Latest / Rinkside Rundown / Jamie Nelson on Her Minnesota Roots, Raising The Bar, and an Unwavering Pursuit of a Pro Career

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Jamie Nelson on Her Minnesota Roots, Raising The Bar, and an Unwavering Pursuit of a Pro Career · Rinkside Rundown

• Speaker 1: Every time that I go to a P Dub game I just like have so much pride for, you know, the friends that I have on the teams, but even more so for like women's hockey in general because like I've always known how good we are as players, but now the rest of the world gets to see it. Speaker 2: Hello and welcome back to Rinkside Rundown, the podcast that brings you inside the world of women's hockey one story at a time. I'm your host, Chris Sinclair, and today I'm joined by Jamie Nelson, forward at the University of Minnesota and a player to watch heading into the upcoming twenty twenty-six PWHL draft. Jamie, welcome to the show. How are you doing? Speaker 1: Good. ⁓ thanks for having me. Speaker 2: Of course. I cannot wait to dive in. So we are going to waste no more time and dive in. But before we get into all of the incredible accomplishments you've had throughout your career, I want to start back at the beginning. Because you grew up in Andover, Minnesota, right in what many would say would be the the heart of hockey country. Right there, state of state of hockey, of course. What did hockey look like for you early on and and what drew you to the sport? Speaker 1: My dad put me in skates probably when I was three years old. I don't even remember the first time that I skated, but growing up in a city like Andover in Minnesota, it seemed like everything revolved around hockey. I played a couple of sports growing up, but I feel like hockey was always my number one and it was really cool to like grow up with the girls in the youth program and then a couple of them ended up at the U too, so ⁓ I still have a lot of connections with those girls and I remember playing like U Tens, U twelves with them. So it's it's really ⁓ sweet that you can have those relationships with people growing up into the sport. Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Do you remember when it when the sport went from like, yeah, I enjoy playing this with friends and it's fun, to like, no, I gotta take this seriously. Like I really, really like this and I see a potential career path for me in the sport. Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it might be a a little later than for me than other people, but I think it would be like my sophomore year in high school. ⁓ I was playing with a girl who ended up going D1 to Mankato and I had that was like my breakthrough season. And I think that was the first time that I really had like the confidence to say like I can do this and I can go further than high school. Speaker 2: Do you what was it ⁓ was it like a like a particular moment that like clicked for you in your mind? 'Cause you said that like the you you s you saw people going and achieving their goals and and moving on as well. And and to be able to make that make that jump, even just mentally. I mean, that commitment mentally, that that takes a lot. Do you remember like specifically what it was and and and how good did it feel to say, yeah, like this is what I wanna do? I I I l I have found what I want to do. Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so before they changed the recruiting rule to now you have to be a junior, ⁓ I remember like being a freshman in high school and I had girls younger than me like committing to play Do You Want. And, you know, when I was hearing the rumblings of that, I was like, wait, like I wanna do that. And I think I was a part of a group in Andover that hadn't seen a lot of girls move on from high school and we were kind of like that first wave. ⁓ aside from like I think three girls before us, but ⁓ now you see like a huge group of girls moving on to the next level. So I think when when those girls were going through their recruiting and I was like, okay, like I can do this and I want to do this. Speaker 2: So when we look at your junior career, and I mean, of course, even now between, you know, Minnesota State and the University of Minnesota, you've been able to pursue this career, this life in hockey while staying close to the community that is awfully supportive of you, I'm fairly certain. ⁓ what has that meant for you as well to be a part of that community, to be able to grow up and not have to Pursue the sport that you love elsewhere, which is what a lot of other people have to do. Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a huge, huge benefit of playing in Minnesota that you don't necessarily have to move away from home and some girls still do, but ⁓ I loved growing up in the community in Andover and I was a part of the first team that won s a state title for the entire school. And so like that was really cool. ⁓ it's frequently brought up when I run into people that ⁓ I know I know from high school, but ⁓ even like when I was in high school I would I would train the girls coming up through the youth programs and I would coach them in the summers and a couple of times like I I would babysit them and and watch them. ⁓ and then those girls are old enough now that they're coming to my games at the U and I still have a relationship with them. So it's super cool. Like I'll go back ⁓ during Christmas break and skate with the high school team. And now those girls that I used to babysit are like sophomores and juniors on the high school team. So ⁓ it's just super cool that community aspect that, you know, like I had some a s really small part in helping them develop and maybe even like help their dreams come true of playing varsity at Andover, which is like a huge honor. Speaker 2: Yeah, and I feel like this is a perfect spot for us to then ⁓ segue into role models. Because as you've mentioned, you are ⁓ maybe ⁓ knowingly or unknowingly certainly a role model for the next generation and and you will continue can continue to be so as your career progresses. But who are some of those people for you, some of those role models, some of those influences, maybe in the sport, maybe, you know, ⁓ not in the sport, maybe friends, family. Who were some of those people for you, especially growing up ⁓ in your early stages of your career? Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it would be a disservice to not mention my dad. ⁓ because he is like the whole reason that that I went into hockey and he's always been the one to like be the first voice to say like no, you are good enough to keep going and and like you are good enough to make it to the next level. And he's always the first one to jump on the ice with me if I wanna work on skills or anything and ⁓ his dream is to coach alongside me one day. And he brings that up frequently. But as far as like players, I would say Claire Bouderac I have a really special ⁓ story together and how our paths aligned. But she was a junior in high school and I was a freshman and I knew that she was committed D one and we we created really good friendship. ⁓ and then eventually I followed in her s footsteps and committed to Mankato too and then had three years there with her and ended up living with her. We were roommates and then now she's playing in the P dub. And so it's really cool. I would say that she was probably my first role model that I looked up to and ⁓ it was really unique for us to, you know, I call kind of followed in her footsteps. But ⁓ she's one of my best friends and ⁓ yeah, she's just someone that I look up to on and off the ice. Speaker 2: You were a multi-sport athlete growing up as well. ⁓ lacrosse tennis, for example. How important to was it to you to be a multi-sport athlete? And not necessarily as much as ⁓ you know, let's not kid ourselves. Of course, you were super passionate about hockey, but growing up and being able to play multiple sports and and seeing the influence both on the court or whatever playing surface, as well as off. How important was that growing up as well? Speaker 1: I think it was huge for my overall development. ⁓ when I was younger I played baseball, soccer, hockey, like every every sport under the sun. My parents would put me and my siblings in and I think it allowed me to accept that hockey was my first love, knowing that like I tried other sports, but also the skills that I developed within those other sports, like everything everything's pretty cohesive, but ⁓ especially like with lacrosse and tennis in high school, I think more so than the physical aspect, it just took a little bit of the mental toll off of me. So I didn't experience burnout from hockey. And I had friendships outside of hockey. I had other things going on where when I did go to the rink, like I was just super excited to be there. And ⁓ also like like tennis, I think that you get the hand eye coordination and sprint work in and then lacrosse you have a little bit of the endurance aspect. So I think physically I probably wasn't even noticing the the transition. But I mean ultimately I I just had so much fun playing so many sports. And ⁓ I think my senior year was when I decided like I really need to focus on hockey before going to college. So I gave up lacrosse in the spring. But aside from that, like I was a multi sport athlete right up until then. Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's always interesting too, because n maybe as you kind of mentioned there, you're in the moments you're not necessarily thinking about transferable skills or like, you know, the the the di different team dynamics and how that can ultimately impact you as well. Or even the mental side of the game too. You're not necessarily thinking about those things. And in eyes that you're like, ooh, really glad I did all those ma you know, those ⁓ it was playing those different sports was more than just I just enjoyed playing those different sports, right? It paid off. Exactly. Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah. Speaker 2: ⁓ so you had mentioned earlier about winning. And I want to talk about winning because you were a part of district team ⁓ championship teams at various different levels, basically all the different levels ⁓ throughout your your junior career, right up until ⁓ right up through ⁓ high school. How important was it for you to build that? Maybe we'll call it like a championship mindset and to to know and understand what it takes to win. But Especially early on in your journey. How important was that for you? Speaker 1: I think it just made me realize that winning is fun and that I wanna I wanna w Yeah. And I just wanna win as much as possible and in order to do do that, like I need to develop myself as much as I can and put myself in the position to be on those championship teams 'cause when it comes to like the districts and white caps teams and all those, like it is ⁓ a try out and it's a selection process. So Speaker 2: Simple as it has to be, yeah. Speaker 1: I just took that as motivation because I love winning and I wanted to keep doing it. So it definitely motivated me t for ⁓ personal development. Speaker 2: Yeah, spoken like a true athlete. I just like to win. So it doesn't have to be any more complicated than that. I like that as an answer. That's good. ⁓ so you know, we're gonna talk about this again when we reflect on your your collegiate career. But reflecting on your junior career, of course, high school, all that that whole chapter of your of your life, how do you think that those experiences, of course, winning, ⁓ the ups, the downs, the different teams you were on. different teammates that you also were were alongside with. What did what did that or what did that period of time do to help set you up for your collegiate career? Help to prepare you for your collegiate career. Speaker 1: I think especially like with the summer teams that Minnesota puts together, they are so competitive. And the tryout process is very intimidating because I think the teams that I was on, there were maybe only one or two girls that didn't end up going D one and everyone else went on to the next level. So you step into the ranks for these tryouts and you're looking around at all these big names and you know that they're going places and so It's really cool too that then when we are in college, I probably know someone on every team that I'm playing. ⁓ but that's like super cool. And then also I don't think that you'll ever go up through high school without facing adversity. And to know that like my my freshman year in high school, we we had a losing record and then my senior year we won state. So like to see that process come to fruition and like the work that not only myself but like the entire team put in for three years. ⁓ it was super cool to see like the progress that we made and how we took that program to the next level. Speaker 2: Do you think it also that period of time too also taught you that being an athlete is more than what you do on the ice? There's also a lot of prep and mental work that goes in off the ice as well. Is that something else? That is that another aspect of that as well too? Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. And my high school coach is I love the way that she coaches and she really harps on the mental side of the game and would try to challenge us in practices and even like off ice ⁓ conditioning. But she would she would push us to our limits and she would constantly say, like, it's just mental, it's just mental. You guys need to learn how to get over that hump and ⁓ that helped me immensely, like even in life 'cause you're gonna hit obstacles and you might try to convince yourself that you can't get through it, but you can and you just need to push through. But I'd say like off ice preparation is just imp as important as on ice, if not more. ⁓ and 'cause there's only so much development you can do in season. So especially during the off season, like I try to get on the ice maybe two, three times a week, but everything else is off ice preparation. Speaker 2: When ⁓ looking now at your collegiate career, we s we have to have of course, we're starting with ⁓ Ancato, ⁓ Minnesota State. Could you maybe talk about I I'm always fascinated to learn the commitment process and what makes a place feel like home. Sometimes it's something as simple as it just you just a feel like you just get a feeling, like you walk on campus and that's it, right? Other times it's coaching staff and all those sorts of things for you. What was it about Minnesota State that made it feel like that's where I wanna go? That's where I wanna start my collegiate career. Speaker 1: Yeah. ⁓ I absolutely adored the coaches and every time that I had a phone call with them, I've hung up feeling better about ⁓ going there than before the call. And I just think that they really cared about us as individuals and that was something that I was looking for. And to be honest, before the recruiting process I didn't know much about Maine Cato