Dallas Ice Jets

Former Ice Jet making his name in hockey

By Mark Wright
Special to the Citizen-Journal

Jacob Poe's introduction to hockey came in his family's Arlington driveway. His older brother Jared and his friends always made the smaller Poe play goalie, and they shot the puck at him as hard as they could.

"I'd just get beat up on," Poe said.

But these days, the younger Poe is the one doling out the punishment. Five hundred miles from where he first put stick to puck, the 2009 Martin High graduate is making his presence felt as one of the top prospects in the North American Hockey League.

Poe, a standout defenseman for the Topeka (Kan.) RoadRunners, was selected by the league's coaches to participate in the recent NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in Walpole, Mass. The tournament serves as a three-game audition in front of dozens of scouts representing Division I and III universities. Professional scouts are also in attendance.

Poe, who turns 20 on Friday, isn't eligible for the National Hockey League draft. But the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Poe is poised to become one of the few ice hockey players from North Texas to earn a DI scholarship.

"There's a couple of players from the Metroplex playing Division I, but none from Arlington I can think of," said Poe, who drew interest at the tournament from the University of Connecticut and other universities.

Pivotal step

Poe no doubt impressed the scouts after notching two assists in the third tournament game. His mother, Patty Poe, who watches her son's games on the Internet, said the Web broadcast went down during that third game. That meant she was unable to see either of the goals her son helped set up. Older brother Jared claimed the feed going down was actually good luck, Patty said.

"It was exciting that he got the assists, frustrating that we missed it," Patty said. "You just want him to have a good game. He didn't need us there to worry about what was going on."

Playing in the Top Prospects Tournament represents a pivotal step in a journey that began before his senior year at Martin.

That's when Poe moved from Arlington to Topeka play for the RoadRunners of the NAHL. The NAHL, an amateur league for 17- to 20-year-olds, serves as a transition between the youth ranks and college or pro hockey.

Paul Taylor, who coached Poe on the Triple-A youth league Dallas Ice Jets, said most college and professional teams won't consider bringing an 18-year-old with no experience playing in the NAHL or other high-level junior leagues.

"Hockey's a little bit of a weird sport where's it's got a middle road," Taylor said. "It's a very physically demanding sport. It's too much to ask of most 18-year-olds to play against 24-year-olds who are mature physically."

At age 17, Poe, who was then 6-foot-1, 180, found himself matched up against 20-year-old players in their third year in juniors. The puck came off the stick harder and the checks and bumps came more frequently and forcefully. Not to mention that the NAHL is the first league Poe had played in that allowed fighting.

"You definitely have to pick your game up or you'll be headed right back home," said Poe, who returned to North Texas last week for a two-game weekend series in Frisco against the Texas Tornado.

Acting the part

Poe's also taken on a new role off the ice. He's lived with the same host family for all three seasons with Topeka. He said he's become an older brother to the host couple's young children.

At autograph signings and other public events, Poe's learned to be an ambassador for the team and a role model to young aspiring hockey players.

"When they're out in public, there's a certain person they have to be," Patty Poe said. "They represent the team and the city of Topeka. It's really cool. It makes them have to handle certain situations."

Added Poe: "You can't be acting like an idiot."

Juniors also resembles professional sports in a number of ways. The season stretches from late September to early May, and the RoadRunners regular depart on long road swings that take them as far south as Corpus Christi and as far north and west as Alaska. And the pressure to win - and attract fans to home games - comes with the territory.

"The team you're playing for is more of a business for your owner," Poe said.

Fulfilling a dream

Away from the ice, Poe stayed on pace to graduate by taking courses online. When the season ended in early spring of 2009, Poe returned to Martin in time to attend prom, finish his final semester in person and walk with his graduating class.

"I just want to recognize that as much as he had the talent, he also has made to make a commitment," Taylor said. "He's kind of had to give up a lot of things to have this opportunity. And I'm proud of him."

There were times, Poe said, when he read with envy on Facebook about all of the fun his friends at Martin were having. "But it was definitely the right choice," he said.

Poe will finish his NAHL career in May when his team hosts the league's Robertson Cup championship tournament. He hopes to learn soon what the future holds for his hockey career.

"I'm pretty confident," Poe said. "Maybe it's just that all hockey players are confident and cocky. I try not to worry and not think about it."

Patty Poe said her son's accomplishments demonstrate that hockey players from Arlington and other warm-weather cities can go far in the sport, provided they're willing to put in the hard work.

"We wanted him to do it as long as he could and fulfill his dream as far as he could," she said. "You never want to be saying, 'Could've, would've, should've.'"

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