Phoenix Dawson Junior Review

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From East Coast to Florida: Phoenix Dawson Junior Review

Phoenix Dawson in his rookie season as a member of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

 

Saint John, NB — Ever since taking his first strides on the ice, the one passion that Phoenix Dawson had is hockey. Wanting to play any chance he got, it was no surprise to his parents when he started to excel at the competitive minor level. Growing up in a hockey-passionate community like Saint John, it wasn’t long until Dawson found out that he would be playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. 

 

A fifth-round selection to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Dawson was a 16-year-old who had just hit a growth spurt and found himself towering over some of the other players in the league at a massive height at 6’1”. Being inspired by watching some of his idols play professionally, Dawson decided to focus his game on being someone the team can rely on to set up a nice play for his teammates.

 

Despite the height advantage, Dawson didn’t really see much success in his first season with Cape Breton, fighting for a spot in the top 9 forwards of the team. Dawson would see some playing time on the wings to focus on his passing ability but simply couldn’t keep up with the speed of some of the players in the league.

 

“I knew I had the height advantage over some guys,” said Dawson. “I just couldn’t keep up with the game though in my first year and it showed.”

 

With Cape Breton not making the post-season, Dawson’s family was able to get him set with professional skating training over the off-season in hopes his skating was improved. His parents said that his clear passion for the sport was the reason that they wanted to show as much support as they possible could. It would pay off as in his sophomore season, Dawson was much more successful with his overall game and found himself as the second line center for the Eagles early on. His game was top notch and it seemed he was set to go pro. 

 

The Cape Breton community was shocked to hear of the news that instead of setting his eyes elsewhere, Dawson had opted to declare for the S76 VHL Entry Draft and would be going to the VHLM for a rookie season prior to the draft. After the news that Dawson was selected 77th-overall by the Miami Marauders in the Dispersal Draft, Dawson put out a social media post thanking Cape Breton and Eastern Canada for being so influential on his decision to pursue professional hockey. Time will tell if this young player has what it takes to reach the top.