There was no storybook ending to his junior hockey career with a devastating first-round playoff exit, but Jordan King says he will always cherish the four years he spent causing nightmares for opposing puckstoppers.
The captain of the Amherst Ramblers is learning to deal with the disappointment from losing in the first round of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League playoffs in a stunning seven-game series lost to the South Shore Lumberjacks.
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King began his junior career with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, but spent the past three seasons with the Ramblers with hopes of winning a championship before writing the next chapter of his life.
The 20-year-old former Western Kings star couldn’t help but be disappointed with the early exit. He was in his third and final year with the team, which was poised to make a run this season, but it didn’t materialize like they envisioned.
“We loaded up to win, so it’s definitely disappointing to go out in the first round like we did,” King said Tuesday.
He appreciates the fact his parents supported him and allowed him an opportunity to play hockey away from home, so he’s going to look back on the experience with a smile on his face.
He also appreciated the billet families that took him in during the past four years. He was treated really well everywhere he stayed, and that meant a lot to him, he said.
“Over the four years I made a lot of good friends and made a lot of memories. There are no regrets. I had a really fun time.
“They always made me feel like I had a home away from home,” he said when asked about his billet families.
He has some time to ponder his future, but he is definitely university-bound in the fall of this year with a desire to pursue kinesiology, and he is hopeful that it includes a chance to play varsity hockey.
He is fielding offers from a number of universities in Atlantic Canada and Ontario that are interested in having him join their teams next winter, so he will give it some thought and make a decision when he’s sure of what’s best for him.
“I definitely want to play hockey again next year, so I will make my decision after school ends,” he said.
