Winnipeg Jets have announced on Wednesday that they have agreed on a contract extension with their forward Nikolay Ehlers. The 7-year extension Ehlers signed is worth $42 million according to the Jets official Twitter account.
#NHLJets agree to terms with forward @NikolajEhlers24 on a 7-year contract extension for $42 million.
READ >> https://t.co/1fHuXuwCyI pic.twitter.com/p63MMTvGs5
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 4, 2017
“This team, this organization, this city. Everything. From day one I was happy here,” said Ehlers for Jets’ official site. “Everyone helped me getting settled from the start. It’s amazing playing in front of all these fans. Winnipeg as a city is amazing. They love their hockey. I couldn’t see any reason to not want to stay here for the long term.“
After Ehlers signed the extension, team’s head coach Paul Maurice went on to praise the progress he has made.
“He’s made a huge jump from the end of last year. His training camp this year was really solid in terms of how many times you have to correct where he is on the ice,” said Maurice. “He’s picking it up. He gets it, he’s heard it enough times now.”
Although born in Denmark, Nikolaj Ehlers spent his youth and junior hockey career playing in Switzerland. He made his pro debut in the Switzerland’s National League A at age 16, thus becoming the youngest player in the league at the time. In the 2013-2014 season, Ehlers played for Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before declaring for 2014 NHL Draft where he was drafted as 9th overall by Winnipeg Jets. Jets signed him to a 3-year entry level contract. He spent the 2014-2015 season playing again for Halifax Mooseheads, finishing the season as Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s third-best scorer. He had even better run in the playoffs, finishing as the top scorer, having 31 points in just 14 games. After being recalled by the Jets, Ehlers recorded 38 points in 72 games as a rookie, and 64 points in 82 games in his second season.
