BEVERLY, Mass. — Former Endicott men's ice hockey standout defenseman Jacob Gammelgaard '20 will represent Denmark in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship, beginning this weekend in Finland and Latvia.
Gammelgaard is the only NCAA Division III student-athlete represented on an international roster among the 50 players with NCAA ties competing in the tournament.
Twenty-six different NCAA teams will be represented during the tournament.
Boston University leads all programs with five past or present players, followed by Notre Dame and St. Cloud State with four each.
He earned his roster spot on Team Denmark by playing in six camps throughout April in a lead-up to the IIHF World Championship.
Every round of camp featured roster cuts while Gammelgaard and his teammates competed against teams such as Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Slovenia.
During his time at Endicott, Gammelgaard helped the Gulls capture two Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships in 2016-17 and 2019-20.
He played in 59 career games compiling four goals, 22 assists, 26 points, a +45 plus/minus rating, and 49 blocked shots.
Gammelgaard earned one All-Conference selection in 2019-20 (third team) and two Academic All-Conference honors.
As a team, the Gulls went 80-24-7 overall (.753), 52-17-2 in conference play (.746), and were ranked as high as No. 2 overall in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO national polls in 2018.
Gammelgaard then went on to win the Danish Championship with Rungsted Seier Capital of the Metal Ligaen in 2021.
His journey from Endicott to Team Denmark has been highlighted by perseverance.
Gammelgaard only played in 12 games by the conclusion of his sophomore campaign at Endicott, but, he stuck with it, earning a starting spot his junior season and the 6-foot-3 defenseman never looked back.
He played in 25 games as a junior and 22 more in his final season, leading the Gulls to a CCC Championship.
Following his time at Endicott, Gammelgaard received an offer to play in the ECHL, but shortly thereafter, COVID impacted the entire world, putting a halt to normalcy.
He eventually found his footing with Rungsted, working his way into the lineup prior to winning the Danish Championship.
Gammelgaard's strong work ethic, and backing from his parents to continue playing hockey, even when he questioned it at the collegiate level, led to an invite to a next-generation national team.
He made such a good impression that he earned another national invite, this time with Team Denmark, where he inevitably landed now, playing in the IIHF World Championship.
"I've always been told, 'If you work hard and believe in what you are doing, it will pay off,' said Gammelgaard. " I would like to thank Coach Tolan, the rest of the coaching staff at Endicott, my current team, Rungsted, and, most importantly, my family for all the support along the way."
The IIHF World Championship tournament can be seen on NHL Network in the United States and on TSN in Canada. For more information, visit IIHF.com.
(Some information in this article courtesy of collegehockeyinc.com)
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
