JENKS FOCUSES ON WHALERS, BUT DISPLAYS SKILLS FOR OTHERS

Forward tries to impress Florida for chance at NHL contract and USA for WJC invite

(Above) AJ Jenks has been watched and analyzed by scouts all season as a member of the Whalers. (Below) Jenks looks to represent his country again, this time at the World Junior Championships.

Plymouth veteran AJ Jenks has a lot to play for this season.

Selected by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round (100th overall) in the 2008 National Hockey league Entry Draft, Jenks is in his signing year with Florida. If the Panthers don’t sign him before the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Jenks could go back into the upcoming draft or become a free agent.

Jenks also has a chance to play for his country. He is one of the 29 players named to the preliminary roster for the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team that will participate in a three-day pre-tournament training camp December 17-19 in Grand Forks, N.D.

Jenks played well for Plymouth before going to Grand Forks, scoring two goals and six assists in his last three games.  On Dec. 10, Jenks assisted on both Plymouth goals and was named second star in the Whalers' 3-2 shootout loss in Sarnia. The next night, Jenks scored the game-winning goal and added an assist as Plymouth defeated Erie, 6-3. Jenks capped off the weekend scoring a goal and three assists and was named second star in the Whalers 8-0 victory over Saginaw on Dec. 12.

“I’m definitely excited about it,” Jenks said about going to Gran Forks. “It’s going to be a good opportunity for me. It’s been a

goal of mine to play on that team for many years, so I’m going to go there and give it everything I have. Hopefully, I get a chance to represent our country.”

Jenks is no stranger to international competition. He has played for Team USA before at the 2007 Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, recording a goal and an assist with 16 penalty minutes. He has also attended Team USA's 2008 National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, New York, as well as the 2009 National Junior Evaluation Camp.

Jenks wants to play well for Plymouth before going to Grand Forks.

“It (the selection) definitely gives you a little more motivation,” he said. “I want to make sure my game is staying where it should be. I want to be in good shape going into the camp.”

Jenks has been watched all season, whether it’s by officials from USA Hockey, Panthers’ Director of Amateur Scouting Scott Luce or other Florida scouts. Jenks takes a logical approach to the scrutiny.

“Obviously, it’s there in your mind, but I just try to put it behind me,” he explained. “I’m not playing for USA Hockey now, or Florida – I’m playing for the Whalers. And if I do well here, that will carry me to do well in other places, too.”

Jenks saw that in 2006-07 as a rookie on the Whalers Championship team. Seven players signed NHL contracts from that team.

Luce watched Jenks Dec. 10 in Sarnia and gave the following assessment.

“We like a lot of things about AJ,” Luce said.  “We like his size, grit and tenacity.  Even more so, we like his two-way play.  He’s really starting to show that kind of identity in our projections right now.  We’d like to see him work on his first three steps (skating) when he becomes a pro (because) everything is a little quicker.  But he fits that prototypical big center that we’re looking for down in Florida in time.”

Luce feels Jenks rates a good shot at playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championships.

“He’s a good fit for what they need to do to play against the better teams in the tournament – especially if they match up against Canada,” Luce said.  “They need to have a guy that used to playing against other major junior players, night in and night out, using his size, being good on the draw and playing a two-way game and maybe checking top forwards on the Canadian team and having the experience of playing against those guys.”

The Whalers continue to battle injuries and haven’t had a set roster all year long.

“I think our team is going to surprise a lot of people once we get fully healthy and on the same page again," Jenks said. "Once that happens, I think we’re going to shock some teams.”