Nikolaj Ehlers

Playing career

Switzerland

Ehlers played youth and junior hockey in Switzerland within the EHC Biel organization. He played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Swiss Eastern team. He made his National League A debut at age 16 (and was thus the youngest player in the league at the time), playing with the senior EHC Biel squad during the 2012–13 NLA season, one which he predominantly spent playing with the U20 team. As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Ehlers gained Patrick Kane and Tyler Seguin as his linemates with Biel. He later reflected that the two NHL players played a large role in convincing him to come to Canada and play for their junior teams, where he found much success.

Major junior

His play in Switzerland earned him attention in North America and he was eventually drafted sixth overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in the 2013 CHL Import Draft. Prior to joining the Mooseheads, Ehlers spoke with fellow Danes Oliver Bjorkstrand and Mikkel Bødker to prepare himself for the change. Ehlers made an immediate impact in the CHL while starting off playing on a line with Brent Andrews and Andrew Ryan. Through the first 16 games of the season, Ehlers led all rookies with eight goals and nine assists. Although he had missed some games due to the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Ehlers continued to lead all rookies with 56 points through 38 games. As a result, he was ranked 22nd among North American skaters eligible for the 2014 NHL entry draft in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's (CSS) mid-term rankings. He was also selected to participate in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and was named an alternate captain for Team Orr. Through February and early March, Ehlers recorded three hat-tricks in consecutive games while also maintaining an eight game multi-point streak to accumulate 47 goals and 50 assists in 59 games. He finished his rookie season on a 14-game point streak and finished the regular season with 104 points in 63 games for the Mooseheads. As a result of his outstanding rookie season, Ehlers received the RDS Cup as Rookie of the Year and Michael Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL's Top Prospect. He was also named to the QMJHL's Second All-Star Team and Rookie All-Star Team.

Ahead of the 2014 NHL entry draft, Ehlers was ranked 13th among North American skaters by the CSS and 10th by Bob McKenzie of The Sports Network. He also earned high rankings from Corey Pronman of ESPN for his skating, puck handling, and playmaking. Leading up to the draft, NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr also praised Ehlers quickness and playmaking abilities. When speaking of Ehlers, Marr said: "He's proven to be a skilled forward who can work some magic. He's got that quickness where he can separate from a check and get to the net. He's got soft hands and passes with authority, is a clever playmaker and very unselfish. Most teams are viewing him as a first-round candidate." Ehlers was eventually drafted in the first round, ninth overall, by the Winnipeg Jets.

Following the draft, Ehlers was encouraged by the Jets' coaching staff to add weight and muscle ahead of the 2014–15 season as he weighed only 163 pounds. On 2 September, Ehlers signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Jets with an annual average value of $1.625 million. Following the signing, he then participated in the 2014 Young Stars Classic where he notched four points in the two games, including the game-winner. Ehlers played in six preseason games with the Jets, scoring one goal and two assists, before returning to the Mooseheads for the 2014–15 season. Upon rejoining the Mooseheads, Ehlers was named an alternate captain alongside Austyn Hardie and captain Ryan Falkenham. In this new role, Ehlers immediately returned to his rookie-year form and recorded 32 points throughout 11 games in November. In this time span, he also recorded five goals and eight assists over three games and was subsequently honoured with the CHL Player of the Week ending on 30 November. In December, Ehlers again missed time to represent Denmark at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. In his first game back from the tournament, Ehlers recorded four points to lead the Mooseheads 6–3 over the Gatineau Olympiques on 9 January 2015. He continued to collect points through January and February to best Jonathan Drouin's 29 game points-streak record set in 2012–13. On 17 February, Ehlers tallied two assists to maintain a points streak of 30 games dating back to 29 October. He also became the fourth player since 2000 to have a streak of 30 games, joining Radim Vrbata, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Radulov. Ehlers earned his second CHL Player of the Week honour on 10 March after he recorded five goals and seven assists for 12 points over three games against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Charlottetown Islanders, and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Ehlers finished his sophomore season with 37 goals and 64 assists for 101 points through 51 games. He was nominated for two awards, including the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player, but ultimately only won the Paul Dumont Trophy as the QMJHL's "Personality of the Year." He was also named to the QMJHL's First All-Star Team for the first time in his career.

Professional

Following the conclusion of his junior career, Ehlers spent the summer bulking up and joined the Jets' training camp 15 pounds heavier. Although this was recommended by the Jets' coaching staff, Ehlers stated that he was not used to skating at such a heavy weight and was still adjusting. At the age of 19, he was the youngest player on the Jets' opening night roster against the Boston Bruins. He subsequently made his NHL debut on 8 October 2015 as the team's second line winger alongside Mark Scheifele and Mathieu Perreault. Although he did not record a point, the Jets beat the Bruins 6–2. In his first four games with the Jets, Ehlers tallied three points including his first career NHL goal against the New York Rangers on 13 October. From there however, Ehlers struggled to maintain consistency in his scoring. Along with experiencing a 15-game goalless drought, Ehlers tallied only five points in a 30-game stretch from 4 November to 10 January. His game became more consistent throughout January and he recorded his first career NHL hat-trick on 26 January 2016 against the Arizona Coyotes. He became the second teenager in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to record a three-goal game. By 4 March, Ehlers had accumulated 13 goals and 31 points through 63 games before suffering an eye injury during an overtime loss against the New York Islanders. He missed numerous weeks to recover before returning to the Jets' lineup on 24 March to help them beat the Los Angeles Kings 4–1. Despite missing time to recover, Ehlers was one of eight players on the roster that played over 10 games and finished over 50 per cent in shot attempts. He finished his rookie season with 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points. Part of his success came from playing on a line with Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, as the trio combined for 61 points over 26 games.

