Growing up near the city of Edmonton, also known as the capital region, Jadon Joseph was fortunate as a youngster to play in a hockey community that has successfully produced some solid talent.
Through his peewee and bantam years, he crossed paths with the likes of Sam Steel, a member of the Anaheim Ducks. During his second year of bantam with the Sherwood Park Flyers, Joseph and a host of his teammates enjoyed a successful season and moved on to major junior hockey.
Western Hockey League supporters surely will recognize the names – Dylan Plouffe, Robbie Holmes, Ty Ettinger, Eric Miller, Davis Murray, Konrad Belcourt.
Joseph was selected in the fifth round, 98th overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. But playing in the WHL wasn’t a slam dunk at that point for Joseph.
After two seasons with the Sherwood Park Kings of the Alberta Midget Hockey League, there was an opportunity to play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
But a meeting with Peter Anholt, who is credited with jointly spearheading the amazing transformation of the Hurricanes over the past six years, really piqued Joseph’s curiosity.
While he chose not to play any games with Lethbridge as an affiliate player, Joseph practiced with the Hurricanes down the stretch during the 2015-16 season.
He attended the game March 20, 2016, when goaltender Stuart Skinner scored a goal against the arch-rival Medicine Hat Tigers. Joseph says that was a pivotal moment for him.
A few weeks later, on July 5, 2016, Joseph signed with the Hurricanes and he cracked the roster in Lethbridge for the 2016-17 season.
“He was an important piece,” said Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt. “His best year with us was a 17-year-old. He played a lot of really key minutes with Tanner Nagel and Zane Franklin. That was a really important line for us.
“The thing about ‘Joe’ is he can really skate. Defensively they played head to head against a lot of the top lines through the playoffs.”
The Hockey Talk with Jadon Joseph – Part 1 (ends at 14:33)
“I mean, it was a real hard trade to make when we traded ‘Joe’ to Regina,” Anholt continued. “He was a piece that they wanted, that they needed to get when they traded (Jake) Leschyshyn and (Nick) Henry.
“It was tough, but you know that’s the way it is in this hockey business.
“His mom and dad are just awesome people. And Jadon is a good guy, a real good character-guy and you know, it speaks to his character how many playoff games he’s played in our league and the successes that have kind of followed him around.”
A couple of months after the Hurricanes’ deal with the Pats. Joseph was on the move again.
Regina’s general manager sent Joseph to the Vancouver Giants. Coincidentally, the trade reunited Joseph with his friend from Sherwood Park, Dylan Plouffe.
Vancouver would enjoy a solid second-half during the 2018-2019 season and would go on a deep playoff run that ultimately fell one goal short of a WHL championship.
Jadon Joseph’s Journey – Part 2: tomorrow at DUBNetwork.ca
