On this episode of My Hockey Hero, we celebrate the journey of Hayden Paupanekis, a six-foot-five center from the Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba and draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens (2025 NHL Draft, 4th round, 69th overall). Hayden reflects on learning to skate at five in Winnipeg’s minor hockey system, the support of his family and community, and the pride he takes in being a role model for Indigenous youth.

He shares what it was like to be drafted into the WHL by the Spokane Chiefs, the challenges of moving away from home, the impact of his billet family, and adjusting to the business side of junior hockey. Hayden also talks about his offseason training, his experience at the NHL combine in Buffalo, the feedback from Montreal, and his transition to the Kelowna Rockets as they chase the Memorial Cup. We wrap up with rapid-fire questions on his role models, pregame rituals, and advice for young players about hard work and having a growth mindset.

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In this episode of My Hockey Hero, host Dean Barnes sits down with Alex Huang, star defenceman for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL and 2025 draft pick of the Nashville Predators. Alex shares his journey as the son of Chinese immigrants growing up in a diverse Montreal suburb, his early love for hockey (starting on orange juice caps), and how the pandemic became a turning point in his development. He reflects on being an offensive defenceman, a trilingual student-athlete with Harvard on the horizon, and a role model for Asian and other racialized kids in hockey. Alex also talks about his team’s Memorial Cup aspirations, the demands of major junior hockey, and offers powerful advice to young players about self-belief, hard work, and carving their own path to the next level. blackhockeycards.com

Born and raised in the Cayman Islands, Jaxon Cover took one of the most unconventional paths to major junior hockey. In this episode of My Hockey Hero, Jackson joins Dean to share how roller hockey on a Caribbean island led him all the way to the London Knights and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

Jaxon reflects on:

• Discovering roller hockey at age three and representing the Cayman Islands in travel tournaments across the U.S.
• Moving to Canada at 12, learning ice hockey from scratch at St. Andrew’s College, and his first tryouts with the Aurora Tigers.
• The coaching and mentorship that propelled him to the U16 York Simcoe team and ultimately being drafted in the 4th round of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.
• His first games and first hat trick in the OHL, the challenge of adapting to the size, speed, and physicality of the CHL, and the importance of teammates and mentors like Ben Wilmot.
• How idols like Sidney Crosby and rising NHL star Macklin Celebrini inspire his work ethic, mindset, and goals for the future.

Jaxon also shares his pregame routines, the mental side of dealing with slumps, and offers heartfelt advice for young players chasing big dreams from unlikely places.

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