. How long has he been your favorite player and why?

Hansen: It's been, like Teemu Selanne and [Peter] Forsberg, but what really intrigued me about Selanne in his last two years, I loved how he played. He's so smooth. He's so calm with the puck. He never hesitates. He always trusts what he's doing. His body language is so good and he's just so good with the puck, and he just has such great vision. That's why I love watching him play.

McKeen's: So you like modeling yourself after players like that?

Hansen: Yeah.