The Challenger Series Ice Hockey tournament involving Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Greece, Lebanon and new entrants, an Indian Heritage team, skates off in Chicago in May, with matches being played from the 6th to the 10th at the Fifth Third Ice Arena, the home of the Chicago Blackhawks practice sessions.
The Jamaica team, which won the Inaugural competition in 2024, beating Puerto Rico and Lebanon in the process, has over the last eight months engaged in a deep recruitment programme to identify its best players from the leagues and colleges in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere. It is expected that through this recruitment drive, the Jamaican team will be significantly strengthened for this year’s competition.
The team has been able to retain most of the players that led it to victory in 2024 and has a number of fresh, highly talented players to support the thrust to regain the title this year.
Though the team has not been able to compete together so far, information coming from several players competing in leagues in North America and Europe, in particular, point to the players having a highly successful season for their respective clubs and colleges.
One such player, Maleek McGowan, has been having a breakout season for his team, Kingston Frontenacs, in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring regularly in recent victories.
He is in his fourth and final year with this team before heading to the University of Vermont to play in the NCAA Division 1.
Other key players around which the team will be bult include returning captain Taos Jordan in his first professional season with the Jacksonville Icemen in the ECHL; Ty Drummond, who just suited up for his semi-professional season with the Quad City Storm in the SPHL; Avery Grant, who just finished his fourth year with the Aurora Tigers in the OJHL; Koby Francis, who, in his first junior season, has been in scintillating form with the Chilliwack Chiefs in the QMJH; Jahwara Rennalls, currently leading Gas Olivia Odansk in Poland to the top of the league there; and Carter Thorton, who recently surpassed 100 games played in the FPHL, having played for a number of teams, including Watertown Wolves, Topeka Scarecrows and the Biloxi Breakers.
Rennalls and Thorton are members of the original Jamaica team.
From its first outing in 2019, when it won the LATAM cup, beating Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, the team now has a record of 18 wins as against nine losses and is highly regarded among the IIHF associate member teams.
