Jackson Gillespie: The Lone Sixteen-Year-Old
Kelowna Rockets defenceman Jackson Gillespie had one goal when attending training camp this season, to make the roster full-time as a 16-year-old.
“It was go hard or go home, well not the go home part. I had no other plan actually. I told my coaches, ‘I’m going up there and staying,’ and they jokingly told me I couldn’t come back,” said Gillespie in an interview with kelownarockets.com following practice on Tuesday.
You’d think that the 5’11, 174-pound defenceman would have found his way onto the football field after hearing about his family’s lineage. Gillespie’s grandpa, John, played college football at the University of Missouri, where his 1969 team was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. His dad played college football and would go on to coach. Coincidently, Jackson’s introduction to hockey had a family tie to it.
“I watched my older cousin play when I was about five years old, he was playing on a team from St. Louis and visiting Chicago. I saw it and I fell in love with the physicality and how fast it was.”
Not long after, Jackson was on the ice and learning how to skate in Chicago. As he rose through the ranks his parents decided to relocate to give him the best opportunity to play hockey.
“For the first 13 years of my life, I grew up in Chicago and I played for the Chicago Fury. Then my parents and I moved down to Dallas, Texas where I could play for the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club, that program down there is incredible from the coaching to the players. Overall it was a great experience, they had a massive impact on my development.”
Formed in 2009, the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club has helped develop NHL players such as Seth Jones and Blake Coleman. Former WHL players Cross Hanas (Portland Winterhawks) and Wyatte Wylie (Everett Silvertips), who are both currently playing in the AHL, also played for the program.
Gillespie spent his first season in the Lone Star State playing for their 14U AAA team during the 2021-22 season. On the bench coaching his team was former Kelowna Rocket player and coach Vern Fiddler. Following the end of the 2021 Hub season, Fiddler departed the Rockets coaching staff to return to Texas where his son, Blake, would also play on the same team as Gillespie.
“Vern was an amazing coach. He told us a lot about the league because he had played in it and had just come to us after coaching the Rockets, he explained all of the pros and cons of the route. Little did I know I’d be here in Kelowna eventually.”
Players from his team started to garner attention from WHL teams as the league’s 2022 U.S. Priority Draft approached, but Gillespie didn’t receive much attention until the day before the draft when he received a call from Richard Doerksen, the WHL’s Vice President of Hockey.
“Because teams didn’t know how long I was a resident of Texas, I didn’t get any questionnaires or any interest really. Then the night before the draft I got a phone call from the WHL asking about how long I had lived in Texas to see if I was eligible.”
Under league rules for the WHL’s U.S. Priority Draft, eligible players are those parent(s) who have resided in the United States for two or more consecutive hockey seasons immediately preceding the U.S. Priority Draft. Should a player’s family have moved from the WHL Territory in Canada to the U.S. for at least one complete season, the player will be eligible for the U.S. Priority Draft. The U.S. residence must be in the WHL Territory (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MN, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA and WY) in order for the player to be eligible.
Gillespie had almost essentially fallen under the radar due to his family moving between the Ontario Hockey League and the WHL’s territories. Because he had resided in Texas for one complete season, he was eligible for the WHL.
On May 18, 2022, the Rockets picked the right shot defenceman 17th overall in the first round, along with his teammate Ryder McLeod in the second round. In total six players were picked from the Dallas Stars Elite 14UAAA team in the Draft, including Blade Fiddler, who was picked first overall by the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be picked. The next morning I was at lunch with all of my buddies and I saw my name pop up along with all of my fellow teammates, so that was pretty exciting.”
Last August Gillespie attended his first Rockets camp where he got a better idea of the program. Vern Fiddler custom-tailored an itinerary for the family to make the most out of their trip to the Okanagan.
“The city and the mountains are absolutely beautiful, I’m not used to that at all. Just seeing the rink was incredible, and getting to meet the guys and spend some time with them was awesome. I love the cold up here and can’t wait for the snow.”
Shortly after attending camp, he weighed his options and signed a WHL Scholarship & Development Agreement with the Rockets on September 8, 2022.
Playing for the Dallas Stars Elite 15U AAA team, he posted 27 points (9G, 18A) over 36 games, in addition to 14 penalty minutes and a +20 plus/minus rating.
This summer he trained with the mentality of making the Rockets roster, working on a variety of things including his shot, skating and preparing for the jump of the physicality of the game.
He got his first taste of the WHL, dressing in all four of Kelowna’s pre-season games, where he recorded an assist as well as a +5 plus/minus rating. He said that there’s a difference between the way hockey is played in Canada and the United States.
“To be honest, the biggest eye-opener is how fast it is, it’s very fast and I love it so much. There’s a difference between the way the game is played back home and here, I find that with Canadian hockey players try some more creative moves. It’s also a lot more physical here, which I enjoy that aspect of it.”
On Monday the Rockets announced their opening night roster, including Gillespie as the lone 16-year-old for the season. When Kelowna opens the regular season on Saturday against the Portland Winterhawks fans will notice one difference about Gillespie, he will no longer be wearing a cage.
One date that he said he already has circled on his calendar is January 5, 2024 when the Edmonton Oil Kings and his former teammate Blake Fiddler will visit Prospera Place for their only meeting of the season.
“It’s an unreal experience, especially to be the only 16-year-old on our team, I’m grateful and happy to have this opportunity. I just want to keep working hard and get better as a player.”
Cheer on Gillespie and the Kelowna Rockets in their home opener against the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday, September 23 at Prospera Place. Tickets are on sale at selectyourtickets.com, at the Select Your Tickets Box Office at Prospera Place or by phone at (250) 762-5050.
