{"id":688697,"date":"2026-06-06T22:11:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/688697\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T22:11:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T22:11:44","slug":"dude-my-kids-playing-in-the-stanley-cup-final-jackson-blake-and-an-nhl-dads-dream-come-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/688697\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dude, my kid\u2019s playing in the Stanley Cup Final\u2019: Jackson Blake and an NHL dad\u2019s dream come true"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights<\/a> in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS \u2014 When the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Montreal Canadiens to win the Eastern Conference, Jason Blake didn\u2019t jump for joy. He didn\u2019t pump his fists. He didn\u2019t scream.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just stood there and watched,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Oh, here come the waterworks.’\u201d<\/p>\n

For a guy who played 871 NHL games, represented the United States in the Olympics and World Cup of Hockey and carved out a 13-year NHL career through relentless work ethic and lightning-fast speed, he figured he\u2019d seen just about everything hockey could throw at him.<\/p>\n

He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Not this.<\/p>\n

Nineteen years after he played in the Minnesota state high school tournament for Moorhead, Jason had already watched his oldest son, Jackson, score in double overtime to deliver Eden Prairie High a state championship in 2021. Getting to watch Jackson play for the Stanley Cup, that was too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just super proud,\u201d Jason told The Athletic this week. \u201cI was fortunate to play in the league for a long time and got to play in the playoffs. Never got out of the first round. But to watch your kid \u2014 and as a parent, you always want your kids to grow up to be better than you at whatever that is, whether it\u2019s hockey or in business or whatever \u2014 I don\u2019t even know how to put it in words. I am so emotionally proud of him, and every time I look at him, you just want to hug him because I can\u2019t tell you how proud I am of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDude, my kid\u2019s playing in the Stanley Cup Final.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson is just 22 years old, and after making the conference final as a rookie last year, he\u2019s already appeared in 30 career playoff games after Thursday night\u2019s Game 2 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights. That equals the number his dad played in his 13-year career. He\u2019s Carolina\u2019s second-leading scorer with 15 points in 15 games, playing on a fast, high-energy line with Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven.<\/p>\n

The trio has combined for 20 goals and 44 points in 15 games, with Blake scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime to eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers and catapult the Canes into the conference final.<\/p>\n

Anything to do with hockey in Jackson\u2019s life, Jason has been right there by his side.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than a father-son relationship or even a mentor-student relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are literally best friends \u2014 inseparable best friends,\u201d Jason said. \u201cWe talk three, four times a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if that\u2019s an exaggeration, Jason laughed: \u201cNo. Every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason coached Jackson as a squirt, then on the Minnesota Blades. He\u2019s trained with him. To this day, he studies video with him almost weekly on FaceTime from his home in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jackson Blake joins Jason Blake on the ice during Dad\u2019s Maple Leafs days. (Courtesy of Jason Blake)<\/p>\n

This past week, Jason\u2019s been there in person, staying at the house Jackson recently bought in Raleigh. So too, in fact, were Jackson\u2019s girlfriend, Jane, 25-year-old sister, Lauren, 19-year-old sister, Anna Belle and 13-year-old brother, Brooks, a peewee hockey player.<\/p>\n

It became the family\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to help him out as much as I can,\u201d Jason said. \u201cBefore he takes (his afternoon) nap, I\u2019ll go down there and hang out with him and chat with him for a little bit. Just gauge where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson accepts the help with open arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the stuff I know about hockey is from him,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe\u2019s helped me grow as a player \u2014 and a person, as well. He\u2019s been a huge help to me, and I\u2019m super thankful for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about his father\u2019s influence, Jackson smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember the saying,\u201d he admitted. \u201c\u2018Hard work beats talent when talent doesn\u2019t work\u2019 or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason laughed when informed that his son didn\u2019t get it quite right.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually, \u201cHard work beats talent when talent doesn\u2019t work hard,\u201d Jason said.<\/p>\n

The phrase wasn\u2019t just something Jason said over and over again as Jackson grew up. It was the foundation of how he raised Jackson because that\u2019s exactly how Jason played throughout a successful career that began with the Los Angeles Kings and took him to the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. In his final season on Long Island, 2006-07, Jason scored 40 goals in 82 games after hitting the 20-goal mark the previous three seasons.<\/p>\n

