Photo: Contributed

By Regan Bartel

From the Gridiron to the Goal Crease

Two generations, one drive: CFL dad, WHL son

Aug 22, 2025 | 6:00 AM

Jeff Pilon once battled defensive linemen in the CFL. His son, 18-year-old Jake, now faces slapshots as a veteran goalie for the Kelowna Rockets. Different sports, same elite mindset.

RocketFAN was interested to learn that his dad didn’t push him into the sport in which he excelled.

“Jake has never played a snap of [tackle] football – ever,” Jeff said this week, despite playing 10 pro seasons with the Calgary Stampeders and winning Grey Cup titles in 2001 and 2008. “My wife, Kelly, didn’t want him to turn out like me.”

The former offensive lineman knows what the game took from him. Jeff suffered several concussions and went through eight operations to stay in the lineup. “Growing up, I had a lot of friends play hockey and baseball, but as a parent, I was afraid of those hockey parents who wanted to live through their kid, so we let Jake choose what he wanted to do. All of his buddies started playing hockey, and we backed him anyway we could.”

Jake began on defense, only switching to goalie at age 12. “Halfway through the evaluations, he wanted to play goal,” Jeff continued. “We asked the local association if he could play, and they said, no, the tryouts were last week, but you can join another association. So, he borrowed some goalie gear from a friend that afternoon and went to the tryout. We bought him some gear the next morning. It’s a wild story, going from pee-wee 12, to bantam three, to triple-A to the WHL in the span of four years.”

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Jeff spoke about the similar pressure of their positions, where players are often only noticed when they make a mistake. “If you are called for holding or give up a sack [as an offensive lineman], the one time you do something wrong, it’s noticed by everyone. It is the same with the goalie. You can make 40 saves, but you let that one in, and now the game’s over and you’ve lost.”

Jeff’s career speaks to his own elite level. Originally drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1999, he was named a CFL West All-Star in 2005, holding the line at 330 pounds. Now retired and working in real estate, he’s trimmed down to 280 pounds. To say he excelled at his sport would be an understatement.

But when it comes to Jake, Jeff credits his son’s athleticism and drive. “Jake has always been an athletic kid. He has been a big kid. It is his passion and drive to get better. I don’t know who likes to be in net getting 100 mile an hour shots fired at you, but you need to have a personality to do that.”

Where the two positions differ is in temperament. Football requires controlled aggression, while a hockey goalie must remain calm under fire. Jeff added, “He definitely has my wife’s calm demeanor, 100 percent. I don’t think anyone would describe me as having a calm, cool demeanor,” he said with a chuckle.

Despite different sports, the Pilons share the same mindset: discipline, resilience, and the drive to compete at the highest level. Whether blocking defensive ends or stopping pucks, they know what it takes to excel.

“I like that he [Jake] doesn’t show he is frustrated,” Jeff says, knowing he wore his emotions on his sleeve on the field as a player. “He competes. He is there in the moment. He wants to do whatever it takes to be the best. As a goalie, that is all you can ask for – someone who comes out, competes, and does the extra to give your teammates a chance to win.”

While he loves watching his son play, Jeff quietly supports him while the rest of the family is more vocal. “My job as a parent is to support him and give him every opportunity to get better. Eli [Wilson], the goaltending coach, has been absolutely amazing for Jake. When he got to Kelowna he was raw, but you get a guy like Eli… we don’t home coach. It’s more about what the coach says, and we repeat and reinforce that to help support what the coach is telling him. Kelly understands the game a lot more than I do. She is a student of the game,” he said honestly.

Jeff is modest about taking credit for his son’s success, but Jake inherited his dad’s size, which NHL scouts love. “When he was at San Jose Sharks camp this summer, they measured his wingspan, and it was seven feet. Teams like to intimidate and push around a goalie, and Jake is pretty hard to move. He is sturdy in the net.”

Jake enters his third season in the WHL, sharing the crease with rookie American-born goaltender Harrison Boettiger after the team released 20-year-old Rhett Stoesser this summer.

“When you are on the biggest stage for junior hockey, that is a wicked opportunity,” Jeff said looking ahead to May’s 2026 Memorial Cup in Kelowna. “You have to have fun.

“When the stress is getting at you, when the fans or the coach or whatever is happening…as soon as you step out on that ice, you have to enjoy what you are doing.”

From the gridiron to the crease, the Pilons show that elite competition, and the passion to thrive under pressure, runs in the family.