Ehlers returned to the Jets for the 2016–17 season and reunited with Scheifele on the Jets' top line along with rookie Patrik Laine. He began the season slowly, tallying only four goals over his first 15 games of the season, but began gaining momentum in early November. Ehlers quickly accumulated 12 points by 10 November while his line combined for 26 points over four games. Despite experiencing a lengthy scoring drought shortly thereafter, Ehlers finished the month of November with 16 points over 14 games. He eventually snapped his 15-game goalless drought on 11 December in a 6–2 loss to the Calgary Flames. Upon snapping his drought, Ehlers tallied three goals over the next four games. After playing the remainder of 2016 with Scheifele and Laine, Ehlers produced at nearly a point per-game and accumulated 31 points over 39 games while ranking eighth in the NHL with 25 even-strength points. He continued to improve throughout January despite losing Laine due to injury and gaining veteran Drew Stafford as the top line's replacement winger. Prior to Laine's injury, the trio had combined for 52 goals and 110 points while Ehlers had individually accumulated 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points. Once Laine returned from injury, the trio continued to develop their chemistry and they were three of four Jets players to score more than 60 points in the 2016–17 season. On 1 April, Ehlers tallied his 100th career NHL point in his 151st NHL game to help the Jets beat the Ottawa Senators. Although the team failed to qualify for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, Ehlers set new career highs with 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points while his linemates also set new records.

International play

Internationally, Ehlers has represented Denmark at both the junior and senior levels on the international level. He first represented the Denmark under-18 national team at the 2013 World U18 Championship Division I A tournament. Ehlers led the team in scoring with 11 points through five games, including four assists in the gold medal game against Norway under-18 team. He returned to the Denmark national team at the 2014 World U18 Championship Division I A where he recorded six points to help lead Denmark to a perfect 5–0 record. He also represented Denmark's under-20 national team at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge. Ehlers' efforts helped Denmark clinch a silver medal following a loss to the United States under-20 team. He was recognized with the World Junior A Challenge Most Valuable Player award at the end of the tournament.

Ehlers returned to Denmark's under-20 national team for the final time at the 2015 World Junior Championship. During the tournament, he played a significant role in leading Denmark to the quarterfinals by scoring in their opener against Russia under-20 team and assisting on two goals against the Czech Republic under-20 team. Ehlers scored in the shootout to lift Denmark over Switzerland under-20 team to lead them to their first win at the top level of the World Junior Championships. He recorded five points in the tournament while Denmark failed to medal.

Ehlers made his Denmark senior team debut at the 2016 World Championship. During the tournament, he scored four goals and two assists while Denmark came in eighth place. He also played for Denmark in the 2018 Winter Olympics qualifiers. He returned to the team for the 2017 World Championship but only tallied four assists while Denmark finished in 12th place. Following the Jets' elimination from the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, Ehlers represented Denmark in the 2022 Winter Olympics qualifiers. He scored five goals and four assists in three qualifying games to help secure Denmark's first appearance in the Olympics. On 8 October 2021, Ehlers was added to Denmark's 2022 Winter Olympics roster. However, he was ultimately unable to compete in the Olympics due to the NHL's rules. The league chose to not allow its players to compete as the regular season schedule had already been disrupted as a result of COVID-19 cases. Once the 2022–23 regular season was complete, Ehlers returned to Denmark national team and competed at the 2023 World Championship.

Following Winnipeg's game 6 OT loss to the Dallas Stars in May 2025, Ehlers joined Denmark for the 2025 World Championship.

Personal life

Ehlers was born on 14 February 1996, in Aalborg, Denmark to parents Heinz and Tina Ehlers. Although he was born in Denmark, Ehlers and his family moved around Europe while his father played professional ice hockey. By the time he was 18, Ehlers spoke five languages – Danish, English, French, Swiss German and standard German. Ehlers attended kindergarten in Germany before his family spent five years in Denmark. After his playing career concluded, Heinz became a coach in the Swiss National League A and the entire family moved to Switzerland. While growing up in Switzerland, Ehlers played both ice hockey and football. He played on a provincial team in Switzerland before being forced to choose between the two sports.

Ehlers grew up alongside his older brother Sebastian and younger sister Caroline. Sebastian also plays ice hockey and most recently played for the Odense Bulldogs in the AL-Bank Ligaen. Outside of his immediate family, Ehlers' uncles and cousin have also played professional ice hockey. His uncle Søren was selected by the New York Rangers in the 12th round of the 1986 NHL entry draft, although he never appeared in a game. His cousin Alexander True went undrafted into the NHL and plays for the Modo Hockey. Ehlers and True played against each other for the first time at the NHL level during the 2019–20 season.

Career statistics