'The upside is huge': Senators prospect Jaxon Cover will continue rapid growth, says OHL GM

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman looks on after Jaxon Cover was drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the 32nd overall pick at the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26, 2026, in Buffalo. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty Images

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Jaxon Cover’s ascension from roller hockey phenom in the Cayman Islands to first-round NHL Draft pick in only a handful of years is mystifying to many.

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To Mark Hunter, however, it makes perfect sense.

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“There’s a lot of kids, they talk about wanting to be teachable and they’re not, some are not, but he is,” the London Knights’ owner and general manager told the Ottawa Citizen in a phone interview this week. “He wants to learn; he wants to get better. He’s humble. That’s a good trait because they all have to improve, and he will because he’s got the right attitude.”

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Cover spent nearly a decade on roller skates, honing his talent at the only inline arena in the western Caribbean self-governing British Overseas Territory (which has a population of just 90,000). He travelled throughout the United States, dominating youth tournaments. He had made a name for himself long before finishing elementary school.

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When it became clear that roller hockey would only take him so far, Cover moved with his family to the Toronto area in 2020 at age 12 to chase a new dream.

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He had spent a week or two each summer at ice hockey camps since he was eight years old, but those were really his only experiences in cold rinks. At age 13, he played his first full season on ice, making the AA team in Aurora and his prep school’s U16 team.

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Two years later, he was a point-per-game player in AAA and a man among boys at school, putting up 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 17 games with St. Andrew’s College.

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Jaxon Cover of the London Knights celebrates after scoring in a game against the Soo Greyhounds in February 2026. Photo by Mike Hensen /Postmedia

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In June of 2024, he was selected by London 64th overall in the Ontario Hockey League Draft.

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“He was very elusive on the ice,” Hunter recalled of scouting Cover. “He was still learning the game and figuring out what to do, and getting things down on the ice. But if you would have seen him at that age, he still had a lot of upside, a lot of skill.

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“And he would take the puck to the middle of the ice, which I think is important in this business.”

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In Cover’s first full season with the Knights in 2025-26, the winger’s fundamentals still needed work (understandable, seeing as he was only learning the rules a few years prior). Hunter says once the coaching staff was able to teach him how to utilize all four of his teammates on the ice, his game took off in the second half of his rookie year. Cover had 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) in 72 total games, regular season and playoffs.