How Johnathan Kovacevic’s family story helps him put his hockey pursuit in perspective
New York Times“Don’t sleep on Johnathan Kovacevic.” Former Jets scout Dan Shrader texted this to me in 2019. When you’re 17, that’s your first NHL draft year and I couldn’t even play in the OHL, never mind being an NHL draft pick so it’s been a long journey.” Looking back on those days, Kovacevic calls his struggles “a blessing in disguise.” There was an advantage to his junior hockey tribulations that ran counter to being put on the fast track toward NHL success. He says that Curtis Carr, Merrimack’s defence coach at the time, “just got me really well.” Carr says he could immediately see Kovacevic’s potential, even well before he recruited him. Whereas most recruits he spoke to could describe their most ambitious hockey dreams in detail, Carr says Kovacevic always told him the same thing: “I’m just trying to be the best person and best player he can be.” At the time, Carr wondered if this was a sign that Kovacevic didn’t know how far hockey could take him. “The NHL has been my dream since I was 4 years old but yeah, I’m not going to lie, I didn’t always think it was necessarily attainable,” Kovacevic says.
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Kraken’s Shane Wright, Canadiens’ Johnathan Kovacevic share milestone night
New York Times
Canadiens’ Johnathan Kovacevic has found some permanence after long road to NHL
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