Almost four years ago, Jackson Whistle was wearing the colours of the Kelowna Rockets and playing for the Memorial Cup.
Fast forward, and the goaltendersa国际传媒檚 jersey are now flush with the colours of Great Britain (GBR), as he joins the nationsa国际传媒檚 hockey squad at the 2019 IIHF Hockey World Championships, playing against the top teams in the world.
sa国际传媒淧laying at this calibre is cool, and getting to represent your country is a special thing to do,sa国际传媒� said Whistle.
Unlike Canada, Great Britain does not rank highly on hockey rankings. Competing at the worlds was going to be an up-hill battle for GBR; but the team persevered and earned their first win at this high of level hockey tournament since 1962.
In a comeback overtime victory against France, the win meant two thingssa国际传媒攈istory was being made and GBR avoided relegation from the elite pool to secure a spot at the 2020 World Championships.
sa国际传媒淲e celebrated like we won the tournament,sa国际传媒� said Whistle.
sa国际传媒淚t was the hardest we ever celebrated for not being relegated. Staying up at this level is huge, playing against better players makes you a better player.sa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Top womensa国际传媒檚 hockey player Natalie Spooner coming to the Okanagan
Whistle was born in Canada, played and grew up in the United Kingdom earning his dual citizenship, then played in Canada and in the WHL with the Rockets.
In 2015, Whistle backstopped the Rockets to the Memorial Cup. But while Kelowna was bested in overtime in the tournament final, Whistle said that there was some familiar emotions of playing at that high level again.
sa国际传媒淚t was pretty similar to when we were at the Memorial. I loved playing for Kelowna, some of the best times of my life was playing for the Rockets,sa国际传媒� he said.
Whistle now plays with the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) in the U.K., but his Kelowna roots have seemed to follow him around during his professional career.
Other Rockets were playing in the tournament as well. Germanysa国际传媒檚 Leon Draisaitl and Canadasa国际传媒檚 Damon Severson both gave GBR a good battle on the ice, and Whistle spent time catching up with Kelownasa国际传媒檚 former goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh.
sa国际传媒淪eeing some of the guys on the ice and in the handshakes, it was cool to see them,sa国际传媒� Whistle said.
READ MORE: Former Kelowna Rockets lace up for IIHF Championships
Though Whistle and Great Britain didnsa国际传媒檛 advance to the playoff rounds of the tournament, there was significant progress made for the countrysa国际传媒檚 hockey programs.
sa国际传媒淪taying at the top level, you get more funding and get a lot of focus and attention,sa国际传媒� said Whistle. sa国际传媒淚 think a lot more kids see it and will strive towards becoming hockey players.sa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Canadasa国际传媒檚 Brown and De Grasse finish 1-2 in 200 metres at Shanghai meet
The teamsa国际传媒檚 history-making win was the biggest highlight for Whistle, but the former Rocket goalie found himself happy to be playing with the worldsa国际传媒檚 best and reminiscing about the glory days as a young goalie with the Kelowna team.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 been a lot. Stepping up in net against Team Canada was pretty cool,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淏een getting some texts and messages from friends, teammates and coaches saying they saw me on TV.
sa国际传媒淎nd Isa国际传媒檓 glad we finished the way we did.sa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Kelowna golf pro ready for first U.S. Womensa国际传媒檚 Open
Whistle was reminded during the tournament that the Rockets will again be a part of the Memorial Cup when they host the tournament in May 2020.
He said hesa国际传媒檇 be willing to make a cameo appearance and catch some games in his old stomping grounds.
sa国际传媒淚f Isa国际传媒檓 able to be in Kelowna, Isa国际传媒檓 100 per cent in.sa国际传媒�
To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.
newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .
