Goaltender Jackson Curran Eyes Junior Hockey Breakthrough

Could Jackson Curran’s next landing spot be south of the border?  

The 17-year-old goaltender from North Bay was invited to the Erie Otters prospects camp in May, allowing Curran to showcase his skills to the Ontario Hockey League club.  

“I was pumped to get that invite, and I went there and worked hard,” says Curran on a recent episode of the Goalie Resiliency Podcast. “It's a surreal experience just to be there because you’re seeing so much great talent that they have brought in. In Northern Ontario, you see players who are the best in this area, and they move on and so that just motivates you to be even better and push even harder.” 

Curran spent time developing within the North Bay Trappers program, playing at the U16 level in 2022-23 which he says was a big year for his development considering they were playing in a loop with U18 teams who were bigger and stronger and had developed better, faster and harder shots. 

“I grew a lot that season, personally and, on the ice,” says Curran. “Getting that many shots at you game in and game out isn’t easy. You end up getting scored on a lot, but you have to learn to just take the positives when you get them, and forget the negatives as quickly as you can.” 

The Goalie Resiliency podcast spends time focusing on players overcoming adversity and bringing their game to the next level and Curran, year-to-year showed how that mindset helped improve his performance on the ice.  

The past season he moved West down Highway 17 to play in the Nickel City with the Sudbury Wolves U18 AAA squad, posting a 2.85 goals against average in the Great North U18 league. 

Going into his first year with the Wolves U18 team Curran continued to go to high school in North Bay at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall but he had to adapt to a myriad of new developments including a new playing environment, a new playing style in front of him and new names on the blueline corps.  

“It’s going to be key to connect with them early on in the year,” Curran told the Sudbury Star in a pre-season interview. “I will probably watch some of last year’s games and see what their first thoughts are coming out of the zone, try and understand some of the plays they are thinking of.” 

That preparation helped his performance with the Wolves, which did not go unnoticed.  

He finished third in the league with a 2.85 GAA in 36 games, allowing 53 goals in 1,116 minutes of ice time, leading the Wolves to a record of 25-8-0-3, the best record in the league. Curran also had a fantastic post-season, posting a 1.12 GAA.

That has certainly caught the attention of the Otters who will be looking to solidify their position between the pipes as their number one netminder from this past season, Corbeil, Ontario product Ben Gaudreau, will move on after playing out his overage season.  

But it was a tumultuous season in net for Erie who dressed eight different goaltenders over the course of the year, as players were injured or missed time for other reasons and the team was scouring the junior ranks for some stability.  

While Jacob Gibbons (Erie’s second-round draft pick in 2022) could have the inside track based on how high the Otters drafted him just two years ago, and the fact he played in 20 games this season, his 5.11 GAA and 0.871 save percentage are areas to be improved upon and there will no doubt be competition from players like Curran, who are itching to prove they have what it takes to play at the next level. 

“I’m hoping my next experience will be making the jump to junior this year,” says Curran. “Before going down to the camp, I had a lot of training sessions in the ice box (an indoor synthetic ice surface operated by Chris Dawson where the Goalie Resiliency podcast is also filmed and produced), working on the technical part of the game – especially with my glove hand, putting it in a different position and I think that helped me track the puck better at the camp.” 

Curran adds, “I would say I’m a hardworking dedicated kid who never gives up on the play. I’m someone who loves the sport and will do whatever it takes to win.” 

Co-host of the Goalie Resiliency podcast Dr. Rob Graham says “The organization (Erie) told him he finished among the top three and he is awaiting to see what his next steps will be.”