Familiarity.
It can ease the transition to the next level.
When Cochrane’s Jaydan Gordon launched out of his skates to get from Midget AA hockey directly to Major Junior, the shock and awe of the adjustment was blunted by the presence of his older brother.
Coda Gordon is a next-level veteran in his fourth full season with the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos. The 20-year-old forward has already been drafted and not re-signed by the Calgary Flames, and was waiting in the Broncos dressing room when his younger brother arrived in Swift Current.
“That helped a lot,” the younger Gordon, a 6-foot-3, 165-pound defenceman, says. “Getting on the team, it made me more comfortable because I knew somebody on the team. From there I had an in with the other guys on the team because of some common ground with Coda.
“It helped me be more comfortable outside the rink which probably helped me, in turn, on the ice.”
Playing as a seventh defenceman in his rookie season in Swift Current, the 17-year-old Gordon is soaking up as much as he can to cast the foundation for future busy seasons at the next level.
“Right now I’m trying to keep it simple and not do too much,” Jaydan Gordon says of his limited playing time. “Just make as few mistakes as possible because we have other guys on the team who are going to produce points and be the offensive d-men and stuff. I’m just trying to fill a role of a steady d-man you can rely on to not make mistakes, basically.”
It’s early days, and Broncos head coach Mark Lamb understands he has a unique prospect with huge potential. The tools are there, they just need to be fine-tuned.
“He’s a smart player, a good skater who has some good size and hockey smarts. He played very well and made our team,” Lamb assesses of his young defensive prospect. “Now he’s in a situation where he’s played some games, and played well in the games he’s played.”
As the team’s seventh defenceman, Jaydan Gordon has skated in five of 22 Broncos regular-season games so far with no goals, no assists and no penalty minutes.
“We’re just taking him very slow and he’s working very hard in practice and waiting for his opportunity,” Lamb continues. “His smarts and his skating are what stick out. He’s a very competitive kid, also. Where he has to improve is his strength, which I’m sure is not a lot different than with a lot of the other young kids.”
What is different is the young Broncos recruit bounded from his home Midget AA squad directly to Major Junior, a level many of the 850 kids in Cochrane Minor Hockey hope to achieve some day.
The significance of it all is not lost the Swift Current Broncos rookie.
“It’s always one of the motivations when somebody in your own town made it to that level and you want to be like them.”
Like his older brother Coda before him, Jaydan Gordon is blazing a trail for youngsters to follow to the next level.
