The Jamaica national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Jamaica. They are controlled by the Jamaican Olympic Ice Hockey Federation and became an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 18 May 2012.[2] Jamaica is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has not entered in any IIHF World Championship events. Jamaica made its international debut in the 2019 Amerigol LATAM Cup.
 | |
| Association | Jamaican Olympic Ice Hockey Federation |
|---|---|
| General manager | Lester Griffin |
| Head coach | Anthony Stewart |
| Captain | Jaden Lindo |
| Top scorer | Jaden Lindo (13) |
| Most points | Carter Thornton (23) |
| Team colors | |
| IIHF code | JAM |
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| Ranking | |
| Current IIHF | NR (27 May 2024)[1] |
| First international | |
Jamaica  5–0  Colombia(Coral Springs, United States; 6 September 2019) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Jamaica 12–0 Colombia (Coral Springs, United States; 14 October 2021) Jamaica 12–0  Venezuela(Coral Springs, United States; 16 October 2021) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
Puerto Rico  6–0 Jamaica(Queens, United States; 9 June 2023) | |
| Amerigol LATAM Cup | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2019) |
| Best result |  1st (2019) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 13–3–0 | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Amerigol LATAM Cup | ||
 |
2019 Coral Springs | Division 1 |
History
editJamaica joined the IIHF on 18 May 2012,[2] becoming the first Caribbean nation to accomplish this.[3] In order to compete at the Winter Olympics, they must have full inclusion from the IIHF, which requires the nation to have at least one ice rink and a development program.[3] Jamaica currently does not possess an ice rink.[4]
Recently they have held tryouts in Canada to form a national team that can compete in the future Winter Olympics,[5] roughly two dozen players were part of the tryouts.[6] Due to the tryouts being held in Canada, some accused the team of attempting to "poach" from Canadian talent.[7] Former NHL player, Graeme Townshend is leading the tryouts in order to construct a national team.[7] The current stated goal of the organization is to have a national team compete in the Winter Olympics within next 20 years.[8]
Canadian players of Jamaican-origin
editThere are notable players of Jamaican-origin have played in Canada, the Subban brothers, P. K., Malcolm and Jordan, all of whom were selected in the NHL Entry Draft in their respective years 2007, 2012 and 2013, with P. K. played for 13 seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, the Nashville Predators and the New Jersey Devils, and Malcolm currently playing for the Rochester Americans in the AHL, an affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. P. K. represented Canada in international competitions, and won the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Anthony and Chris Stewart and Josh Ho-Sang who also played in the NHL, with Ho-Sang playing for the Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL. Graeme Townshend became the first Jamaican-born player to play in the NHL, and played for two seasons with the early 1990s Boston Bruins,[9] the New York Islanders and for one season with the Ottawa Senators. Townshend was born in Kingston. Jermaine Loewen[10] played for five seasons in the Canadian major junior hockey league, the Western Hockey League (WHL), with the Kamloops Blazers, was selected in the seventh round (199th overall) by the Dallas Stars in the 2018 draft, and became the first Jamaican-born player to be selected in the draft.[11] Loewen was born in Mandeville. On 29 October 2021, Isaak Phillips made his NHL debut, becoming the first Jamaica national team player to debut in the National Hockey League.
National team
editOn 6 September 2019, Jamaica played its first international game against other national team at the Amerigol LATAM Cup in Coral Springs, Florida, United States. They defeated Colombia 5–0 and later defeated Argentina 8–4.[12] Jamaica went on to win the Amerigol LATAM Cup after a 3–2 win in a shootout over the defending champion Colombia.[13]
Tournament record
editOlympic Games
edit| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 through 2010 | Not an IIHF member | ||||||
| 2014 through 2022 | did not participate | ||||||
| Total | 0/0 | – | – | – | – | – | |
World Championship
edit| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 through 2011 | Not an IIHF member | ||||||
| 2012 through 2023 | did not enter | ||||||
| Total | 0/0 | – | – | – | – | – | |
Amerigol LATAM Cup
edit| Year | Host | Result | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Coral Springs |
1st place (Division 1) |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021 | Played 6 friendly matches against other national teams | ||||||
| 2022 | did not participate | ||||||
| 2023 | did not participate | ||||||
| Total | 1/5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Fixtures and results
edit| Against other national teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Date | Score | Scores by period | Tournament | Host venue |
 Lebanon
|
18 April 2024 | 6–11 | No information | Challenger Series | Fifth Third Arena, Chicago, Illinois |
| Puerto Rico
|
19 April 2024 | 6–3 | No information | ||
| Lebanon
|
20 April 2024 | 7–6 | No information | ||
| Puerto Rico
|
21 April 2024 | 5–4 | No information | ||
| Puerto Rico
|
7 June 2024 | TBD | –, –, – | Clark Gillies Arena, Dix Hills, New York | |
| Lebanon
|
TBD | –, –, – | |||
| Puerto Rico
|
8 June 2024 | TBD | –, –, – | ||
| Lebanon
|
9 June 2024 | TBD | –, –, – | ||
| Win Loss | |||||
All-time record against other national teams
editLast match update: 21 April 2024
| Positive balance (more Wins) | |
| Neutral balance (Wins = Losses) | |
| Negative balance (more Losses) |
| Team | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
 Brazil |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Colombia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Lebanon |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 21 |
| Puerto Rico |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 23 |
| Venezuela |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 111 | 51 |
References
edit- ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Welcome Jamaica & Qatar". IIHF.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Jamaica has another Winter Olympics dream: hockey". CBS Sports. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ "COOL RUNNINGS: Meet the Blackburn ice hockey star who could represent Jamaica at the Winter Olympics". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "Jamaica: Ice hockey trials fuel Winter Olympic dreams". BBC. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ "Saco man pursues dream of Olympic hockey team for Jamaica". Press Herald. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ a b "OLYMPICS Jamaican ice hockey team poaching Canadians?". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ "Jamaica eyes Winter Olympics in ice hockey". NBC Sports. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "1990-91 Boston Bruins Graeme Townshend Jersey". Third String Goalie. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ^ Jermaine Loewen - Elite Prospects
- ^ Miller, Jeff (12 August 2018). "Stars prospect born in Jamaica 'OK with being the underdog'". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Jamaica Wins in International Ice Hockey Tournament Debut in South Florida". Caribbean National Weekly. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Jamaica boosts Olympic hockey dreams with LATAM Cup championship". NHL.com. Retrieved 8 September 2019.