Cayman Makes History as Jaxon Cover is Selected in the First Round of the NHL Draft
BUFFALO, New York — A historic moment for Caymanian sports unfolded Friday evening as 18-year-old Jaxon Cover was selected by the Ottawa Senators with the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the NHL entry draft, becoming the first player from the Cayman Islands ever drafted into the National Hockey League.
Cayman’s Jaxon Cover, seen here playing for the London Knights, has been selected to play for the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the NHL draft. – Photo: Jaxon Cover InstagramThe moment was particularly remarkable given Cover’s unconventional path to hockey stardom. Growing up on Grand Cayman, an island without a single ice rink, Cover didn’t lace up ice skates until age 13, instead developing his skills through ball hockey and roller hockey.
“It went down to the wire,” admitted Nanalie Cover, Jaxon’s mother and president and CEO of the University College of the Cayman Islands, who watched from Buffalo alongside extended family and high school friends as her son’s name was called.
The Cover family, surrounded by friends who travelled to witness the milestone, expressed profound gratitude for the journey that led to this moment.
“We are very thankful, grateful and humbled by Jaxon’s journey, and where he is this morning,” Nanalie Cover told local Cayman media Saturday.
She added that the achievement serves as inspiration for the islands: “The people of the Cayman Islands have this as a symbol of what we can do, and what is possible for all, irrespective of where they originate.”
For the young forward, who most recently played for the Ontario junior team, the London Knights, the draft selection is just the beginning.
Unlike the NFL or NBA, where draftees typically join their teams immediately, NHL prospects often require years of development before making their professional debut.
Cover’s development path will take him to Penn State University, where he has committed to play college hockey, the same institution attended by this year’s No. 1 overall pick, Gavin McKenna.
