nucklehead Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Quote Jermaine Loewen became a first on Saturday. Now he’s looking for seconds. Loewen, a towering left wing for the Kamloops Blazers, became the first Jamaican-born player chosen in a National Hockey League Draft when the Dallas Stars selected him in the seventh round with the 199th overall pick Saturday. "I cried when I got the call,” Loewen told Jon Keen, the play-by-play voice for the Western Hockey League Blazers. If the 20-year-old from Mandeville, Jamaica, defies the odds and cracks the Stars’ roster, he’d become the NHL’s second Jamaican-born player. Graeme Townshend – a forward who played for the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators – was the first. Townshend’s island heritage and hockey have merged as he’s the head coach of the Jamaican Olympic ice hockey team effort. “I think about that a lot , it’s like, ‘aw, man, I want to be the second guy,’” Loewen told Canada’s Sportsnet of joining Townshend in hockey history books “I just really want to make that happen.” Loewen was ranked as the 160th-best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. At 6-foot-4, 221-pounds, he was the Blazers’ leading scorer last season with 36 goals and 28 assists in 66 regular season games. He notched 50 goals and 46 assists in 236 regular season games over four seasons with Kamloops. https://colorofhockey.com/2018/06/24/jermaine-loewen-becomes-first-jamaican-born-player-drafted-by-nhl-team/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramarossa Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Very cool! I love how nationally/racially/ethnically diverse the sport is becoming. Hockey really is for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Wasn't he in the Mighty Ducks movie???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Cool! I love seeing more diversity in the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/jermaine-loewen-from-jamaican-orphan-to-nhl-player-1.4731504 Late bloomer but seems like a great kid with a great family raising him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
189lb enforcers? Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 It’s amazing actually. When they first brought him to the Blazers I was sure he’d maybe get one game and be sent back. He was incredibly bad on his edges. Every bit of his anticipation seemed off. Last year he had like 40 goals and was a great player. I could care less about his ethnicity, but for a kid that raw, that far from any thought of a career in hockey, let alone the NHL, to get drafted it’s probably the longest odds I’ve ever been witness to. He’s a great person too. I look forward to cheering for him, even though I thought the Blazers were nuts for burning a roster spot on him during his first few seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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