Meet Jessica Jones!

Tell us about yourself!

I currently live in Ponoka, Alberta, a small farming town 45 minutes south of Edmonton, and I am freelance journalist, primarily for newspapers in surrounding towns. I write stories when my three-year-old is at pre-school or napping. I started playing organized hockey at 16 in Calgary when I moved in with my dad, who also stepped up to be my hockey coach at the time. I would have loved to play organized hockey sooner and remember having vivid dreams about it. I also recall begging my mother to play, but due to finances and other commitments, it wasn’t in the cards for me as a young child. I also played recreational hockey in Edmonton. 

I was that kid who started skating at age four on an outdoor community rink in Calgary. I don’t have any memories of learning how to skate; it was just something I always did.

My dad proudly tells a story of how, at five years old, I came crying to him after an older boy “stole” and skated away with the puck I was playing with. “Well, Jessie, go and get it back,” my dad told me.  I guess I proceeded to full on trip and injure the boy. Whoops.

I played organized midget and junior hockey, and then on a rec team in Edmonton. I took a couple years off when I had my son and was ecstatic when I found out they had a ladies recreational hockey team when we moved to Ponoka. 

What made you want to be a WHL Brand Ambassador?

The short answer to why I wanted to be a WHL Brand Ambassador: The unrelenting love and passion I have for the game. It’s more than a game or sport for me. It’s all the little things that come with it. It’s the feeling of instant stress relief when I enter the arena and hear the vibration and random cadence of hockey pucks ricocheting off the boards. It’s the camaraderie — a tribe of like-minded, strong women who all seem to have a “pull up your bootstraps” mentality. Being an ambassador for women’s hockey is always something I’ve done, so a WHL Brand Ambassador is a natural fit. 

What are you most looking forward to as a #WHLAMBASSADOR?

Promoting this sport and inspiring women, especially mothers with kids. Hockey is a tough sport to get into later in life but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I would suggest anyone having the ambition to play hockey to get out there and give it a shot. Our kids keep us busy and we often are the ones hustling them off to various activities. But hockey can be just as meaningful for us. I also just love seeing the smile my son gets in the stands when he’s watching Mommy play hockey.

What’s something not a lot of people know about you?

I am a journalist by trade and so people often think that my name “Jessica Jones” is fake, a pseudonym, or made up based on the Netflix Marvel character, Jessica Jones. No, it’s not made up. It’s for real. Seriously. This is what my parents named me and my birth certificate is proof of it. I get a lot of questions into my name, almost every day, and it can be quite funny at times. 

If you could sit down and have dinner with one female hockey player, who would it be and why? 

While she doesn’t play anymore, it would have to be Cassy Campbell, a broadcaster for Sportsnet. She has my dream job. 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given in hockey or in life?

The best advice is probably to just “never quit,” which works for life and hockey. It’s simple but it means a lot. Keep trying, take a couple rebound shots at the goalie, stay with the puck, pressure the play, win the one-on-one battles. Don’t quit. Have determination and stick with something, or at the very least, give it a fair chance. 

What’s your dream for women’s hockey?

Personally my goal in hockey is to have fun and feel confident in the position I’m playing, whether it be right wing or centre. My dream for women’s hockey, on a larger scale, is that it is recognized and funded more substantially. It was such a shame last April when I heard that the Calgary Inferno, a team that won the Canadian Women’s Hockey League championship, ceased operations. I hope they can bring back some funding and have these women play in the league again. It was fantastic hockey to watch and more people need to support it and bring it to the forefront. 

Want to join our #WHLAmbassador team?

Get more details and apply here!