Position: RD, Shoots: R
H/W: 6-foot-2, 192 pounds
Date of Birth: 2006-10-14
Stats to Date: 29GP-2G-10A-12P
It’s not easy for an NCAA freshman to step into college hockey and assert himself in the lineup and play a big role on a team usually filled with 20+ year olds, especially a defenseman, but Logan Hensler has stepped up and managed to land a spot in the top pairing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers. This is a testament to his progression and development since the beginning of the season, and the maturity of his game on the ice.
The young defenseman started to display his skill set while playing for the U18 USNTDP Team last season, where he registered 32 points in 61 games, second in points among team rear guards. He played a pivotal role in the American’s silver medal winning team at the U18 World Junior Championships and logged some big minutes during important games, showing the coaching staff’s comfort in depending on him when the team needed some defensive stability.
Although Hensler’s numbers in college hockey do not jump off the page, his 12 points during the regular season were second among all U19 defensemen in the league. He may not possess the offensive spark like some of the other defenders in the 2025 NHL draft class, but he is definitely not limited in producing some offense when given the chance.
The intriguing part of Hensler’s game that will land him a spot in the first round come draft day is his combination of great skating, his size and dependable defensive play. His progression within the last two years is evident and if he continues to advance in this regard and clean up some of his limitations, which will be discussed furthermore in the rest of this article, Hensler may be a gem of a selection in Los Angeles come June.
Skating
The one characteristic of Hensler’s game that stands out when you see him live or on video is his skating. The mechanics are near flawless and the way he travels across the ice with ease is evident during each viewing. He displays decent top end speed and good edgework, which is always nice to see in a young defensive prospect.
Hensler’s rush defense is very impressive as well and the freshman is rarely, if ever, beat around the periphery during a one-on-one sequence. His transition and four-way mobility are excellent for a 6-foot-2 and almost 200-pound prospect. Improvements could be made in the quickness department, but those should easily be addressed with further strengthening and power skating moving forward.
The ease with which Hensler moves up the ice is evident in this clip, where he picks up the puck behind the net and easily navigates into the offensive zone, while also showing off some of his side-to-side mobility by getting around the pressure early on.
Hensler’s ability to transition and recover after skating the puck into the opposition’s zone is shown here. After losing the puck, he transitions backwards and is able to break up the play at the other end with some great skating.
In this clip it appears that the opposing player from Penn State has a step on Hensler in the neutral zone, however, Hensler recovers and transitions quickly and is able to poke check the puck away, thwarting a potential scoring chance.
During this sequence, a quick transition after a pinch at the blue line helps Hensler stop the opposing team’s progression in the offensive zone and helps him recover and neutralize the situation.
Grade: 55
Shot
Hensler possesses a decent shot, but his inclination to not use it much has limited his goal scoring abilities. When he does release a shot on the net, we see the potential that is there, but it is a characteristic of his game that is underutilized to a high degree.
The other concern with his shooting is his ability to find the net and set up shooting lanes for pucks to get through traffic. If he used his mobility and side-to-side creativity, there’s an opportunity to unlock some goal scoring prowess.
A very nice deking and shooting sequence from Hensler against the University of Michigan, where he gets around one player and walks in to bury a blistering shot past the goalie. We need more of this from him.
Hensler is able to find an open lane and get a puck through traffic in this clip, which ultimately leads to a goal.
Now for the bad. In this clip we see how Hensler has an abundance of time but is not able to find an open lane and shoots it into traffic, where the puck does not make it through.
Same thing occurs in this sequence, where Hensler retrieves the puck at the blue line and again has plenty of time to find an open lane, however, the puck does not make its way through and is blocked by an opposing defender.
Grade: 47.5
Skills
This is one characteristic of Hensler’s game that may be improved if he could exude the confidence needed when the puck is on his stick. He plays a very conservative game when handling the puck, and although it leads to less mistakes, it doesn’t offer any dangerous offensive sequences.
Hensler’s passing game is adequate, however, there are some areas that could be improved. Breakout passes are decent, for the most part, but there are times that he rushes them, especially with some pressure. Again, some confidence can create better passing lanes and knowing when to dish or when to hold onto the puck.
