The Jacome family welcomes home second son from abroad

Written By ROBERT BELARDI

Every family has their niche. It floats the boat. It fuels the fire. 

This ubiquitous influence will define the members inside the home and will never, under any circumstance, become monotonous. 

In Caledon, the Jacome family is fuelled by, none other, than the pride and joy of what it means to be Canadian. 

Hockey is what makes this household run.  

After the family welcomed home their eldest son Brendan from the University of Ottawa, their second eldest son Jack returned home from Clarkson University, after the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I hockey program and the school itself. 

“It happened so fast and boom, we were home two days later,” Jacome said. 

“We were about to start our playoffs, and we heard that Harvard might cancel their season. The next day, another team might cancel their season. That night the NBA closed. Then the next day, the NHL closed.” 

Unlike Brendan, who idolized those who wore the number 19, Jack raised himself, praising players akin to his own height and style. 

At 5'7, Jack cheered for the long-time Tampa Bay Lightning forward and Stanley cup champion, Martin St. Louis. 

“He was the guy I looked up to and he paved the way for a lot of other small guys playing in the NHL now. Yeah, he was my guy, no other way to put it.” 

Jacome began with the Caledon Hawks around the age of five, playing hockey a year above his age group, before moving to Brampton's system for rep. 

He remained a part of Brampton's rep league all the way to AAA Midget and even wore the number 26 like St. Louis. That was when the OJHL, Georgetown Raiders, signed him to the team for the 2015/2016 season. 

After his first game, Clarkson coach Casey Jones approached Jacome to speak with him. By February 2016, he had officially committed to the school. He already had offers from other division one schools at this time, but chose Clarkson over all others. 

“Where Clarkson is in New York, is a really small town.” 

“I'm from Caledon. I live in a pretty small part of Caledon too, so, I'm used to being around farms and just used to a small town feel which I really like.”  

In the same year, Brendan and Jack were playing together with the Raiders. Jack led the team with 67 points and his brother Brendan finished the year with 58. Jack says, that not every sibling has the chance to play with their brother in such a high level of hockey and it is a memory he will forever cherish. 

After his first year, Brendan left the Raiders and Jack, was the one and only Jacome on the roster. In the 2016-2017 season, he led the Raiders to the Buckland Cup, finishing the year with 91 points and was named top-forward in the CJHL. 

 “A big part of that year for me was the coaching. We had some amazing coaches. Greg Walters, who is now the coach of the Oshawa Generals in the OHL, I still keep in touch with him, he helped me out so much and let me be myself out there.” 

“Big year for my development as well. I think I grew a lot as a player. It gave me the direction to move on to Clarkson the next year.” 

The Raiders practices and games were only fifteen minutes away from his house. Jacome was ready to leave for Potsdam, New York, to another country, a state instead of a province and against a whole new league he had never seen before. 

Jacome says the biggest challenge he faced, was living on his own. It was mundane to return back to your dorm to know there is laundry to be done, and he had no other choice. 

Now in his third year, it has been easier ever since, being a part of school in the United States. 

Clarkson travels to most games within a five-hour radius, such as Cornell, Albany and even as far out as Harvard. 

There have been some cases where the school had to fly over to Michigan and even into Wisconsin for hockey. Unlike the OHL, the university out in the United States organizes hockey games for Friday and Saturday nights. 

Jacome laughed and said it gives him structure that way, otherwise, he doesn't know what he would do without it. 

He says in the NCAA, there are a lot of Canadian players playing south of the border. The game is very different in the United States versus Canada. It is structured, through and through. 

“Games are really structured, with the system the coach puts in place. Usually there is not as much offence.” 

“Everyone is so structured and systematic. It's really physical. There's only two games a week, once you get to the weekend, you're pretty excited to play.” 

So far, this season, Jacome is Clarkson's sixth leading scorer, with six goals and 11 assists. 

He also took the time over the phone, to commend the efforts of his father, who has bred three talented hockey players in the family. 

Father, David Jacome, played at Western University before playing professionally in Holland. 

He has shared his passion with his wife Angela, and his three sons. Jacome says, he used to build a rink in the backyard so the boys can practice and would flood the rink at night; even if it was 15 below zero outside. 

Jacome says, it might be cliché to say he owes his father everything. But it's the truth. They all do. 

Sooner or later, the youngest son Joey might have a nice story too.