Jimi Jax - Rookie Experience

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Jimi Jax - Rookie Experience

 

 

 

Third Overall. Not something that anyone from Grand Falls, Arizona would foresee for one of their former residents. The highest pick from an Arizona kid in the VHL draft – and the highest pick Jimi Jax himself has ever been taken in draft of his career. Years of hard work after coming out of nowhere has finally paid off – and Jax is ready to show the league that he’s ready to live up the hype of a high-end draft pick.

 

All his life, Jimi has felt the pressure of being so close to falling out of the spotlight being green to the hockey world. When the pressure ramped up in those situations, he always managed to fight through and become a better version of himself.  For Jax, meeting expectations was the easy part, and exceeding them is what made him so great. This time around at third overall, meeting expectations will be a tough task and exceeding them will be even harder. It’s a different type of pressure for the young phenom, but he's ready to show the league why he belongs amongst the best of the best prospects.

 

On the pressure of the expectations of a top 3 pick:

 

“I don’t really feel any pressure at all – I feel fortunate to be where I am right now. I’ve worked extremely hard to get here and I’m still not done.”

All the talk regarding Jax leading up to the draft was where he was going to play in his D+1 season. The VHL is introducing 9 year careers and he has a prime opportunity to take advantage of the extended stay. The VHLE – a relatively new league – also offers opportunity to tune the skills and have a much stronger rookie season. Jax was mum about it leading up to the draft, but hinted that the decision will be based on the team’s intention in S87. He has fell in drafts before and ended up on strong teams - but with the Toronto Legion is in tank mode, he intends to start the season with in the VHLE with the Oslo Storm. In Oslo, he joins fellow USA linemate Oreo McFleury with a strong team that will expect contend for the season.

 

“I think it’s the right choice for me and where I am. I’ve heard good things about the Euro-league and I should be a great experience for me. It will be nice to be on a team with high expectations that will help me fine-tune some of the areas I’d like to work on, specifically defense”.

 

It’s no secret that the Legion are eying another top pick in the following draft loaded with defensive starts. Jax won’t admit it, but he’s looking forward to seeing his VHL squad build a solid foundation to be dominant in the near future. With a year in the E – he’s on his way to exceeding expectations just one more time.