All this from an undrafted, undersized 5-foot-10 player. His son is an inch taller but still had to wait 109 names to hear his called at the 2021 draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe works extremely hard in the summer,\u201d Jason said. \u201cI think the one thing that I\u2019m so proud of him is his compete level and his work ethic. I think overall, he\u2019s a way better player than I was as far as his hands, seeing the ice, probably a shot, his passing ability. But what makes me most proud is his work ethic is the same as mine was.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s becoming the player that he and I always knew that he could be, or taking steps in that direction. And he\u2019s still got a long way to go, but I mean, he\u2019s ahead of what I was at this age. I mean, I was still in college. And he\u2019s so humble, and that\u2019s what I love. I feel like we raised him the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jackson and Jason Blake pose together as Jackson signs his entry-level contract with the Hurricanes. (Courtesy of Jason Blake)<\/p>\n

When Jackson was a kid, the first question Jason used to ask him after games was, \u201cHow do you think you played?\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of goals, points or highlights Jackson produced was irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Even if his team won.<\/p>\n

To this day, Jason still asks that question after Jackson\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

Even when Jackson was lighting up youth hockey, Jason would say, \u201cYou scored five goals, but it doesn\u2019t mean you played well. Your work ethic has to be there every single game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason was trying to prepare his son for bigger stages he\u2019d reach at the high school, college and eventually NHL level.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jason Blake instilled in Jackson Blake that work ethic, not stats, are what matters. (Courtesy of Jason Blake)<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like you can\u2019t talk about (Jackson) without talking about his work ethic, and it\u2019s all over the ice, but especially the way he forechecks,\u201d veteran Jordan Martinook said. \u201cHe\u2019s got such a quick stick, and I don\u2019t know how many takeaways this guy has, but it feels like every shift he\u2019s got a takeaway. He\u2019s so slippery. You can\u2019t really hit him. Sometimes you\u2019re watching, you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, don\u2019t go there, Blake,\u2019 but then he gets away. He finds a way out of it. It\u2019s so impressive to watch the way that he goes about his business, the way he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason\u2019s lessons stuck. They\u2019re visible every night in the way Jackson plays, despite not being the biggest player on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been small,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI was a late bloomer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He learned early, however, that limited size wasn\u2019t an excuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it matters how big you are,\u201d he said. \u201cI just think it\u2019s your heart and how willing you are to work and do the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening to him, it\u2019s hard not to hear echoes of his father. Of course, it helps that they look and play so similarly, other than Jackson being a right-shot and Jason is a lefty.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic is great,\u201d Hurricanes coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour said. \u201cThat was his biggest jump when he first came into the league. First time I saw him and then he had a summer, came back, and he was just night and day. He put the work in. I saw him on a daily basis do that. But sometimes those guys who work hard, you lose the fact that they\u2019re very talented. If he wasn\u2019t such a hard worker, you\u2019d say he\u2019s an amazing player because he has such skill. He has a combination. This is a little bit of his coming-out party because we\u2019re playing at this time, but I think he\u2019s just scratching the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Carolina signed Jackson to what could be a bargain eight-year, $40.94 million ($5.117 million average annual value) contract that starts next season. Jackson called signing the deal a \u201cno-brainer.\u201d He said even if he left money on the table. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you love it here, and I want to be here the rest of my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve realized this (opportunity) is special, and you\u2019ve got to embrace it and enjoy it. But you\u2019ve also got to attack it because you never know when your next opportunity will come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason\u2019s enjoying this ride through the lens of a former player but even more so as a proud dad.<\/p>\n

The thought of his son lifting the Stanley Cup gives Jason chills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pinch myself,\u201d Jason said. \u201cAs parents, we try to live vicariously through our kids when we get to a certain age, but this is almost too much of a thrill of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason never got out of the first round in 13 NHL seasons. Now he\u2019s watching his son play for the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

The tears have come often these past few weeks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not because Jackson is doing something Jason never could. It\u2019s because, as Jason put it, \u201cJackson and I are literally best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4830,4821,393,4828,394,385,99,1788,1793],"class_list":["post-688697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-los-angeles-kings","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-vegas-golden-knights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}