at all. ⁓ it's a smaller school, but when I went to tour, like it it was just a feeling, like it felt like somewhere that I could make a home. And ⁓ it wasn't a huge aspect of my decision, but my sister was also committed there for volleyball. ⁓ so I knew that like I would have her there. We're only a year apart in school. So ⁓ it just felt like somewhere where I could build a foundation and have a community there that would support me and and yeah that's what I got from going there. Speaker 2: So ⁓ friend of the show, Alexis Paddington also, of course, went to ⁓ Minnesota State and she had a very similar answer. So that must there must be something that they're doing right in that program. Yeah, of course. so maybe c if you could so spending five years within that program, there's a lot of growth, a lot of development that goes into that. Of course there's you know, winning rookie of the year, no big deal. Like there's a lot of also awards and accolades that come with your experience there too. what did what did ⁓ winning and ⁓ the the the awards and the accolades for you, especially at that point, especially early on in your collegiate career, ⁓ maybe tell you or teach you or reaffirm to you about your abilities, your, you know, the fact that like When you may doubt yourself that you made the right choice or that this is the right place for you, the accolades and the awards, they're telling you you made the right choice. What did that mean for you as well? Speaker 1: ⁓ it meant a lot because like I won't say Mankato is underrated. but you know, it doesn't jump off the page when it says that you're committed there. ⁓ but going there, I had so much confidence coming off of the state championship and I just felt like I could jump into this program and make an immediate impact. And I don't think had I gone to a bigger name school that I would have stepped into the position that I did at Mankato, you know, not to say it was handed to me, but I did like work my way up to a a second and first line role as a freshman, which is hard to come by, ⁓ at like the bigger schools. And so there's also so much development in that year for me because I was you know, going being a freshman in college is hard and especially when you are playing twenty minutes a game on second line power play penalty kill. ⁓ so I think the accolades for sure just re reaffirmed my decision to go there, but also it kind of just it gave me so much peace of mind, like knowing that that people are looking at us in our team and appreciating like the skill that we do have. ⁓ because I've always thought that Mankato puts together great teams and for then individual awards to be given to those players and recognize them, like it means a lot to the program. And I think like we've had it since me, like we've had another handful of ⁓ rookie of the year finalists, which just shows like the tr trajectory of that program and that it's at an up uphill level. Speaker 2: So then I I wanna because you're spending so much time at in one single program again, five years with with Mankato, I think it's really important before we talk about of course you know, University of Minnesota and of course the draft coming up, I wanna give you a chance to just kind of reflect. Because I think, you know, I know for myself for sure, I'm always forward thinking. I'm always what's next, what's next? What's the next milestone, right? ⁓ if sometimes forget to look back. ⁓ for you, what what are you most proud of? What are some of those things during your time with Mankato, the ⁓ Minnesota State, that you're most proud of that you're gonna continue, you wanna continue bringing with you as your career progresses into what inevitably will be a successful PWHL career. Speaker 1: That is that is a loaded question, I feel like. ⁓ but I cannot say enough great things about Mankato in the five years that I had there and ⁓ being able to step into a leadership role my last year too. Like I had so much pride having a letter on my jersey and ⁓ trying to lead that program. And it just like the relationships that I was able to build there and not only with my teammates and the coaches, but also in the community. Like I I genuinely had a home there. And I don't think I could have gotten that anywhere else. And like I I go back every once in a while and and like I go visit all my old old friends and ⁓ the people in the community who supported me and it's always like a very ⁓ good feeling to have like a warm welcome back in that town. ⁓ but yeah it's it's just like I'm so proud of of the adversity that we faced in those years. We were we were littered with injuries a lot of the years and I think my my medical redshirt year at one point there were 14 people healthy on the roster. And it was We had to go to Wisconsin to play Wisconsin with fourteen girls standing on the blue line for the national anthem. And it was just like we had as many people on the ice as in the stands. And so like moments like that we s we still talk about as as teammates