Fun-loving Carly Jackson breath of fresh air for PWHL Toronto

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Not being the starter on a three-goaltender team might be a source of frustration for some.

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Carly Jackson refuses to let it be so.

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Jackson, like every other player on the PWHL Toronto roster, wants to play.

That was apparent to anyone who made their way out to Nathan Philips Square on Thursday morning as the PWHL Toronto women put on a skills and 3-on-3 show in advance of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ outdoor practice on the same ice.

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Jackson and starting goalkeeper Kristen Campbell (alternate goalie Erica Howe was away for personal reasons) stole the show as PWHL Toronto, minus about half of its roster that is away at the Rivalry Series pitting Canada against the U.S., provided the pre-outdoor Leafs practice entertainment.

Goals were hard to come by for the women as Campbell and Jackson stonewalled them time and again in the shootout competition as part of the skills show, finally forcing a shoot-off when everyone was turned away goalless after their first attempt.

Jackson, playing on the white squad, stopped teammate Lauriane Rougeau, the lone Toronto player with a game-winning shootout goal this year, in the shoot-off to claim a win for her side.

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She and her team celebrated and carried on like they had won the first PWHL Cup, but that’s just who Jackson is.

She’s a fun-loving, joy-sharing bottle of positive energy and that makes her the perfect fit on this club and in her role.

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Being the third goalie in each of the first nine games, Jackson has yet to dress for a game, which means she’s in the stands or in a private box taking in the game. Even there she’s making her teammates laugh with her off-ice antics. She’s made it her business to sample hotdogs in each of the various arenas and provides her grading on social media.

For those interested, Jackson has the hotdogs at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., where PWHL New York plays, as the top dog in the league.

Challenged that Montreal’s have to be better based on personal experience, Jackson explained that the bun-to-meat ratio was just off in Montreal, though that didn’t stop her from having four.

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Joking around and keeping her teammates loose just comes naturally to the Nova Scotia native, but she also considers it part of her role as a backup goalie on the team. She’s there to support in any way she can and humour is often her way.

“It’s an absolute gift to be here,” she said, waving away talk of her limited playing role. “You can live in doom and gloom, but this is a wonderful opportunity and I get to work with two outstanding, outstanding people and I just absolutely adore Soupy (Campbell) and Howie (Howe).

“We have a fantastic relationship. They make my job way easier and I hope I do the same for them. This is a beautiful life I get to live and I get to play hockey every day, so it’s really a gift. Whatever happens after that, I just want this team to do well and be a part of this wonderful group of people and this organization.”

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But don’t let all the puppies and rainbows talk fool you. There’s a very serious athlete inside Jackson as well and it’s not confined to just the ice.

In addition to having played for both the Buffalo Beauts and the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (she and PWHL Montreal netminder Elaine Chuli backstopped the Six to a PHF title) before joining PWHL Toronto, Jackson has a long history of high-level baseball, including the past three years as captain of Nova Scotia’s provincial team.

“I have been a little bit in the Team Canada program, too, but to be honest, I’m a bit of a bubble player (at that level). But I play in the summers and I have an absolute blast,” she said.

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Baseball, in fact, was her first love in the sports realm as she joined the Amherst, N.S., Little League as a five-year-old. Hockey didn’t enter the picture until she turned nine, but it’s definitely her No. 1 now.

“I do love playing ball,” she said. “It’s the sun, it’s the friends, it’s the vibe, but it gets me in a good mindset for this.”

And this is women’s professional hockey at a level it has not been played before. And Jackson is making it her mission to get the most out of it. Even if she doesn’t play a minute, she’ll find a way to make it fun for herself and her teammates.

“I love it all,” she said. “There isn’t a part of this that I haven’t fallen in love with. I would be this way whether I was the starter, the second, the third or the fourth goalie. It doesn’t really matter. I just love this game and it’s so easy to express myself when I’m out here like this wearing the gear. Even being outside like today, I feel like a little kid, so very, very easy to be myself, very easy to spread the love that I feel and I think that is one of the greatest opportunities of being in this position.”

mganter@postmedia.com

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