Danish winger Jannik Hansen, just one week removed from winning the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow, announced his retirement from pro hockey at the age of 33, ending the career of a trailblazer for Danish players in professional hockey both in North America and Europe.

A Rødovre native, Hansen spent his formative years with the hometown Mighty Bulls when he was a late 2004 draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, making the jump to North America in 2005 to play in the WHL. Hansen joined the Canucks’ AHL affiliate in 2006, spending stints of three seasons with the Manitoba Moose before being called up as a full-time member of the Canucks, where he would spend eleven seasons, becoming the first Dane to play in an NHL playoff game in 2007. Hansen was traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2017, where he would spend parts of two seasons before returning to Europe. He signed as a free agent with CSKA Moscow in 2018, winning his first and only professional title with CSKA’s Gagarin Cup title.

Jansen first joined the national team at the U20 level at the 2004 World Juniors Division I, playing from 2004-06 to help push the Danes closer to the Top Division. Hansen first joined the senior team at the 2005 Olympic Qualifiers, joining the Lions for the World Championship in the same year. Hansen would play at six Worlds (2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016), as one of the lone NHL stars on Denmark, also spending 2016 at both the PyeongChang Olympic Qualifiers and as a member of Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey, who finished a surprising second in the tournament.

With only four IHLC wins in team history, Hansen has only held the title once, scoring the game-winning goal to capture Denmark’s second ever title at the 2014 World Championship in Minsk. We wish Jannik and his family the very best for his retirement and the things to come!

Photo Credit: Zimbio – IIHF – HHOF – IOC