Cayman may soon have one of its own playing in the National Hockey League.
Jaxon Cover, who got his start playing ball hockey and roller hockey on Grand Cayman, was selected by the Ottawa Senators with the 32nd, and final, pick of the first round of the NHL’s annual entry draft on Friday evening, 26 June.
Cover, 18, is the first player from Cayman ever to be picked in the NHL draft.
He didn’t start playing ice hockey until the age of 13, as he lived on an island with no ice rink.
Speaking to the Compass Saturday morning, his mother Nanalie Cover, who along with extended family and high school friends were on hand in Buffalo, New York, with Jaxon to see him being chosen in the draft, said he and his family were all “very thankful, grateful and humbled by Jaxon’s journey, and where he is this morning”.
She added that they were also grateful that the “people of the Cayman Islands have this as a symbol of what we can do, and what is possible for all, irrespective of where they originate”.
The proud mother, who is president and CEO of the University College of the Cayman Islands, admitted it was nerve-racking as the night went on, and the final name of the first round of 32 was being chosen. “It went down to the wire,” she said.
She added that her son was “very, very optimistic for what this new chapter will bring for him, and he’s just processing it, you know. He’s 18, he’s just processing and enjoying the moment with his friends that came here to celebrate with him.”
Most recently, Jaxon has played for the Ontario junior ice hockey team, the London Knights.
Unlike the National Football League and the National Basketball League, where players taken in the entry draft are older and often immediately play for the team that drafts them, NHL draftees are younger and often take several years to develop their skills before they get a chance to play in the NHL.
For Cover, the next step in his hockey development will take place at a university in the United States, where he has committed to play for Penn State – the same university that the #1 pick of this year’s draft, Gavin McKenna, attended.
Another young player with Cayman ties – Ryder Cali, who also got his start playing ball hockey on Grand Cayman at the same time Cover did – was drafted with the 16th pick in the second round – #48 overall – on Saturday 27 June by the Florida Panthers. Cali is committed to attend and play hockey at Providence College (Rhode Island) starting this fall.
Ball hockey in Cayman
Fareed Hosein, who refereed hockey games that both boys played at Kings Gym, said Jaxon, from a young age, stood out as a “very talented” player, and had been coached by his father Patrick, who played ball hockey for Cayman.
“That’s kind of where it came from. His dad was involved in the ball hockey programme, and played at least once or twice in the World Championships. We send away a ball hockey team every two years, all over the world, wherever it is. So, that’s where Jaxon’s interest in the game derived from, with his dad.”
Hosein says Jaxon learned to roller skate and play hockey at King’s gym. “Then, Jaxon got too good, and went to get some serious coaching up in Canada,” he said.
He says he thinks the success of Jaxon and Ryder might propel other young kids to want to get involved in the sport.
He explained that many children start off with the Learn to Skate programme at King’s and then move onto the kids’ hockey programme there.
“Now, here’s two kids that are up for NHL draft. That’s hard to imagine from an island this size, really,” he said on Friday, prior to the first round selections.
He noted that being picked for the NHL draft is on a “completely different level” that would be hard to emulate for other local players, but said learning the sport and excelling at it could lead to college scholarships for some.
“Because there is no ice rink here, … he’s had to deal with a lot more challenges than, say, someone in Canada or the States or Switzerland or any place that has ice rinks, where we don’t, so it’s quite a big leap to make that jump [into the NHL draft].
He said many kids who excel at the sport are usually coached by their own parents, who, like Jaxon’s father, Patrick Cover, and Ryder’s mother, Fiona McLeod, have played competitively, though there have been some outside coaches from Canada that have come to Cayman in the past.
Talented from the start
Mark Thompson, founder of the Cayman Islands Ball Hockey Association, also recalled Jaxon’s skills, saying that, from about 6 years old, he was playing in age 8-and-under games.
“I mean, everybody saw something in him,” he said.
“Obviously, Patrick’s from Toronto, so it’s kind of natural to try to get him into a school up there, to see what can happen,” he added.
He says it was clear from the very start that Jaxon had talent.
“It was very obvious, even from that early age. He always was a great player for his age group and his peers. He was, by far, one of the better players, no matter when or whoever he played with …
“He played with the older kids. That’s how kids always get better, you put them up against kids that are tougher than them.”
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