Breaking The ice

Meet T.J. Hensick 

Growing up as a kid in Howell, Michigan during a Detroit Red Wing Stanley Cup run, it was almost inevitable that T.J. Hensick would play hockey. 

“When I was a kid, I was watching it on TV and just asked my parents if I could play,” Hensick said. “I actually have zero background, at least family background in hockey, so it was more of it just kind of caught my eye on TV.” 

Hensick’s career started to take off when he played at the University of Michigan and later got drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 2005, where he made his NHL debut during the 2007-08 season. The Michigan native hasn’t been back to Denver much since playing for the Avalanche, but there were a lot of perks of returning to the Mile High City. 

“It's always nice to get back to places where I used to play, especially the place where I played my first NHL game,” Hensick said.  

Since expanding his hockey resume through various professional leagues, Hensick and his wife, Emily, have also expanded their family. While sometimes it can be a challenge to balance life as a hockey player and a father to William, Elodie, and Harvey, the Toledo Walleye and Emily help make it happen. 

“The only reason I'm still playing is because the Walleye are extremely generous with my kids and my time, as they kind of allow me to be Dad first and a player second,” Hensick said. “Right now, I'm at swim class with William, we had hockey practice this morning, and he's got a baseball game tonight.” 

It’s not necessarily easy to travel from tour stop to tour stop for the Hensick family with a busy seven-year-old and two-year-old twins, but they have been watching from their living room at home. They will be in the stands for the Grand Rapids event and William will get VIP treatment when he tags along with his dad to the Hershey and Pittsburgh stops. 

“He can kind of experience the atmosphere and he loves being around the locker with the guys,” Hensick said. “Maybe after the game on Saturday, he'll interact with some guys that he knows just from my playing career. It's always a memorable moment when you can get your son or her daughter in the locker room to get involved with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” 

When it comes to 3ICE, Hensick hopes to play well, leave a mark on the league, and hopefully have a chance to continue to play. #17 of Team LeClair feels extremely lucky to be in the situation he’s in and is only looking forward to what’s to come. 

“I thought everything was first class in Vegas,” Hensick said. “The crowd was great. The training staff and everyone I interacted with were extremely nice and fun to be around, so the first thing that pops to mind is first class.”