Young Winnipeg hockey player stars in international surroundings
The best of a brilliant lot: Young Winnipeg hockey player stars in international surroundings
By: Mike Sawatzky | Winnipeg Free Press
Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 8, 2021
They've come to this hockey hothouse in South Dakota from seven U.S. states, Russia and Latvia.
And the lone Canadian, a skinny kid from Winnipeg, might be the best of the bunch.
Jayden Perron has only been playing in the U.S. for five months, but he's already having a transforming effect on his team, the Sioux Falls Power 16U, which plays at the top level of American AAA hockey.
"This guy is a culture-changer," says his coach Noëlle Needham. "How he plays, how he performs, how he trains, how he respects the game and how much he loves the game and is obsessed with it — it's transformed how the rest of the kids on our team approach it as well.
"When he goes on in the ice, he makes people around him not only better but he makes the game easier for them. He plays the right way, he's an honest 200-foot player and yes there's always going to be things he can do to continually improve. But, at this level, the way his brain works, the type of teammate he is, he is a very unique and special individual."
Talent evaluators have been aware of Perron's skill set for some time. An explosive skater and playmaker, the shifty centre averaged almost three points per game with the Winnipeg Warriors in 2019-20.
In the spring of 2020, Perron was the No. 2 overall pick by the OCN Blizzard in the MJHL Draft and chosen 23rd overall by the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.
Through it all, Perron and his family made it clear the NCAA was their preferred route for development.
The Winterhawks couldn't be faulted for hoping for a change of plans, but when the pandemic stalled Perron's season with the Winnipeg AAA U18 Bruins in fall, it accelerated his plans to play south of the border and it wouldn't be in Portland, where all hockey activities were on hold through the winter until last month.
South Dakota, meanwhile, remained largely free of major restrictions.
"I had the opportunity to come here at the start of the year but I decided to stay home for one more year," says Perron, who turned 16 on Jan. 11. "But basically as soon as the season (in Winnipeg) got shut down, I decided to come here."
Perron believes heading stateside has opened up a world of opportunity.
In fact, a month after joining the Power, the USHL’s Chicago Steel forfeited a first-round draft pick to sign Perron to a tender agreement in December and now he’s considered a big part of the club's plans for 2021-22.
USHL rules require tendered players to play at least 55 per cent of a team's games.
Doreen Perron says her son decided to accept the Power's invite to play on a Tuesday and by Thursday, she was delivering him to his billet's house in Sioux Falls. Two days later, the team was on a flight to Texas for a weekend series in Dallas.
Read the full article at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/junior/the-best-of-a-brilliant-lot-574165122.html