‘They leave today with tears in their eyes’
As Newfoundland Growlers players say their goodbyes, Jordan Escott says playing in front of hometown crowd is ‘something I’ll never forget’
Before Jordan Escott made the Newfoundland Growlers ahead of the 2022-2023 season, he thought his door to professional hockey had closed.
Then the 32-year-old from St. John’s made the team and started carving out a professional career that included him earning a letter with the team this season.
“It’s been a hard couple of days,” said Escott. “You grow up relationships with these guys and then it’s just over.”
PULLED THE PLUG
On Tuesday, April 2, his short professional career ended prematurely as the Growlers were forced to fold after a move by the ECHL’S board of governors.
The shutdown came with just six games left in the regular season and Newfoundland right in the thick of a playoff race.
The move was something the players had heard rumblings about leading up to the April 2 deadline imposed by the league, but they always figured things would get straightened out.
Never did they think the league would pull the plug with 90 per cent of the season completed.
“I don’t think the players deserved that,” said Escott.
LIKE FAMILY
In his almost two-year stint with the Growlers, Escott, his teammates, coaches and the front office staff became like family.
They interacted every day at the rink whether at practice or on game day. Away from the rink, they were also in close contact.
“I hope they get an opportunity to make a run out of Kelly Cup with another team and I’ll support them the whole way through,” said Escott.
On Thursday, many of those teammates said goodbye to each other, many with tears in their eyes.
They were a team of people from different provinces and countries who came together on the edge of North America.
For some, they had never seen anything like it.
“Most of them, they leave today with tears in their eyes, and they loved their experience here,” said Escott. “It was amazing.”
A PRIVILEGE
Escott first went to Growlers in 2021-2022, playing two games when they needed to fill out a roster.
From there, he got a training camp invite for the 20222023 season, and a couple of weeks later, he made the team.
From there, Escott would play 57 games, most of them in front of family and friends in his hometown. He won’t soon forget that.
“We had a great fan base, my family, my friends, it’s been an incredible honour,” said Escott.
“I’m very privileged to be able to do that and something I’ll never forget. I’m very thankful to Glenn Stanford and Eric Wellwood and Matt Cooke who allowed me to do that.”
While this part of his hockey career is over, Escott hasn’t ruled out continuing. It’s something he’ll look at over the next couple of weeks and then decide.
For right now, he’s thinking about some of his best friends, what they did together and just how much he’ll miss every aspect of being a Growler.
“Thank you for all the support, and it’s something I’ll never forget,” he said. “I know 24 guys in the locker room won’t forget.”