NHL commissioner Gary Bettman looks on after Jaxon Cover was drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the 32nd overall pick at the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26, 2026, in Buffalo. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty Images

Article content

Jaxon Cover’s ascension from roller hockey phenom in the Cayman Islands to first-round NHL Draft pick in only a handful of years is mystifying to many.

Article content

To Mark Hunter, however, it makes perfect sense.

Article content

Article content

“There’s a lot of kids, they talk about wanting to be teachable and they’re not, some are not, but he is,” the London Knights’ owner and general manager told the Ottawa Citizen in a phone interview this week. “He wants to learn; he wants to get better. He’s humble. That’s a good trait because they all have to improve, and he will because he’s got the right attitude.”

Article content

Article content

Cover spent nearly a decade on roller skates, honing his talent at the only inline arena in the western Caribbean self-governing British Overseas Territory (which has a population of just 90,000). He travelled throughout the United States, dominating youth tournaments. He had made a name for himself long before finishing elementary school.

Article content

Article content

Article content

When it became clear that roller hockey would only take him so far, Cover moved with his family to the Toronto area in 2020 at age 12 to chase a new dream.

Article content

Article content

He had spent a week or two each summer at ice hockey camps since he was eight years old, but those were really his only experiences in cold rinks. At age 13, he played his first full season on ice, making the AA team in Aurora and his prep school’s U16 team.

Article content

Two years later, he was a point-per-game player in AAA and a man among boys at school, putting up 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 17 games with St. Andrew’s College.

Article content

Jaxon Cover of the London Knights celebrates after scoring in a game against the Soo Greyhounds in February 2026. Photo by Mike Hensen /Postmedia

Article content

In June of 2024, he was selected by London 64th overall in the Ontario Hockey League Draft.

Article content

“He was very elusive on the ice,” Hunter recalled of scouting Cover. “He was still learning the game and figuring out what to do, and getting things down on the ice. But if you would have seen him at that age, he still had a lot of upside, a lot of skill.

Article content

“And he would take the puck to the middle of the ice, which I think is important in this business.”

Article content

In Cover’s first full season with the Knights in 2025-26, the winger’s fundamentals still needed work (understandable, seeing as he was only learning the rules a few years prior). Hunter says once the coaching staff was able to teach him how to utilize all four of his teammates on the ice, his game took off in the second half of his rookie year. Cover had 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) in 72 total games, regular season and playoffs.