The Amherst Way to Seattle

It’s a common scene after a hockey game. Players meet up with friends who have come to support them. But when Seattle Kraken forward Jacob Melanson met up with Seattle Torrent goaltender Carly “CJ” Jackson after the Kraken game on Dec. 14, it was another special step in a friendship forged in the players’ hometown of Amherst, NS.

Amherst is a small town with a population of around 9000 people. Everyone knows everyone, and hockey is a big part of daily life, so it makes sense that the game was what first brought Jackson and Melanson together.

“We grew up in the same community, and we're a few years apart, so we were never played in the same age category,” Jackson said. “But my first memory of Jacob was when I was in college, I ran this volunteer goalie clinic over Christmas. As a teenager, he volunteered to be a part of it. He said, ‘Can I shoot? Can I shoot?’ And I just remember at that age, I knew I liked him, because he was this young kid who could have just been doing whatever, and he was so invested and excited, and he was a great teacher. I remember being just so impressed by him.”

Over time, the connection between the two players deepened through both the game they loved, and their dedication to give back to their community.

That’s what you do in Amherst – you help each other out. If you’re moving up the ranks of playing hockey into U-15 and U-18 levels, you’re joining travel teams and driving sometimes upwards of an hour and a half to where you need to be for on-ice sessions. Melanson and Jackston both recalled how the community around them would pull together to get players where they needed to be as they chased their dream to play at the highest levels.

Two years ago, motivated by that pursuit, Melanson, along with his trainer Ryan Reynolds of East Coast Athlete, developed a hockey school, JAHM Hockey.

“It started because both of us were thinking about what we could do to help the community more,” Melanson said. “Hockey's a pretty big sport back home, and everyone loves it, so it's just getting those kids more reps and more ice time before they're going into training camps and trying to get them one percent better and see how they go.”

Of course, Jackson joined in to help at the camp and around that same time the two started to train together in earnest.

Every day it was getting up at 6:50 am, eating breakfast together and working out together both on the ice and in the gym. A deep appreciation for each other has come out of that.

Jackson will tell you they love watching Melanson play and that he is “a beauty” and “all heart.”

Melanson is equally effusive.

“CJ works harder than everyone in the gym,” Melanson said. “They are pushing me every day to be better. I get to go on the ice with them as well, and they are so competitive. They are a smaller goalie, but they never give up and is competitive like everyone else.”

And so, when CJ started to talk to the newest PWHL franchise about signing in Seattle this summer, Melanson was there to be a sounding board.

“It's kind of one of those things where it's not the reason you decide to make a choice, but it definitely was aligned with all of the pieces of making the choice, right?” Jackson said. “It was like, it would just be so cool for us to be in the same city, playing for the same city, building two programs. That definitely was a draw. I asked him a lot of questions, right? Like, ‘What is Seattle like? ‘What's your experience there?’ Even, ‘What about this neighborhood and that neighborhood?’ It's just nice to have someone that you love and that you trust, and I value his input a lot.”

And while Melanson started the season with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley, on Dec. 13 he was called up to Seattle. Both players were now not just with a Seattle organization; they were playing in Seattle in the same building.

Melanson texted Jackson with the news and said he wasn’t sure whether he’d play or not. When he found out he would draw in against Buffalo in the second NHL game of his career, Jackson was at the ready to lead the cheering section. The Kraken forward was able to wrangle up some tickets, and Jackson, along with Torrent defender Megan Carter, didn’t miss a second of the action.

“It was so cool because we talked about us coming to Seattle and the fact that two kids from this small town of Amherst both ended up at the highest level of hockey in Seattle, on the other side of the continent,” Jackson said. “It's just a crazy stat, right?”

“It was so uplifting to see him play. I miss home sometimes and to see him was so energizing. He played exactly like he always plays. Training with him and then getting to see him do what he did, I thought he played fantastic. He did his job very, very well, and I couldn't be more proud of him. He's a great dude. And, yeah, we're lucky to have him in Amherst, and I'm just so happy I got to be there for him.”

After the game, the two met up to celebrate the moment.

“(Seeing each other after the game) was pretty, pretty surreal,” Melanson said with a smile. “When I grew up, I mean, you never really think that, coming from a small town, you can make it, but it's pretty cool for those kids back home to see both me and CJ and hopefully we’re able to help them out.”

Sounds like the Amherst way.