Dazzle jewelry class greenville8/15/2023 “He’s more than just a goal scorer,” said Icemen captain Garet Hunt, a former teammate in Canadian junior hockey when he and Rabbit won the 2006 Memorial Cup as members of the WHL Vancouver Giants. Rabbit leads the Icemen in virtually every meaningful statistical offensive category: goals (29), assists (31), short-handed goals (6) and plus-minus ratio (+17). The merger has turned out to be an ideal fit. “I was glad Jason gave me the opportunity to come back here.” “I didn’t get many job offers I really liked after being in Italy ,” Rabbit said. His two cousins, Judd Blackwater and Colton Yellow Horn, had played for Christie with the ECHL Ontario Reign and highly recommended the coach. When Christie contacted Rabbit last summer about returning to the Icemen (he played two games for Jacksonville in 2017-18 before taking a higher-paying job in the Czech Republic), Rabbit was hauling bulls for a rodeo competition. He bounced around to other parts of Europe and Japan before Icemen coach Jason Christie - he coached against Wabbit’s Providence team when he was an assistant with the AHL Chicago Wolves a decade ago - recruited him for Jacksonville’s start-up ECHL franchise. A fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2005, Rabbit has spent time in just about every hockey outpost except the NHL before arriving in Jacksonville.Īs a free agent, he left the Bruins’ organization for the Nashville Predators in 2009, then immediately left for Croatia after one season. Rabbit and the Icemen came together at a perfect time. 20 give the Icemen a legitimate offensive threat that’s essential if they’re going to recover from an 0-2 series deficit against the top-seeded Everblades. It’s not just his engaging personality that makes him popular with teammates and fans, but the on-ice instincts of No. Seriously, what Rabbit has done in the Icemen’s second season is bring more experience, credibility and a winning atmosphere to an ECHL franchise in need of all those elements. “You play hockey and basketball in the winter, and do rodeo in the summer.” “From where I’m from, it’s not something you think about because everyone was doing it,” said Rabbit. He's named after legendary professional bull rider, Wacey Cathey. His mother, Marlene, is a former high school champion barrel racer. Rabbit is certain to participate in team roping like his stepfather, Marvin Yellow Horn, but will consider more physically taxing events like steer wrestling and bronco riding. Oh, yeah, and the moment Rabbit decides to quit playing competitive hockey - which resumes Thursday when the Icemen host the first playoff game in Jacksonville since 1999 against the Florida Everblades at VyStar Memorial Arena - he’s prepared to follow in his parents’ footsteps and start competing regularly on the summer rodeo circuit. He’s also immensely proud of his First Nation (Canadian version of native American) heritage and membership in the Blackfoot tribe. Rabbit has played on teams in every corner of the world - Croatia, Norway, Austria, Japan, Italy and every part of North America. It goes well beyond his colorful name and being the team’s leading scorer that makes Jacksonville Icemen left wing Wacey Rabbit a hockey Renaissance man.Ī native of Lethbridge, Alberta, the 32-year-old Canadian is an accomplished penalty-killer and power-play weapon.
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