MADISON, Wis. – As the Wisconsin men's hockey team prepares to begin its 2024-25 season on Oct. 11 at the Kohl Center, freshman defenseman Logan Hensler is eager to make an impact in his collegiate debut.

Born in October 2006, Hensler is the youngest player on the Badgers' roster this year. Still, age means nothing in terms of talent as he is widely regarded as one of the top eligible defensemen for the 2025 NHL Draft.

A native of Woodbury, Minnesota, Hensler skated for the U.S. National Team Development Program's (NTDP) under-18 team prior to joining the Badgers. In the 2023-24 season, he tallied four goals and 32 points in 61 games played with the NTDP, and he helped Team USA to a silver medal at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship. Before that, Hensler spent a year skating for the NTDP's under-17 team and played for the Hill-Murray School in Minnesota as a high school freshman.

As a talented two-way defenseman, Hensler brings an impressive skill set and positive attitude to Wisconsin, and he's confident that he'll make an difference from the second he steps on the ice. 

Why did you choose to attend Wisconsin?
The biggest reason for me was being close to my family in Minnesota. I was away from home playing juniors for two years, so I wanted to be closer to my brothers, parents and grandparents. My dad is from Appleton, Wisconsin, and went to UW-Lacrosse, and my mom went to UW-Eau Claire, so my family already has connections to this state, and they're excited to watch me play here. The second biggest thing was campus and culture. When I took my first visit here, the guys were so welcoming, and I felt like I fit in right away. It was kind of a no-brainer after that. I told my parents, 'hey, I want to go here.' I'm also a Green Bay Packers fan, so it's nice to live in their territory!

What do you like about Madison? Do you have any favorite spots around campus?
I enjoy everything about Madison, honestly. School has been awesome. I've been doing online school for the past few years, so it's nice to be on a campus full of students. The student life is pretty cool to see, and I've loved meeting new people. This is definitely the best place to be in the country. As for exploring the campus, the team has scooters, so we take those around as a little group of guys. I think my favorite place I've found to eat is A8 China, a little Chinese spot right on University Ave. I get the orange chicken and some crab rangoons. Can't go wrong.

Briefly describe your hockey career.
Growing up, I did pee-wees in sixth and seventh grade and one year of bantams. Then I started high school, and playing Minnesota high school hockey as a freshman was pretty cool. I got to play in a state tournament there, which is a big deal. I took third place and lost to fellow freshman defenseman Weston Knox's team in the semifinal. That was pretty heartbreaking, but good for him. After that, I went to the U.S. National Team Development Program for two years, so that was pretty special. It was a big jump for me, but I think it shaped me into the player I am now. I'm grateful for that experience and miss those guys, but I'm onto bigger and better things.

How did your time at the NTDP prepare you for college hockey?
It helped me a bunch. I had the most development in my first year at the NTDP on the under-17 team. During my under-18 year, we got to participate in exhibition games against NCAA teams, so we were playing against bigger, stronger guys in college. That gave me a little taste of what college hockey is like and how much work I have to put in. So, it's nice having that experience going into my first year at Wisconsin.

For those who haven't seen you play, how would you describe your game?
I describe my game as a two-way defenseman who can play both ends of the ice, but I favor the offensive side. Hopefully, I can implement that into this season and produce for this team.

At age 17, you're the youngest member on the roster. How has that affected you?
At the start, it was a little different since last year I was on a team with kids all my age. So, going from that to this was a little different. They're so welcoming here, though, so I adjusted pretty quickly. I've noticed that coming to the rink every day, no one cares about your age. We're all family here, we're all brothers. So, it's been easy to adjust with all the guys here. They make it easy.

Are there any teammates you've bonded with quickly? 
The biggest friendships I've made so far are with Jack Phelan and Anton Castro. Jack is my roommate, so we became friends pretty quickly. As for Anton, he's from Minnesota too. I went to high school with some of his buddies, so it was easy to build that connection with him. The other person is Joe Palodichuk. We went to the same high school at different times, but I still grew up skating with him. I really look up to him – he's a good guy. He's super nice to me, so I love hanging out with him. 

What do you hope to accomplish at Wisconsin? 
From a hockey standpoint, I want to win games, be a good teammate and put my best foot forward. I want to work harder every day and push the people next to me to win games and hopefully make it to a national championship. From a school standpoint, I want to try to keep a 3.5 GPA or higher. So, I've got some goals. 

Your NHL Draft year is coming up, and you're widely regarded as one of the best defensemen available. How does that make you feel?
The draft process hasn't really started for me yet, but it's pretty cool that it's on the horizon. As I start my college career, it's hard trying to keep a tunnel vision and not let what other people say get to you. There are going to be positives and negatives about everything you do, and you can't take it to heart. At the end of the day, it's what the NHL teams want. I was lucky enough to go to the draft last year and I got to see that those pre-draft projections really don't mean much – anything can happen. It was good to see that in person and know what I need to focus on this year. Most of my NTDP team was getting drafted last year, so I also got to see the process through them and learned what to expect this year which was really helpful. We have a great staff here with Coach Hastings and I know that they can help me manage the process while balancing school and hockey. 

If you could share the ice with any former Badger men's hockey player, who would it be?
Chris Chelios. He's just a legend, honestly. That's my biggest one. Second, I'd probably skate with Joe Pavelski. He had a star career, and I got to watch him on TV growing up which is pretty cool.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I like hanging out with the guys around town. Golfing has been pretty fun here, too. The big thing I've been doing lately is playing Xbox with Joe Palodichuk, Sawyer Scholl and Dan Laatsch. We've been playing the new Call of Duty: Black-Ops 6 Beta game a lot. 

If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would it be?
I would want to have dinner with comedian Shane Gillis. I've been seeing a lot of him. He's pretty funny – I think I'd laugh a lot with him.

What three songs are on the soundtrack to your life?
The first one is "Low Life" by Future and The Weeknd. That's probably one of my all-time favorites. I've been listening to "There He Go" by Kodak Black a lot, too. I also really like country – I'm kind of all over the board on country. For my last song, I would have to say "Spin You Around" by Morgan Wallen. 

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Sushi. I could never get sick of it, and I already eat a lot of it! There are so many options – I love it. My favorite is a shrimp tempura roll.