SAN JOSE — Like a lot of his hockey-playing countrymen 15 years ago, Jannik Hansen thought he might be able to forge a career in Sweden, Germany or Switzerland.
Going to the NHL at the time seemed like a distant dream for any Danish-born player.
“We didn’t get any games, there was no exposure,” Hansen said of the NHL in that time period. “You had some hockey cards, but I had never seen anybody play live. Maybe seen one NHL game before.”
Hansen got a chance when the Vancouver Canucks made him the 287th overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.