Jason He had to pinch himself.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a packed Bell Centre last month, He gazed down and saw his son, Kevin, playing for the Winnipeg Jets in a prospects-tournament game against the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n
About 13 years ago, the accountant and his family (wife Queenie, Kevin and younger son Eric) moved to Montreal from Beijing for a career and life change. It offered Jason the chance to expose his sons more to a sport he fell in love with while mastering French as an international university student in Moncton, N.B.<\/p>\n
“Very proud. The game was sold out, and it was just unbelievable feelings,” Jason recalled over the phone from his home in King City, Ont., recently. “I took them 10, 12 years ago to watch the Habs play. We were playing minor hockey, and somehow they had tickets for around $10. Now, they’re big men playing in the Bell Centre at the national level. It’s amazing.”<\/p>\n
Kevin He, 19, is doing everything in his power to ensure there are more special moments ahead.<\/p>\n
A fourth-round pick of the Jets in 2024 after Winnipeg traded up to grab the Buffalo Sabres’ selection, the Niagara IceDogs winger became the first Chinese-born player to sign an NHL contract last December, months after making his pre-season debut in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
He got into another pre-season game this year, notching an assist at home against the Minnesota Wild, and has maintained his momentum in the OHL. The six-foot team captain has four goals and nine assists in seven games for the Central Division-leading IceDogs.<\/p>\n
“It was a huge confidence boost, going to camp for a second time (with the Jets),” He said. “You watch those guys growing up, to be out there training with them, practising with them, just trying to learn as much as I can.”<\/p>\n
Last week in a showcase game against the loaded Brantford Bulldogs, He had a goal and two assists on an impressive line with Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata and talented 2025 OHL first-round pick Ryerson Edgar.<\/p>\n
On his goal, He caused a Bulldogs turnover in the defensive zone and raced down the wing before beating Sabres prospect goalie Ryerson Leenders from the faceoff circle.<\/p>\n
“He’s played well. Straight ahead, stops and starts, playing on the D side of the puck but with that\u00a0he’s got explosive speed,” first-year IceDogs coach Krys Barch said after the team’s 7-4 loss to the Bulldogs in St. Catharines, Ont. “He\u00a0can really turn a game around or separate it for us.\u00a0He’s been a huge element coming back and a great example for all the young guys.”<\/p>\n
When He returned from Jets camp, he asked Barch if he could play on a line with Edgar. In the coach’s mind, that was a wonderful sign of leadership. For He, it simply was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n
“I can relate to one of the only 16-year-olds. I was the only 16-year-old year my first year,” He said. “I understand\u00a0he\u00a0may be a little shy at the start, but I really like his game right now. I can see\u00a0he\u00a0has a really good compete level. Just want to be able to\u00a0help him out and do what I can to\u00a0help someone find his game. I think\u00a0he’s on the right track.”<\/p>\n
While Edgar grew up in Holland Landing, Ont. (not far from where Connor McDavid learned the game), He didn’t have a traditional hockey upbringing.<\/p>\n
Kevin and Eric first took strides on rollerblades, with ice limited in Beijing. Jason eventually found them some ice, but it was hard to come by. <\/p>\n
The move to Montreal, where Jason was celebrating on the streets while working a summer job when the Habs last won the Stanley Cup in 1993, changed that.<\/p>\n
The family moved to the Toronto area when Kevin was 12 before the IceDogs picked him in the second round (25th overall) of the 2022 OHL Draft.<\/p>\n
“I think his passion, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Jason said. “Passion makes you work harder, compete better, and go to the next level. Passion is everything, it comes from the\u00a0heart. … I think skill is the second (most important aspect to hockey), passion is the first.”<\/p>\n
After a summer spent working with trainer-to-the-stars Matt Nichol \u2014 “He’s been great. Not just a gym coach, but a mentor as well,” \u2014 He has devoted himself to improving his play at both ends of the ice.<\/p>\n
While we know plus-minus may not be a tell-all stat, He’s rating is a plus-8 this season after being a combined minus-34 in his first three years in the OHL.<\/p>\n
The main message from the Jets has been to work on his 200-foot game.<\/p>\n
“I think that’s where my\u00a0head’s at right now,” He said. “I think I have a good foundation, my speed and strength and what not. Obviously, get a little bigger, fill out a little bit more. Really kind of just lock down the defence and fit the system.”<\/p>\n
After four seasons without any playoff success and several off-ice organizational controversies, the IceDogs are hoping to turn the corner this year under Barch and new GM Frank Evola. He wants to play a big role in that turnaround before hopefully making a full-time jump to the pros next season.<\/p>\n
As Kevin takes each step, his dad will be watching with pride.<\/p>\n
“It’s a big dream come true,” Jason He said. “I’ve been a big hockey fan for years. I’ve been watching Hockey Night in Canada for years. I never imagined or dreamed my son would play at that high a level.”<\/p>\n
Friday, Oct. 17: Michigan State Spartans (1-1) at Boston Terriers (2-0-1), 7 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Opener of a back-to-back between the NCAA’s top-ranked Terriers and No. 3 Spartans. New York Islanders first-round pick Cole Eiserman is off to a hot start with Boston, scoring five goals in three games.<\/p>\n
Friday, Oct. 17: Ottawa 67’s (6-1-0-0) at Kingston Frontenacs (5-2-0-1), 7:05 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
It’s rivalry week in the OHL, with geographical rivals playing home-and-home series. Both these Eastern Ontario clubs are off to strong starts. Coach\/GM Dave Cameron’s 67’s were the last unbeaten club in the OHL before falling to Brantford last weekend. The 67’s and Frontenacs meet again Sunday in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Sunday, Oct. 19: Edmonton Oil Kings (8-2-0-0) at Saskatoon Blades (7-2-0-0), 6 p.m. ET \/ 4 p.m. ST<\/p>\n
Two top WHL Eastern Conference clubs square off. Each team has a European-born Canadian team NHL prospect playing well. Saskatoon’s David Lewandowski (Edmonton Oilers, Germany) has 12 points in seven games, while Edmonton’s Miroslav Holinka (Toronto Maple Leafs, Czechia) has 11 points in six games.<\/p>\n
Tuesday, Oct. 21: QMJHL Prospects Game, 7:30 p.m. ET at Sherbrooke, Que.<\/p>\n
A new event showcasing 40 of the QMJHL’s top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defenceman Xavier Villeneuve, who had five assists in a win over Newfoundland last week, and Russian-born, Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov (14 points in seven games) will be two of the featured players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jason He had to pinch himself. Sitting in a packed Bell Centre last month, He gazed down and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217381,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-217380","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}