Jackson looks to fashion growth
The puck won’t drop for another two hours, but the show is about to begin.
CJ Jackson strolls into Mattamy Athletic Center in a custom, plum-colored three-piece suit with the jacket slung over their right shoulder. Jackson poses. Cameras flash. A photo of the ensemble gets nearly 5,000 likes on Instagram; the accompanying video gets nearly 11,000.
As Jackson’s PWHL Toronto teammates continue down the tunnel, the cameras keep rolling, capturing a parade of outfits that represent the individuality of each player. Teams across the fledgling league capture this pregame runway before every game, building a fan base that roots for the players because of who they are, not just because of what they do on the ice.
“I’m trying to get people outside of the hockey world to also relate to these players on a more personal level for their personalities and their interests, and then bring the hockey to them after,” said Eva Ou, the social media manager for Toronto.
Jackson, a goalie for Toronto, hasn’t yet appeared in a game. But since the start of the season, Jackson has gained 11,000 Instagram followers and has seen dozens of their posts go viral.
“When I imagined myself being in this position, I would have thought that if anything would have gone viral it would have been hockey,” Jackson said. “But I think it’s a combination of hockey, expression, personality, humor — it’s all of these things that I think encompass who I am.”
The plum-colored suit is a staple of Jackson’s wardrobe and was custom made by Jared Gibson, who also designs suits for the Ottawa Senators. After Toronto and Montreal broke the women’s hockey attendance record, Jackson walked the runway in a custom bomber jacket designed by Canadian designer Seven to commemorate the event.
The goal of dressing in the way that they do, however, is not just to rake in likes on the internet. Jackson, who is nonbinary, said the way they dress is their most visible form of self expression, and they take comfort in the fact they’re helping other nonbinary people feel represented in the world of professional hockey.
“It’s 30 seconds of walking into a building before a game, but it’s captured in time, and a lot of people see it,” Jackson said. “I think of it as this huge opportunity for us. I think expression is just one of the most powerful things that we have as humans, and it’s a form of art with how you dress.”
On the business side of things, capturing athletes’ personalities helps build a year-round fan base. Toronto, which enters Wednesday night’s matchup with Boston riding a 10-game win streak, hasn’t had a hard time capturing fans’ attention, but Ou is focused on making them stick around.
“We’re doing really well, but even if we weren’t doing really well, I would still want people to be able to like these players and become fans of these players,” Ou said.
Lexie Adzija, for example, is known as much for her performance on the ice this season (5 goals, 3 assists) as she is for her pregame outfits. Boston recently acquired Adzija in a trade with Ottawa, but before she has taken the ice in the green and gray, many fans will recognize her from her former team’s pregame runway videos.
Recognition for who the players are off the ice as well as on, Jackson said, is the goal.
“It’s not just about the tangible stats that make you great,” Jackson said. “It’s what makes humans great. Whether you’re an athlete or an artist or whatever profession you work in, you’re a sum of all these different things.”
Boston adds on ahead of deadline
The PWHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, but not without some last-minute moves.
The trading window ended Monday, and rosters locked Tuesday. Ahead of the trade deadline, Boston acquired the rights to Adzija and Caitrin Lonergan from Ottawa for Shiann Darkangelo in an all-forwards deal.
Lonergan was taken in the 14th round of this year’s PWHL Draft by Ottawa, but did not sign. Darkangelo, 30, had one assist in 17 games with Boston.
Ottawa also acquired forward Tereza Vanišová from Montréal in exchange for defender Amanda Boulier.
Vanišová was tied for fourth in Montreal in scoring with 2-8–20 totals. Boulier ranked third in scoring among Ottawa’s defenders at 1-5–6 in 17 games.
Loose pucks
The playoff race is heating up, with Boston and Ottawa battling for the league’s fourth and final playoff spot. Boston (8-7-2, 22 points) is a point ahead of Ottawa (5-6-6, 21 points) with seven games to play. Toronto and Minnesota (33 points each) are tied for first place
. . . Boston beat Ottawa in a shootout Saturday night at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena in front of a crowd of 13,736, a US record for a women’s hockey game.