Jockims nets Winterhawks winner in hometown curtain call

Former Contacts captain fitting in with WHL powerhouse

Braeden Jockims scored his first career WHL goal on Wednesday.

Braeden Jockims ensured his parents collected one more memento from his hockey career before departing to his new WHL home in the western United States.

On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the 17-year-old right-winger and Saskatoon product was playing in just his second career WHL regular season game as his Portland Winterhawks took on the host Saskatoon Blades. With the two sides locked in a 1-1 with just under six minutes remaining in the second period, Jockims broke into the Saskatoon zone down the right wing on a two-on-one rush with linemate Nick Johnson against Blades overage captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere.

Braeden Jockims (#8) battles along the boards for the puck.

When De La Gorgendiere slid down on the ice to take away the passing lane to Johnson, Jockims wired a shot past the glove of Blades netminder Austin Elliott into the Saskatoon goal from the right faceoff circle. 

The tally was Jockim’s first career WHL goal and it stood up as the winner in a 3-1 Winterhawks victory before a gathering of 2,979 spectators.

Following the contest, Jockims said the first thing he wanted to do with the goal puck was give it to his father Greg Jockims, who is a long time elite level basketball coach, and mother Shana McLean.

“I don’t trust myself to not lose it,” said Braeden with a chuckle.

Braeden Jockims was playing his second career WHL game.

Over the past seven days, Braeden learned a newfound appreciation for the opportunity to play in front of family and friends in his hometown, especially his parents. At the start of the new year, Braeden was the captain of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team.

He was having a solid season too appearing in 27 regular season games with the Contacts posting 14 goals and eight assists.

Braeden was listed by the Winterhawks in 2021, and the team’s management believed he had improved enough that time came to offer him a roster spot. On January 4, Braeden officially signed a WHL player agreement with the Winterhawks and joined the club’s active roster immediately right before the squad started a six-game road trip through the WHL’s East Division.

Winterhawks Booster Club members do the“T.N.T.” goal chant.

He made his WHL debut on Tuesday, when the Winterhawks downed the Raiders in Prince Albert 5-3. When he got to play at home against the Blades, Braeden was pumped his could pot his first WHL goal with his parents in attendance along with a sizable gather of family and friends.

“I really enjoy playing in front of my parents,” said Braeden, who stands 6-feet and weighs 174 pounds. “I always like to get texts from my dad of what I did wrong and what I did good, so I get some feedback right away.”

While he was making a memory potting a big goal with his new team, Braeden admitted he was going to miss his old team. He said it was difficult to leave the Contacts behind at midseason, but everyone with the under-18 AAA squad was supportive of the opportunity he had with the Winterhawks.

Winterhawks goalie Dante Giannuzzi, left, dives on a loose puck.

“It was a tough decision,” said Jockims. “It definitely affected my decision on whether or not I wanted to leave them.

“Once I told them that I got offered a spot, everyone said I should go. That is the whole point of the team is to get to the next level as quick as possible, and they wanted me just to get there as fast as possible. They were all supporting my aspirations.”

Jockims said the decision to join the Winterhawks was made easier by the fact he knew he was going to a good place. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, the Winterhawks have regularly been one of the WHL’s top teams.

Robbie Fromm-Delorme (#11) looks to set up a screen.

With Wednesday’s win, they improved to 28-6-2-1 to sit one point behind the Seattle Thunderbirds (29-6-1-1) for first in the Western Conference. Jockims said the Winterhawks have a good vibe going on the team.

“The guys have been really welcoming to me,” said Jockims. “It feels like I have been here since the start of the year.

“Everyone is super kind to me and welcoming.”

As for another bonus when it comes to playing for the Winterhawks, Jockims couldn’t help but keep smiling when he heard members of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club in the crowd doing the team’s goal chant to AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” after he scored. The Booster Club is following the Winterhawks around to every stop on the East Division road trip.

Vaughn Watterodt scored for the Blades on Wednesday.

“I think it is really cool,” said Jockims. “I think it is probably the best goal chant in the WHL in my opinion.”

Overall, Jockims said that first WHL goal will always be a career highlight.

“It was pretty exciting, especially scoring in front of family and friends,” said Jockims. “It was a great experience, and I’m hoping to score more for the rest of the year.

“It felt good to get the monkey off the back right away, and I am hoping to score more.”

The Winterhawks got on the board just 3:46 into the opening frame of Wednesdsay’s game when star right-winger Robbie Fromm-Delorme sniped home a shot from the left slot past Blades netminder Austin Elliott. Fromm-Delorme converted a nice drop pass from captain Gabe Klassen to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Jake Chiasson made his Blades debut on Wednesday.

The Blades evened things up at 1-1 seven minutes later. While working on the power play, right-winger Vaughn Watterodt potted his 17^th goal of the season close in from the left side of the Portland net to put the Blades on even terms. Defenceman Charlie Wright and right-winger Jake Chiasson picked up assists on Watterodt’s goal.

Chiasson, who is 19-years-old, was making his debut for the Blades having been acquired in deal with the Brandon Wheat Kings before the WHL’s trade deadline on Tuesday.

The hosts came out flying in the second period and were outshooting the Winterhawks 10-3 in the frame, when Jockims scored to seemingly halt Saskatoon’s momentum.

Nick Johnson (#92) rushes into the offensive zone for Portland.

In the third, the Blades pushed hard for the equalizer, but Winterhawks 19-year-old right-winger James Stefan finally sealed victory rounding out the 3-1 win with an empty-net goal with 11.1 seconds remaining in the frame.

Austin Elliott turned away 17-of-19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades, who fell to 26-7-2-1. Dante Giannuzzi stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in net for the Winterhawks.

The Winterhawks get back at it on Friday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the 24-14-0-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Connor Bedard and the 19-19-1-1Pats (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Winterhawks enjoy an empty-net goal from James Stefan (#13).

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Jockims believes he is going to have a lot of great experiences and more memorable moments with the Winterhawks.

“It is exciting,” said Jockims. “We got a really good group of guys.

“Everyone is really excited to keep going and keep working and keep pursuing and hopefully we take it all the way.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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