Jacobson rebounds from setback

Jaxon Jacobson could probably use a little less Charles Dickens in his life as he finds his way through a season in which he’s seen the best of times and the worst of times.

The 17-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings forward, who is in his second season with the Western Hockey League club, enjoyed wild success early on, only to have it come to a screeching halt with a lower-body injury he suffered in November.

“I think it’s been successful,” Jacobson said of his season so far. “It’s been a step in the right direction from last year. I started off strong and then dealt with some adversity with an injury. It was kind of tough to come back from that, and my production saw that but I think I’m getting back to playing like I was at the start.”

The Wheat Kings were in action last night in a game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes that ended well after deadline.

Disaster struck for Jacobson on Nov. 21 during a game in Prince Albert, when a hit led to a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup until Dec. 10, a span of five games.

It was his 21st game of the season and he had 37 points, with six games of three points or more, and he was among the league leaders for assists.

In the next 15 games after his return, the five-foot-10, 182-pound left-shooting centre had just nine points.

“I think I came back still dealing with a lot, which I expected,” Jacobson said. “I just hate sitting out. It’s hard for me to know I can at least give value to the team but have to sit out, so I came back with the idea that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to produce at the level I was before I got hurt. I knew I would get back to it.

“The first couple of games before the break and the first couple after, it’s just different when you haven’t played in a while or are coming back from injury.

“You’re just hesitant.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray noticed the team’s young star wasn’t quite right.

“He had a lot of really good momentum going into that,” Murray said. “He was right near the top in scoring right until he got injured. Coming back from the injury, he seemed a little tentative and maybe even questioned himself, as talented as he is. “That’s going to happen. You’re not produce three points a night in this league. There are going to be ups and downs through the year.

“He went through and hopefully it’s behind him. He’s been real good here the last couple of games.”

Jacobson may have turned the corner in a 6-1 victory over the Victoria Royals on Friday, which was Brandon’s last game before they hit the highway for their annual trip into the Western Conference. He had two goals and two assists against the Royals, and one of the helpers was the highlight.

He made a no-look backhand saucer pass across the zone to Caleb Hadland that landed flat, and the captain sent the puck back to Luke Mistelbacher for their sixth goal.

“Obviously he’s one of the better playmakers in the league,” veteran forward Jordan Gavin said. “He’s a pass-first guy as well. The way he drives the play is special to watch, and he’s going to continue to get better.”

The talented duo play together on the top power-play unit.

While the lines have been shuffled a bit this season, Jacobson has skated the most with overage forward Luke Mistelbacher and 19-year-old captain Caleb Hadland

“Mistel is a goal scorer and Hads being the driver and the workhorse that he is, I think we complement each other’s games,” Jacobson said. “We’ve been gaining chemistry and it’s been getting better and better.”

Jacobson has always been a gifted point producer, even before Brandon took him fifth overall in the 2023 draft.

He had 103 points in 32 regular season games — and 26 more in 11 playoff games — as the under-15 AAA Wheat Kings won a provincial championship.

He then made the rare underage jump to the U18 Wheat Kings in his 14-year-old season — Tanner Kaspick and Reid Nicol last year are the only others who have done it — and had seasons of 60 and 106 points.

In his rookie WHL season in 2024-25, Jacobson had 44 points in 51 games. It’s all the more remarkable because he’s born on Dec. 11, which meant he was 15 for nearly half the season.

He said his rookie WHL season has helped him a lot this year.

“Seeing plays develop, I’m able to predict the play more than I was able to do last year,” Jacobson said. “It’s knowing where guys are going to go: It’s more structured hockey than in U18. Guys in U18 can be anywhere. Now you kind of know where they’re going to be. It’s easier when I’ve played more games.”

After last night’s game in Lethbridge, the players hopped on the bus to continue heading west. This year they’re visiting the U.S. Division, with games against the Everett Silvertips (Friday), Portland Winterhawks (Saturday), Seattle Thunderbirds (Tuesday, Jan. 27), Wenatchee Wild (Wednesday, Jan. 28), Tri-City Americans (Friday, Jan. 30) and Spokane Chiefs (Saturday, Jan. 31).

“I’m really excited,” Jacobson said. “Any time you get to play a team that you don’t see more than once every year, it’s really exciting. We just had that with Victoria. Just the one-and-done competition games are exciting and playing in the States with their fanbases and getting to see all the cities and spending some time with the guys on the road will be really fun.”

He made his first West Coast trip last season when the Wheat Kings visited the B.C. Division squads. He learned a lot about how taxing it can be to have a condensed schedule with plenty of highway in front of them.

“It’s a grind, especially when you’re travelling,” Jacobson said. “You get into a new city at 2 a.m., and you have to play the next night, or vice versa when you get a day off and travel and get to see the city, there are good points and there are tough points. It’s a grind sometimes but one of the most fun parts about junior hockey is the long road trips.”

With the return to form he showed against Victoria, the coaching staff can hope he’s back on track.

In 37 games this season, he has 13 goals and 38 assists, and has won 359 of his 644 draws this year, a terrific 55.7 per cent success rate.

Murray thinks it’s just the start of Jacobson reaching his potential.

“He can be one of the best point producers in the league,” Murray said. “I think he can be the guy who drives offence and drives his line and makes plays that a lot of guys can’t. You talk about the IQ of Gavin, Jax is right there with him. He can make this little plays, like the one to Hadland that are quite impressive. He has the ability to make those plays. With him, it’s the time and the place, and not to rush things and throw blind passes.

“He has the ability to see the play before it comes, and you talk about being in your own head, he was in his own head a little bit but in the last couple of games he’s been staying in his battles longer and winning puck battles and in turn, getting rewarded for that.”

ICINGS: The rosters have been released for the WHL prospects game next month and Team East has just one Wheat King, defenceman Gio Pantelas. Team West, meanwhile, will include Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels of Cypress River. Team West also has Swift Current Broncos forward Sawyer Dingman, son of Wheat Kings legend Chris.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com