Jeff Hassler (born 21 August 1991) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He plays at wing and occasionally at the centre position for the Seattle Seawolves in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR), and Rugby Canada's National 15s. He has 36 caps for the National squad in all contests, and former member of the Neath-Swansea, Ospreys. Hassler is an

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

native having attended Holy Trinity Academy in the southern foothill town of

Okotoks Okotoks (, originally ) is a town in the Calgary Region of Alberta, Canada. It is on the Sheep River, approximately south of Calgary. Okotoks has emerged as a bedroom community of Calgary. According to the 2016 Census, the town has a population ...

. As a youth he excelled at all sports but in particular

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

and

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. In his rookie year as an

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, he appeared in seventeen matches and notched 8 tries earning him a spot on the

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Dream Team. In addition, Hassler was voted by fans and peers as Team Canada's 15's player of the year for the 2014 season. Although injury sidelined him for the majority of the 14/15 campaign, Hassler scored 6 tries in eleven appearances with the Ospreys in what was a frustrating campaign in all

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Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

(formerly Pro12) and European Cup Competitions. On 10 May 2019, it was announced that Hassler signed with the Seattle Seawolves of Major League Rugby.

Early career

Hassler played both

Canadian Football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

and

as a youth where he developed a propensity for a powerful and dynamic running style having excelled at running back in Pee Wee, Bantam, Midget and High School Football. Hassler's aggressive play caught the attention of multiple CIS (

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

) programs and after deliberation he would go on to commit to the

University of Saskatchewan Huskies The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity ...

Men's football program. During his stint as a Huskey, he was selected to represent Team World in the 2010 IFAF

International Federation of American Football The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a prov ...

game vs the USA. Huskies Individual Career Statistics

Professional rugby career and statistics

National Team Senior Men's XV's Statistics Hassler has represented Canada internationally at the U17, U20 and Senior Men's XV's level and also the on the HSBC Sevens World Series. He made his debut on the Sevens circuit in Feb 2012 and later that summer with the Senior Men's XV's vs the USA. At the end of the autumn internationals in 2014, Hassler suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for the majority of the remaining season. He has since gone on to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in two Rugby World Cups. Hassler signed with the Ospreys in 2013, and extended his stay with a three-year deal that would see him as a member of the club until the end of the 2017 campaign. He had started the 2014/15 year with a bang, co-leading the team in tries through seven games before injuring his knee in an international friendly. He returned to play on 8 May 2015 versus the Glasgow Warriors. Despite having multiple season ending injuries during his time with the Ospreys Hassler's tough style of play never wavered to the delight of his fans.

References

External links

Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassler, Jeff 1991 births Living people Canada international rugby union players Canadian rugby union players Canadian expatriate rugby union players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate rugby union players in the United States Prairie Wolf Pack players Rugby union centres Saskatchewan Huskies football players Sportspeople from Calgary Seattle Seawolves players Ospreys (rugby union) players Austin Gilgronis players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players