With more development and perhaps a green light to carry the puck more and attempt more skillful plays, Hensler could become a deadly offensive type defenseman and contribute more on the scoreboard, but realistically it’s not in his nature at this time.
This is the same clip from the Shooting Section, but with focus on what Hensler does at the beginning of the sequence when he dekes out the opposing player to get him into position to get a shot on net and ultimately score. There are flashes of that offensive skill set, but it is really underutilized.
An example where we see Hensler’s potential for running a power-play, when he demonstrates some confidence. In this clip he shows some good puck handling skills and an ability to find an open shooting lane that leads to a scoring chance.
Again, a clip from a previous section, this time from the Skating one, where Hensler takes the puck down the ice and makes a couple of nice dekes to help him enter into the offensive zone, but runs out of real estate and ultimately turns it over.
When Hensler decides to skate with the puck and display some of those puck handling skills, it makes one wonder why he doesn’t attempt it more often. In this sequence he retrieves the puck at the red line and aptly makes his way into the offensive zone before making a nice pass to a teammate.
Here we see some patience and Hensler’s ability to move the puck into his teammates' wheelhouse that leads to a one-timer goal.
In this clip, Hensler provides a nice defensive play by blocking a shot in front of the net, then proceeds to do a soft rim along the boards that is picked up by James Hagens for the zone exit.
Hensler on occasion will rush a play and create a turnover. Here there is some pressure and a rushed pass that leads to a turnover in the defensive zone. An area that could be ameliorated with some confidence and slowing down the play at times.
Grade: 52.5
Smarts
Defensive prospects need to be able to read and react to oncoming plays at a fast rate, especially within the D-zone. Any hesitation or slow reaction time can lead to turnovers and possibly scoring chances for the opposing team. Hensler needs to improve on some of these attributes in order to make the smooth transition to the next level of hockey. He at times is slow to react or overreacts to oncoming pressure, when the simple play may be what is needed.
Hensler does see the ice well overall and some of his reads and passes show that he has the ability to overcome certain pressures, but the inconsistencies in this department are what are concerning. Further development and knowing when to hold onto the puck or when to dish it off is in short order what he needs to work on.
This is a great example of a perfect read by Hensler, knowing how to navigate through the oncoming pressure from the opposing forecheck. He scans the ice and instead of rushing the play, places a soft rim along the boards, for an easy pick up by his teammate to relieve the stress.
Another great example of having awareness, where Hensler battles along the boards and when an opening develops, he makes a short pass to his teammate, again alleviating the pressure.
In this clip Hensler hesitates on the pinch at the blue line and gets caught flat footed, which leads to an odd man rush the other way.
Hensler gets caught on the wrong side of the puck in this sequence and allows the opposing player to escape his checking and eventually leads to a scoring chance for the other team.
At times with pressure, Hensler will rush the pass which can lead to a turnover as is the case in this clip. Mentioned in the Skills section, some timing changes with the puck and slowing the play down could help prevent these infractions.
Grade: 55
Physicality/Compete
This is the area of Hensler’s game that is a little more polished and consistent. He is not afraid to use the body and can be a physical presence whenever he steps onto the ice. There are times when it puts him out of position, but at least he has that intensity that you like to see in young defensemen, especially when they are up against players a few years older than them.
The compete and motor that Hensler displays during intense games is something that you can’t teach. A prospect either has it or they don’t. The only con is that it can lead to mismanagement of their positioning at times, but it’s better than being a bystander during a play.
A great sequence by Hensler in this clip, where he reads the play well and uses his physicality to pin the opposing player along the wall, waiting for support, then proceeds to be an outlet during the play and ultimately leads the zone exit with a nice pass up the ice.
Good gap control here, where Hensler forces the opposing forward out of real estate and pins him along the wall, allowing support from his teammate to come and pick up the loose puck and easy zone exit.
In this clip we see how Hensler uses his mobility adeptly and is able to pressure the opposing player enough with his active stick that leads to a turnover.
Another great play with Hensler in this sequence, where he uses his skating abilities to not be beaten by the oncoming player, then uses his stick to disrupt the rush and finishes the play off by using his body to check the player and steal the puck. Nice defensive play overall.
Grade: 55
OFP: 53.75
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.