Steven Allan Jensen is a former professional ice hockey player and owner and director of Heartland Hockey Camps. Jensen was an offensive player who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976-82. For the past 27 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. He is the cousin of David Jensen and the uncle of Washington Capitals blue-liner Nick Jensen.
School and college
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
Hockey career
Jensen started his professional career in his hometown with the Minnesota North Stars and in 1977, he helped make history, the MinnesotaNorth 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. Steve also has experience in International hockey. As a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, 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. In 1983, Steve was a valuable member of the U.S. National Team, winning the World Ice Hockey Championships, in Tokyo, Japan. Jensen also 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. During the 1976 World Ice Hockey Championships, in Katowice, 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.
1993 USA Hockey Festival Champions, Assistant Coach of Team West
2005 ACHA National Championship Runners-up, Head Coach FGCU
2006 1st Head Coach in ACHA history to lead a # 16 seed to victory over # 1 seed
2007 Led FGCU to their 4th consecutive ACHA National Tournament appearance
2007 Led all coaches in the college hockey ranks with 34 wins at FGCU
2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey UI8 State Champions, Coach of Everblades
2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey SE Regional Championship Runners-up, Coach of Everblades
2008 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Champions, Head Coach
2009 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Championship Runners-up, Head Coach
2010 Tier 1, USA Hockey, Over 50 National Champions, Head Coach
Jensen served USA Hockey for 17 years as a certified hockey official. From 1985-98, he officiated over 1,500 USA youth hockey games. He currently serves 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 filmAirplane 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.
