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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Grundlovsdag

Today is Grundlovsdag, or "Constitution Day" in Denmark, which celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the Danish Constitution in 1849, which severely limited the King's power and secured basic civil rights.

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This day also honors the Constitution of 1953, which among other things allowed women the right to inherit the throne, which is currently being put to good use by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who became the first woman to hold the Danish throne in 1972.

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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

Constitution Day in Denmark is rather low key compared to other countries, as some shops are open until noon before then closing for the rest of the day, with celebrations including political speeches and festivals. June 5th also happens to be Father's Day (Fars Dag) in Denmark.

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Denmark currently ranks 12th in the IIHF Mens' World Rankings and has played at the top level of the World Championships since 2003 after an absence of 54 years. While regularly having a tough time, finishing between 10th and 14th our of 16 teams in 10 out of 11 years) the Danes have successfully avoided relegation every time. The first high point for Denmark came in 2003 with an opening 5-2 win versus the United States followed by a 2-2 tie against eventual champions Canada six days later.

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Denmark celebrating their 2003 victory over the United States

Their highest finish came in 2010 when the Danes finished 8th after advancing to the Qualification Round thanks to a 4-1 win over Finland and a 2-1 overtime victory over the United States. Then then demolished Slovakia 6-0 to open the Qualification Round, which combined with their earlier win over Finland, was enough to put Denmark into the Playoff Round where they fell to Sweden 4-2.

Current Danes in the NHL include the Canucks Jannik HansenMikkel Bødker of the Coyotes, Franz Nielsen of the Islanders, Montreal's Lars Eller, Philip Larsen of Dallas and the Senators Peter Regin. Other successful Danes currently play in the Swedish Elitserien.

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Denmark's Lars Eller

Today's jersey is a 2005 Denmark National Team Jesper Damgaard jersey. Damgaard, a defenseman, was the long-time captain of the Danish National Team and played for Denmark at the World Championships a record 17 times, leading the team in games played with 256 while totaling 114 points from the blueline. This jersey features a pair of my custom printed Oddset sponsor patches.

2005 was the high point in our book for international hockey jerseys, as nearly all teams had complete redesigns or very well executed tweaks to their existing jerseys in time for the World Championships in Austria. It was also the last World Championship with the traditional jersey styling and construction before the introduction of the strange feeling, cookie-cutter templated and rather ugly Nike Swift jerseys of 2006.

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Today's video section begins with Denmark's top ten goals since earning their promotion in 2003.


Our final highlight today is Lars Eller's first NHL goal, which came in his debut on November 5, 2009.

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