The Pirate Captain Is Not Ready to Disembark Chasing More Gold Rushes

AALBORG: Before Friday's North Jutland clash between Aalborg Pirates and Frederikshavn White Hawks, Aalborg Pirates could announce that the club has extended the contract with captain Julian Jakobsen for two more seasons with an option for one more year It is significant news, and thus all speculation about a career break for the Pirates profile can be packed away for a long time.

When Julian Jakobsen one day finishes playing for Aalborg Pirates, his number will probably hang in the ceiling An honor surpassed only by players who achieve legend status at their club.

Jakobsen may very well become the fourth man in Sparekassen Danmark Isarena's ceiling beams, and thus he joins the exclusive company that includes Heinz Ehlers, Ronny Larsen and Frederik Åkesson However, Julian Jakobsen is by no means finished playing ice hockey.

On the contrary - My motivation is the eagerness to win.

The pursuit of more success drives me I would like to try to make a bigger mark with the club.

Physically, I also feel at the top In fact, I never feel like my form has been better than it is now.

It's not measured in terms of points, but mentally I feel really good, so why not continue? Julian Jakobsen has always been dedicated to his training, but the effort on and off the ice is still something that impresses a seasoned rat in the profession like Pirates sporting director Ronny Larsen - It's very simple with Julian.

He is the one of our players who works the hardest and trains the best He is truly an example to follow.

In addition, he is a skilled leader in the team, so it is difficult to underestimate his importance for Aalborg Pirates, says Ronny Larsen With the age of 35 soon to be 36 - a three-year-old son and a wife who also has a demanding job, most would probably say that two Danish championships, stays in Sweden and Germany as well as many international matches would be plenty to write on his CV , but not Julian Jakobsen.

Since he stepped out on the ice for the first time as a four-year-old, ice hockey has filled a lot of Julian Jakobsen's life Along the way, football with the mates in Klarup was opted out in order to spend more time in the skating rink in Samsøgade.

After a quantum leap as a young senior, the trip went to Odense to get a bigger role From here it went fast.

After a few great seasons on Funen, Julian Jakobsen moved to Södertälje, an ice hockey-crazy suburb of Stockholm It turned into three very instructive seasons in the two best Swedish ranks, before the trip in 2012 went to Hamburg, where the Hamburg Freezers brought out the best in Julian Jakobsen's hockey game.

Since 2016, he has been a cornerstone in the success that Aalborg Pirates has experienced in recent years That streak of triumphs must very much be extended in the coming years.

- Ice hockey is my life It has always been that way.

It has been number one until I had a wife and child It's still my life.

Ice hockey has just been my calling Unfortunately, it will stop at some point, but I'm not ready to stop yet, explains Julian Jakobsen.

It is clear that Julian Jakobsen is not finished at all He has much more to give.

It may be connected to the fact that he is not just playing for personal success He has reached a point in his career where it is primarily the club more than himself that he plays for.

- It's my passion It has probably only really become that, after I have returned home to Aalborg Pirates, because here it is more than just ice hockey.

It has become a child of my heart, for whom I want the best I want to help develop the club.

It also means a lot to me to see that we are developing our own youngsters, which we have been good at with Tobias Ladehoff, Lasse Bo Knudsen and Jeppe Jul at the helm It appeals to me to help build a culture, says Julian Jakobsen, who to that extent has been a cornerstone in building the winning culture that prevails in Aalborg Pirates these years.

- When we returned home, it was not the idea that I should now stand and have helped to win two DM titles and have participated in the Final4 every year We had to build it up slowly, but it just went fast.

It just shows how much everyone in the club wants this, says Julian Jakobsen When Julian Jakobsen suddenly found himself without a club in 2016, because his then-club Hamburg Freezers closed and went out of business, the then director of Aalborg Pirates Thomas Bjuring was quick to knit together an agreement for Julian Jakobsen, which involved both ice hockey and a place as a finance student at Sparekassen Denmark.

Back then Sparekassen Vendsyssel - Julian's father had invited me to Germany to see Julian a few months earlier, and there I mentioned to him that he would like to have us in mind on the day he wanted to go home.

We just weren't aware that it quickly became relevant, says Thomas Bjuring Even then, the two big Pirates personalities talked about what it would take to get Julian Jakobsen to Aalborg Pirates.

- There were three things that filled It was primarily an opportunity to have a civilian career alongside ice hockey, when he got home.

Then of course there was also the salary from Pirates, and last but not least there was also the job opportunity for Julian's wife When he then contacted me in the summer of 2016, we quickly got it together.

In half an hour I got the go-ahead from Sparekassen Danmark, which was ready with a student place, the go-ahead from the board that we could lift the economy, and last but not least we found an internship for Michelle, which enabled her to complete her studies , recalls Thomas Bjuring Julian Jakobsen returned home with a bang, but initially had to admit that it was not quite the same standard he had returned home to.

- Over time, I got an insanely good collaboration with Thomas Bjuring In the beginning I probably wanted too much, but over time I think my teammates accepted my way of being.

- Now I just try to lead in that way, I am on It's about taking care of my training and being a good example there, and then I have to go to the front in the matches.