because we're like, That was crazy that we did that. ⁓ but then also when you you were our program like that, you remember the the bigger wins and they mean more to you and ⁓ like I could our playoff run with the Gophers the past couple of years when we forced them into a game three, like I think those wins and those situations, you have so much more pride in them because they're unexpected and like no one expects Mankato to push the Gophers to a game three, but then you do. And it's just like such a good feeling, ⁓ to be a part of that. But Yeah, I just I I can't say enough good things about that program in my experience there. Speaker 2: Yeah, well the look on your face and the the smile that you had to ⁓ reflecting on that experience tells ⁓ tells the whole story, I think, of course. ⁓ you ended up ⁓ transferring. You ended up spending your final ⁓ final season with the University of Minnesota. ⁓ maybe if you could just talk about the decision to do that and what that was like to go to make that ⁓ to make that decision and to make that change shift to a new program, new coaching staff. All those different things and what that meant to you. Speaker 1: Yeah, it was it was a really hard decision for me. As I said, like I built a home there and that's where my life had been for half a decade. And so it was really hard to make the decision to step away. I knew that I needed to develop more as a player in order to make the jump to the P dub. And I hadn't statistically at least like I had hit kind of a plateau a plateau at Mankato and I just needed something that that was more and like I'd gotten kind of stagnant there where I was almost too comfortable. ⁓ and you know, I I knew the ins and outs of the program. I knew what I would be getting ⁓ the following year, like I I knew what a Wednesday practice would look like. And ⁓ I think those things combined, it was like I needed a challenge, I needed to force myself to be uncomfortable and I needed to ch take a chance and try to push myself to to put myself in the best position going forward. Speaker 2: So then I I I have to ask, when you think about the fact that you challenged yourself, you said, Hey, listen, I'm too co you first of all, you recognize that you were too comfortable. Then you challenged yourself to go outside your comfort zone. And you had a a really great year with the with ⁓ the University of Minnesota. What did that teach you then about yourself? The fact that you were able to challenge yourself, go way outside your comfort zone and still see success. What did that mean for you? Speaker 1: I think I I learned that I can trust my gut and I need to lean into my o intuition that, you know, sometimes the the hardest thing you can do isn't gonna be the easiest decision, but you need to do it in order to see yourself grow. Not only did I grow in the hockey sense, but like socially putting myself into a brand new environment with new people It was just an experience that I know I couldn't have gotten from another year at Mankato. And so like I'm just so grateful for the opportunity that I had at the U and to put myself in that position and then see it come to fruition. Like and when I look back at the season, we didn't get the result that we wanted, but like it's really hard for me to not be grateful for the experience and I feel like the entire time like I just loved my time here. And I was having so much fun ⁓ playing hockey, going to the rink every day. And it it was like every every game day at Ritter, I try to ⁓ tell myself like never forget this, never forget this, like the atmosphere and and the feeling of putting on the gopher jersey, like it's just something that it's hard for me to describe, but Like I I definitely I definitely wouldn't change my path. I wouldn't I don't wish that I left sooner. I think it worked out exactly how it was supposed to. And ⁓ especially like looking back at my sophomore year when I knew that I would have to medical red shirt, like I was like everything happens for a reason and that in that moment it really sucked. But then now this year I got to reap the benefits of going through that. Speaker 2: Okay, we have put off this exciting next chapter for long enough. We put off the topic. Let's dive in because I'm sure that you are very, very excited about the PWHL draft on the horizon. I I mean, I'm gonna start with maybe the most obvious question, which is just like how how you feeling? How you feeling right now? Does it feel real that you're on the cusp? Speaker 1: Yes and no. Sometimes it's still hard for me to wrap my head around that there is a professional women's hockey league because when I went into college there wasn't. ⁓ and then all of a sudden they're reaching new heights selling out NHL arenas and it's just like mind blowing to me. But I will say that th that I am at peace with knowing my college career is over. I think six years was just enough time. ⁓ so I am ready for the next step and I'm just excited to see where I land. Speaker 2: When you