Photo credit: Dallas Stars Elite Hockey

By Regan Bartel

Jackson Gillespie chomping at the bit

American defender determined to earn roster spot

Apr 20, 2023 | 6:00 AM

Jackson Gillespie should have gravitated to the game of football.

The gridiron, better defined as the field on which the game is played, should run through his veins.

The 16-year-old’s grandfather, John, played at Missouri [Missouz] University and is a hall of famer there, while his dad, Brad, played college football and was a specialty teams coach at Arkansas.

Even his stepsister, who is seven years older, runs track with the DePaul University Blue Demons.

Despite all of that, the Kelowna Rockets’ first selection in the 2022 WHL US Prospects Draft, 17th overall, is chasing his dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

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Born outside of Chicago, Illinois, in the suburb of Gilberts, Gillespie moved to Dallas, Texas when he was 10, where oddly enough, the Lone Star State provided better coaching to advance his hockey career.

“It sounds weird doesn’t it, considering I grew up in the mid-west”, Gillespie told RocketFAN about moving to the sunny south. “You don’t see many players in the Chicago area moving to Texas. People always look at me crazy when I tell them that.”

Lacing up his first pair of skates at the age of five, the personable Gillespie not only grew to love the game of hockey, but his parents noticed better instruction was needed for their son to take his game to the next level.

He was eventually introduced to former Kelowna Rockets player/assistant coach Vernon Fiddler, whose son Blake, chosen first overall in the 2022 WHL U.S Prospects draft by the Edmonton Oil Kings, became a teammate.

“He [Fiddler] had a massive impact on my play and why I chose the WHL over all the other options. He told me how great it is and the opportunities I will get from it.”

Gillespie isn’t the first d-man from Texas to ply his trade with the Kelowna Rockets organization. Cole Martin, from Arlington, Texas, was the teams third round bantam pick in 2009 and won a WHL title with the club in 2015.

Let’s also not forget about Tyler Myers, born in Houston, before eventually moving to Calgary where the Rockets chose the lanky defender in the first round back in 2005.

“Last year, I didn’t know much about the WHL”, Gillespie admitted. “After I got drafted, I did more research and learned it’s a top league that pumps out a lot of great players.

“I didn’t know much about the draft”, Gillespie continued. “A couple of weeks prior, I was talking to Fiddler [Gillespie’s former coach] about it. We weren’t really expecting me to get drafted.”

After attending the Rockets rookie camp this past fall, the self-described two-way defenceman had a sense that Kelowna and the league were the right fit for him.

“Once I signed with the team, I started watching games and cheering for them”, Gillespie said. “I hope to play there [Kelowna] next season, but I have to make the team. Nothing is a guarantee, but hopefully I do.”

As a member of the Dallas Stars U15 team, Gillespie scored 9 goals and collected 27 points in 37 games this past season.

It hit a speed bump in October when he broke three ribs which sidelined him for nine weeks.

“I am completely recovered,” a sense of relief in Gillespie’s voice. “I ended the season better than I started.”

Now 100% healthy, Gillespie’s plan is to put on more weight this summer to be ready for Rockets training camp in August.

“I am trying to perfect my craft,” telling RocketFAN he will skate no less than three times a week under the watchful eye of Fiddler, who puts both him and Fiddler’s son through the paces.

Home-schooled, Gillespie’s biggest goal is to bulk up to 185 pounds when he heads up to Canada in August.

“I like the cold weather,” Gillespie said without hesitation, knowing that Kelowna isn’t foreign from receiving Okanagan champagne powder.

“I am happy to get up there and see the snow.”