On a journey together
Jardine, Allen go from Miramichi to Charlottetown Islanders
Max Jardine was walking out of the Miramichi Civic Centre after a big win with the Miramichi Valley Pulamoo high school hockey team when a referee approached him.
“Max, how would you like to come play for the Miramichi Timberwolves?”
The referee turned out to be Butch Watters, assistant coach of Maritime Hockey League’s (MHL) Miramichi Timberwolves.
Jardine would go on to play the next two-and-a-half seasons for the Timberwolves, becoming a fan favourite and recording 40 points in 108 games.
Just a year later, the Timberwolves signed Moncton, N.B., product Will Allen.
Allen instantly became a star player for the Timberwolves, scoring 72 points in 66 games over three seasons in Miramichi.
After great starts to the 2023-24 season in Miramichi, both players were called up to play for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders.
The Islanders already held the rights to Allen, who earned the call-up after scoring 40 points in just 24 games with the Timberwolves. Jardine was a mid-season signing by Islanders general manager Jim Hulton.
Jardine has helped Allen settle into Charlottetown.
“It was awesome to hear he was coming here, too. Max (Jardine) is one of my best friends, and we’ve been friends for like three years,” Allen said. “It’s nice to have a familiar face that you’ve known for a while.”
Since joining the Isles, Allen has shown not only does he have great skill on the ice but is also a dependable penalty killing forward. In 27 games in Charlottetown, he has eight points.
“As a young player, one of the hardest things in this league is to get your confidence up to what it was at the lower levels,” Hulton said. “We always knew he had the speed to play at this level, and I think his early-season success in Miramichi had translated well in his return here.”
Jardine wouldn’t be the player he was today without the help from Timberwolves head coach Korey Baker and his coaching staff.
“They helped me become a solid defensive defenceman. I think my two years there we had a lot of offensive D-men, but I just took the role on myself to be defensive and
they helped me from there,” Jardine said.
His work on his defensive game has impressed Hulton, who has liked what he has seen from the 19-year-old in his short time in Charlottetown.
“We’ve been happy with Max. He’s a steady, reliable defensive defender and that was something we were lacking. He’s helped our penalty kill and he has been great at boxing out in front of the net, in particular,” Hulton said.
The Islanders opened the first round of the playoffs on March 29 against the best team in the QMJHL, the Baiecomeau Drakkar.
Allen knows what the Isles need to do to get past the Drakkar, who lead the bestof-seven series 2-0 entering Game 3 in Charlottetown on April 2 at 7 p.m.
“We just got to stick to our systems. We have to get it into our heads what we have to do,” said Allen. “It’s tough competition against Baie-comeau, so we’re going to have to be ready. Lots of sleep, lots of rest and keeping up our good habits.”