There are familial interconnections in sports that just seem natural. Jacksenn Hungle of the Victoria Grizzlies continues a family tradition in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League. Dad Casey Hungle played four seasons in the 1990s for the Nanaimo Clippers before an eight-season minor-pro career that took him through the ECHL, CHL and WCHL from the Erie Panthers and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks to the Tupelo T-Rex and Fort Worth Brahmas.
The younger Hungle is assistant captain of the Grizzlies and committed to NCAA Div. 1 Canisius, which made the 2023 NCAA Tournament last spring, and credits much of that achievement to his dad. Casey Hungle coached his son and Grizzlies teammates Nathan King, committed to NCAA Div. 1 Merrimack, and Cam Smith in youth hockey with the Racquet Club of Victoria Kings.
“My dad coached me since Atom to age 13 and has been my guide through everything in hockey. He’s been through it himself,” Jacksenn Hungle said before the Grizzlies game Friday night in Alberni Valley that saw Victoria skate away with a 2-0 victory.
The younger Hungle’s journey continues tonight and Sunday with back-to-back games between the Grizzlies and Langley Rivermen at the Q Centre. Not that it has been a straight line. Jacksenn Hungle went from the Racquet Club to U-15 at the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford before landing as a BCHL rookie in Merritt with the Centennials.
“It was a difficult time in Merritt in terms of winning but it was a great learning curve for me,” said Hungle.
A trade brought him to his hometown Grizzlies, where he had 10 goals and 17 points in 45 games last season. He had a goal and assist in five games this season heading into Friday night’s game in Port Alberni.
Grizzlies head coach and GM Rylan Ferster, who returned to Victoria last season after having been away from Island hockey for a while, didn’t know much about Hungle. But Hungle was well known to Grizzlies assistant coaches and Island coaching fixtures Suneil Karod and Geoff Grimwood, who watched him develop in youth play, and they lobbied hard for the trade.
Ferster is happy he swung the deal: “[Hungle] has been in the league for a while and it was a great move to push to acquire him last season [from the Centennials]. Jacksenn has been great for us and is a leader with 200-foot skills.”
Canisius University, located in Buffalo, New York, thought so, too.
“I’m a high-energy player with a safe 200-foot game who tries to be a good example to the younger players on the team; and Canisius said they liked my game play,” said Hungle.
Hungle will study business and marketing at Canisius and maintains focus both on the ice and in the classroom. The latter is trickier for junior hockey players as they go from city to city during their high school years. Hungle went from Lambrick Park Secondary in Victoria to Yale Secondary in Abbotsford to Merritt Secondary. He said he was happy and proud that he got to walk across the stage with his old mates at the Lambrick Park graduation ceremony for his Class despite that he had not attended the school since Grade 9.
These connections mean a lot to him. Including in his taste in music, which was influenced by his dad Casey: “I’m into 1980s heavy metal, especially Mötley Crüe.”
Which is fitting for a self-described energetic player who has fit in well with his hometown team.
“We have all the tools in place to do something special this season,” said Hungle.
In Port Alberni on Friday, Oliver Auyeung-Ashton turned aside all 25 Bulldogs shots to lead the Grizzlies to victory.
Cam Smith and Nathan King, both in the second period, had the Grizzlies goals as Victoria improves to 5-2 on the season. Alberni Valley drops to 4-3.
ICE CHIPS: The BCHL announced Friday, that in partnership with the Lhtako Dene Nation, this season’s Road Show games will take place Nov. 24 and Nov. 26 in Quesnel with two regular-season contests between the Grizzlies and Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Road Show annually brings the BCHL to communities that don’t have teams. The event also features minor hockey camps and school visits as part of the occasion. This will be the third BCHL Road Show after Burns Lake last season and Kitimat in 2020.