think about the journey that you've been on and you think of again, the winning, the ups, the downs, but that it's all led to this moment where you're about to embark on a professional career, as you said, that you likely never thought was gonna actually happen, right? ⁓ certainly not when you first started playing the sport. What does this moment mean to you to be on again, to be on the cusp of joining a league that is I mean selling out all the time, records, all those things. What does this moment mean to you personally? Speaker 1: I think it's just it seems like I get to I get to experience the benefits of all the work that people for me did. And ⁓ it's it's almost like I'm super excited and obviously grateful for the opportunity and grateful for those people who paved the way. But it's almost like imposter syndrome where I'm like, but why do I get to experienced this and they didn't when I think that it should have like this should be the fifteenth year of professional women's hockey, you know? ⁓ but it's super exciting that I get to join when it is still new and like we still are hitting those landmarks and breaking those records. And I'm just so excited. ⁓ I've seen my friends who have graduated college like They're on these teams that are playing in front of eighteen thousand people and I just think like that's so cool for them and I'm so excited to experience that myself. Speaker 2: Yeah, I I I know that you just kind of said it, but I wanna I wanna hang on that moment for ⁓ for a ⁓ another moment as well because you know, you have had ⁓ I mean it seems like Minnesota is just like if you want a PWHL player, you go to Minnesota. Like it just feels like that's the the a great environment. So and you've had a chance to see a lot of those friends, former teammates, of course, opponents during your collegiate career make that jump. How How much, how encouraging is and motivating is it for you to see your friends, to see those teammates, opponents making that jump and s and seeing success and being successful? How much of a motivation is that for you to say, That's gonna be me next? That's gonna be me. Speaker 1: No, it's definitely motivating and every time that I go to a P-W game, I just like have so much pride for, you know, the friends that I have on the teams, but even more so for like women's hockey in general, because like I've always known how good we are as players, but now the rest of the world gets to see it. And it definitely motivates me because we are the representation of the sport. And so like I wanna be the best player that I can be so that I'm the best representative of the sport. Speaker 2: Okay, so then before we move on to the ⁓ fine a fun final buzzer segment of the show, easy for me to say. ⁓ when a PWHL team is looking at drafting you, Jamie Nelson, what do you what do you think or what do you hope that they take away from you both as a player, but as well as the impact that you can have in the community, in the locker room, away from the ice two. What kind of person and player are you for a P a new ability? ⁓ brand new PWHL team. Speaker 1: If I see that I'm a 200 foot player and then I do a lot of the little things right, whether it's scraping a puck off the wall on the breakout and making a clean pass or ⁓ getting a shot lane and forcing a D to dump it in versus taking a shot or blocking a shot. ⁓ I take a lot of pride in what I do that doesn't show up on the score sheet. But then I know that goals are hard to come by in the P dub, but hopefully ⁓ the more comfortable I get then then those ⁓ things will s show up on the score sheet. But ⁓ I have a good stick. I have a high hockey IQ and I think that I can just make an impact right away. Speaker 2: Yep. I agree. I absolutely agree. And I can't wait to see that. ⁓ hopefully it's not too many times against Ottawa because that's where I'm based. Go easy on us. ⁓ okay, so we have now arrived at the final buzzer segment of the show. It's a fun, rapid fire way to wrap wrap up the conversation. I'm gonna start with what is Jamie Nelson's go to pregame meal? Speaker 1: Okay, I don't really have a pregame meal, but I do have a pregame coffee order from Starbucks, which is a cold brew. I just need a cold brew. Speaker 2: Okay, you led up to that like there was gonna be this crazy order and then you're just having a cold brew. Do you have anything in it or is it just a just a I don't know, a regular or a black cold brew? Or like I d I don't know. I've never had a cold brew, so I don't know. Speaker 1: It depends on the date. I just need a coffee from Starbucks. ⁓ people are gonna be like, What the heck? But the lumineers. So Yeah, I I don't listen to like crazy pump up music. ⁓ I think a lot of people are surprised at like how often I travel and how much how willing I am to hop on a plane on short notice. That is a good question. I would just tell her that like everything is gonna work out and your dreams are not too big and that you will achieve them. Yeah, thank you for having me.