Many Toledo Walleye fans admire veteran forward A.J. Jenks for his toughness and willingness to stick up for his teammates, while others appreciate his charisma and leadership abilities.

Many others think the laid-back Jenks is one cool dude.

With his combination of physicality and personality, Jenks won The Blade’s My Favorite Walleye poll for 2017-18.

Jenks earned 17.0 percent of the votes in the sixth edition of the exclusive online poll.

The native of Wolverine Lake, Mich., is in his fourth season with the team and is a skilled center who doesn’t mind the physical side. The 27-year-old has played in 181 games and has produced 141 points (70 goals, 71 assists) in a Toledo uniform.

Jenks was presented with the honor Friday before the Walleye's final regular-season home game against Fort Wayne at the Huntington Center.

“It's a tremendous honor,” Jenks said. “We have so many high-end players on this team. With our fan base, we have such a loyal following, it's pretty special.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound forward beat out 11 other worthy candidates: Tyler Barnes, Kyle Bonis, Shane Berschbach, Mike Borkowski, Austen Brassard, Connor Crisp, Simon Denis, Christian Hilbrich, Pat Nagle, Zach Nastasiuk, and Kevin Tansey.

In what shaped up as the tightest race in the history of the poll, Jenks edged out first-year goaltender Nagle (16.8 percent), who is enjoying a historic season with 36 wins in net to set a Toledo ECHL record, by just four votes. Denis finished in third place with 14.1 percent of the vote and Berschbach was fourth (11.7 percent).

Past winners of the poll are forward Evan Rankin (2017), goalie Jeff Lerg (2016), forward Kyle Rogers (2015), and forward Willie Coetzee (2013). Forward Riley Emmerson won the first poll in 2012.

Votes came in from 25 states with fans weighing in from as far away as Florida, California, New York, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, and Arizona. Most of the votes came from Ohio and Michigan. Canada also was well represented, especially Ontario and British Columbia. One vote was registered from France.

Voters were encouraged to leave comments explaining their selections. Jenks’ constituency was vocal, singling out the forward’s willingness to play with an edge and his kind demeanor off the ice.

One singled out Jenks for his long hair and ability to produce points: “flows and goals.”

Niklas Pruss of Bowling Green said Jenks’ popularity is made clear from the reception he always receives during games.

“You listen to the cheers he gets and you can’t say he’s not a town favorite,” Pruss said.

Another unidentified fan called Jenks the team’s “unsung policeman” and a great leader who always is a hard back-checker with great offensive skills. A Rossford fan called Jenks “one tough dude,” while a Toledoan said Jenks is “a beast” on the ice.

Dakota Skeens of Maumee said she likes Jenks’ physicality.

“He starts all of the good and awesome fights,” Skeens said.

Jenks’ calm attitude off the ice instantly gives way to an intense, competitive drive when the puck drops.

He won the poll despite missing a long stretch of the season because of injury. Jenks played the first 16 games of the campaign before missing the next 30. Jenks, who returned to the lineup Feb. 9, has compiled 13 goals and 12 assists in 38 games.

Perrysburg’s Sandy Balla said Jenks is the consummate leader.

“A.J. works well with his teammates, especially assisting goals and making goals,” Balla said.

Many parents said Jenks is their young fans’ favorite player.

Dana Lewis of Delta said she admires Jenks for his abilities as a center as well as his appearance.

“He’s a face-off king!” Lewis said. “He also has the best hair in the league, not to mention his cheeky smile when the other team tries to mess with him.”

Ellen Finkbeiner of Columbus said she appreciates Jenks’ steadiness in tough situations.

“I like his laughing at the opponents when they try to rattle his cage and the way he doesn’t take himself too serious,” Finkbeiner said.

Jon Gulch of Point Place pointed out Jenks participates in his annual charity event, the annual Andrew Gulch Memorial Golf Outing that benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“He attended our charity event last summer, volunteered at a special needs hockey camp, and has always been a great friend and mentor to my son,” Gulch said.

There also were several write-in votes for last year’s poll winner, Evan Rankin, who is now retired. Others who received write-in votes were Beau Schmitz, Davis Vandane, Kevin Gibson, Ryan Obuchowski, Parker Reno, Alden Hirschfeld, Kent Nusbaum, and Colin Jacobs.

Jenks was a fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2008 NHL draft and has split time in his seven-year pro career between the ECHL and the American Hockey League.

An avid outdoorsman, Jenks makes a lot of his own fishing lures.

For Findlay’s Zack Boyce, the decision proved tough but he said Jenks prevailed because of his enthusiasm for the game, especially the physical element.

“Although I like all of our players, I chose Jenks because there is a different kind of energy when A.J. hits the ice,” Boyce said. “He’s an explosive player [and] not afraid to get physical.”

Contact Mark Monroe at mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354, or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.

First Published April 6, 2018, 11:18 p.m.