Cover is by far the coolest story to come out of the draft. He grew up in the Western Caribbean territory where the one rink in the area was dedicated purely to roller hockey — it had no ice. Cover was a roller hockey phenom for nearly a decade before moving to Canada and falling in love with ice hockey just before high school. “It means the world to me,” Cover said of being drafted to the NHL. Cover didn’t play ice hockey, didn’t even
know all the rules, until his U14 year. A few seasons later, playing AAA for the first time, he was selected by the London Knights in the fourth round of the Ontario Hockey League draft. Sens head scout Don Boyd spoke eagerly about the “untapped potential” Cover has. “It’s a great story, but we drafted him because we believe that he’s got ability; we believe that he’s got skill,” Boyd said. “We believe he’s going to have a chance to be an offensive guy.” “He
plays in a good program. We know he’s going to get good coaching. We know he’s going to be managed well.”
Jaxon Cover, Ottawa Senators, 2026 NHL draft, 32nd overall, London Knights, Ontario Hockey League draft, roller hockey, ice hockey, Don Boyd
32nd overall is wild.
So he basically went from roller hockey to NHL? That’s kind of crazy honestly. I don’t even know the rules half the time, so good for him.
Wait, didn’t he play ice hockey before? The article said he didn’t even know all the rules until U14 which sounds like he was just making stuff up at first lol. Also “roller hockey phenom for nearly a decade” feels like they’re overhyping it. But hey if scouts see offensive ability then whatever.
I love stories like this but isn’t Ottawa always drafting these “untapped potential” guys and then they never pan out? Like yeah he grew up in the Western Caribbean and then moved to Canada, cool, but hockey is hockey right. Also London Knights?? I get confused which league is which, AAA, OHL, U14… my brain hurts. Hope he actually learns the ice part fast.