I also think that people have jumped on the bandwagon because I try to be a helping hand instead of just taking a hand, says Julian Jakobsen, who is impressed by the steps that Aalborg Pirates have taken as a club since 2016 - The club has really moved on a lot since then.

Today, we are close to the way things are done in major leagues, notes Julian Jakobsen, who, like a good red wine, only seems to get better with age If you ask Thomas Bjuring, there is no doubt that Julian Jakobsen has a large share in the development that Aalborg Pirates has gone through on and off the ice.

- Aalborg Pirates' success rests on a few pillars You can name Ronny Larsen, Brandon Reid, Garth Murray and some may also want to mention me, but you can't forget Julian Jakobsen.

He is a significant factor in the success that the Pirates have experienced in recent years However, it could have looked different, because in the first years after the return to Aalborg, it was a tough program that Julian Jakobsen offered himself with ice hockey and a job as a finance student at Sparekassen Danmark.

- We had this famous corona Before that period I was used.

This thing of getting an education when I returned home was hard I might as well say that.

It does not hold together over time It was a tough few years.

Then we found a solution here in Sparekassen Danmark, where I could just let a little water out of the bathtub again, because it was otherwise almost full, says Julian Jakobsen - The work had to take up a lot during that period.

We also had our son Arthur It ran much like this; work, home to be a father, out to play ice hockey.

And I wasn't good at saying stop Today, however, there are absolutely optimal conditions for Julian Jakobsen, who can to a much greater degree balance working life and ice hockey career together with the role of family man.

- Now I've had the chance to do some work from home, and this has meant that I've been able to shut off the water from the bathtub instead of just letting it all get flooded, which I was heading for before corona changed everything In fact, the corona shutdown back in 2020 also changed Julian Jakobsen's opportunities to get back in top physical shape.

The form that today is the entire foundation for Julian Jakobsen's dominance - The WC was cancelled, so I suddenly had six months to train.

There I just gave it gas to get back to the top physically I had some handicaps, but since the break I have been physically good at driving.

It's not because I'm there three hours before the others and three hours after the others I'm just aware of what kind of things I have to do.

I wish I had that knowledge when I was 18-19 years old, but if nothing else it helps me today Earlier in the season, Julian Jakobsen announced that he is quitting the Danish national team after 206 games with the lion on his chest.

Aalborg Pirates is now benefiting from this, because the extra month off is essential in the further pursuit of success in the Metalliga - It has been hard.

I readily admit that Forcing yourself to start training for a World Cup is always tough.

This is also why it was now that I had to make one of those decisions that I really don't want to make If I have to keep up, I need that month's extra break, says Julian Jakobsen, who in the same breath emphasizes that the joy of having represented Denmark has been enormous.

- You meet two to four times a year There is just a unique togetherness and you make some lifelong friendships.

That is what I will miss the most, says the Pirates captain, who has made many lifelong memories with the Danish national team - There have been many great experiences.

The Olympics was a huge experience The World Cup quarter-final 2010 must also be mentioned.

In the Czech Republic in 2015, we had a thin team on paper There we had me, Morten Madsen and Nichlas Hardt in the first chain, but the unity of the national team really came in handy.

We had four points before the last game against Slovenia, so we were saved It is one of my greatest experiences to date, says Julian Jakobsen.

With the prospect of two more seasons as an Aalborg Pirates player - maybe even three - thoughts about life after ice hockey have been put on hold for the time being - Of course the family has been involved in the advice.

However, there has always been great support on that front It has become easier now that our son Arthur will soon be 3.

5 There is a good balance on the home front, between our respective jobs and then in relation to hockey.

So we just take a few more years, says Julian Jakobsen It is the son Arthur, who is 3.

5, who now has a complete grasp of what size ice hockey is - He was in the cup final.

It was the first time he was in a late game and he was flying They sat somewhere to begin with.

I couldn't spot them and I thought they might have gone home because it was so late But after the game he stayed over at the awards and had a party with my wife Michelle, Oscar Drugge's wife and their three-year-old son.

He knows what's going on, says Julian Jakobsen, while his smile slowly grows bigger as he talks about his family There is a diametrical contrast between the steely look that always follows him on the ice, and the friendly, welcoming attitude that characterizes Julian Jakobsen when you meet him one morning in Sparekassen Danmark's branch at Budolfi Plads - his second home ground.

- I am grateful that I have been given the opportunity to work in the bank alongside playing ice hockey - It's so cool that I have two teams of colleagues.

There is also a great spirit here in the department, so in many ways it is the same as in Pirates It's just other people and other things we're talking about here.

I enjoy that it's not just ice hockey and sport, says Julian Jakobsen, who doesn't expect to have to go the coaching route when his career as a player ends - When that day comes, I will have to be more of a father to my son and more of a husband to my wife, because I am away a lot.

I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm done playing ice hockey, but there are some things that are right up my alley I'm not going to wake up the day after my last fight and ask myself what's going to happen.

when I'm done playing ice hockey, but there are some things that are right up my alley I'm not going to wake up the day after my last fight and ask myself what's going to happen.

when I'm done playing ice hockey, but there are some things that are right up my alley I'm not going to wake up the day after my last fight and ask myself what's going to happen.

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