WINNIPEG – Every player has a unique path to the National Hockey League.
For Alofa Tunoa (Noa) Ta’amu, that journey to becoming a Winnipeg Jets prospect was unlike any other.
The 18-year-old became the first player of Samoan descent to hear his name called at the NHL Draft.
“Yeah, it's pretty cool. It's something that my dad's been talking about ever since I was a kid,” said Ta’amu.
“And it's pretty cool that I get to represent the Samoan community in the hockey world. But I'm not the only one, that's for sure. And I think there's a lot of kids coming up that are Samoan, coming up to play hockey.”
You might assume football was always in Ta’amu's future.
His father, Ed, was born in Hawaii, played college football at Utah and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in 2002. A knee injury ended his NFL dream before it began, but football still took him on quite the journey. While playing for the Arena Football League's Spokane Shock, he met Jessica Scott, a Gonzaga soccer player who would later become Noa's mother.
Athletic genes certainly weren't in short supply. Ed passed along his imposing frame to Noa, who now stands 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds. Football seemed like the obvious path — until his grandfather saw something different in his grandson.
“My grandpa, he's from Prince George as I mentioned and he moved to Penticton. And when I was born, he looked at me and said those are hockey hands,” said Ta’amu.
“So that's how I started playing. My mom's side is Canadian. So, they're just big hockey fans. They love it.”
Noa did end up playing football but ended up choosing hockey with a little help from his dad.
“I played football for one year, my freshman year of high school,” smiled Ta’amu.
“Got a pick 6 and my dad didn’t want me to be better at football than him so he told me to play hockey.”
It looks like the decision is going to work out. The Jets Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Hillier had this to say about the defenceman.
“He moves well for a big guy. Chipped in a little offensively there but kind of plays an old school, hard-nosed game,” said Hillier on Saturday.
“Not afraid to drop the gloves in a scrap. We liked his old school approach, stay at home D, and he plays hard."
Ta’amu described himself as ‘physical, very reliable and a big presence out there’ and he didn’t stop there.
“People don’t like playing against me,” said Ta’amu.
“I think that will be a big factor in the future.”
