a day ago
For Jets' pick Sascha Boumedienne, hockey and family go hand in hand
Sascha Boumedienne's parents, Josef and Petra Boumedienne, didn't want to pressure their children to play hockey.
In fact, they did everything in their power to build a well-rounded life full of activities, academics, and sports. Josef played 47 NHL games and hundreds more throughout Europe, but the last thing he wanted was to be a dad who forced any of his three boys to follow in his footsteps.
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'We as a family, we try to be diverse. You don't want your kids to be single-minded growing up. You try to introduce them to different aspects of life growing up — and different sports,' Josef told The Athletic. 'But my two youngest sons, especially, they really never wanted to talk about anything other than hockey.'
It didn't take any pressure at all. Sascha Boumedienne met hockey, fell in love with it, and never let it go. He started playing street hockey when he was two and a half years old, buoyed by encouragement from his dad's close friend and teammate, Jonas Andersson — a one-time Manitoba Moose. He got his first pair of skates when he was three years old — a gift from his uncle, Karim — and spent the whole day toddling around his carpeted house in them.
When Boumedienne was a child, playing minor hockey for Lidingö Vikings HC, just outside of Stockholm, he lived close to their arena. At eight or nine years old, he'd get ready for practice by dressing up in his equipment at home, throwing his hockey skates in his backpack, lacing up roller blades and skate himself to the rink.
By the time he learned to skate, he was keeping up with players one or two years older than him — a theme that continued throughout his minor hockey career in Sweden, into the USHL, and at Boston University, where the Jets' first-round pick in 2025 was the youngest player in the NCAA at the start of last season. He didn't need to be pressured into any of it; instead, his parents say Sascha was a self-starter — the driver of his own success.
'He's very adamant about making his own decisions,' Josef said when asked what makes him the most proud. 'He's kind of speedtracked his own development, as far as playing with older players and then playing in the USHL as a 16-year-old, which is a tough task. Then, going into college and playing NCAA a year early and speeding up his school last spring and last summer to finish his high school, I'm very proud of him for taking on tasks and sticking with it.'
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Those are the character elements that drew Winnipeg to pick Boumedienne, too. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had thought about trading down from 28th to acquire more draft capital. When it became clear that Boumedienne would be available, he held on to the pick and made sure Boumedienne became a Winnipeg Jet.
As a player, there are myriad things to be impressed by. Boumedienne is a great skater with a great attitude. He beats pressure with speed, quick puck retrievals, and great puck movement. His shot is a strength, while scouts appreciate his compete level.
When the Jets selected Boumedienne on Friday night in Los Angeles, however, his parents were most proud of the way he carried himself as a person. Sascha had traveled with '24 or 25' family members, extended family, and close friends. The moment Eric Comrie announced his name as the Jets' first-round pick, Boumedienne spent time thanking every single one of them for helping him realize his dream. There was no panic, no rush, and no extended family member for whom he didn't take the time.
'That's something I'm very proud of (as a parent)' Josef said. 'We are a tight-knit family. Family is very important to Sascha. Not just the immediate family but the extended family as well. I love that about him.'
Pay close attention to the video when Boumedienne receives his Jets hat and jersey on stage. He adjusts the size of his cap, then curves it just the way he likes. It is a moment of meticulousness, perhaps, or of extra poise at a moment that could be wrought by nerves.
This is where having a dad who spent 11 years working for the Columbus Blue Jackets, including 10 years in a scouting capacity and two years as director of amateur scouting, comes in handy.
'This was probably his seventh or eighth live draft that he's been at. So he had some experience going into it,' Josef said. 'When your name is on the line there, it brings out different feelings. He's had some experience being around pro hockey and being around the draft before, through my job. Maybe that made him a little bit more comfortable.'
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Boumedienne said his son is detail-oriented when it comes to his game. It's something simultaneously innate and honed through a lifetime of playing with older competition, from learning to skate through last season at Boston University.
Could that be an advantage as Sascha strives to surpass his father's NHL career?
'I think it's really good to push yourself and be at a really high level but you also have to feel comfortable and confident, especially if you're a player that tries to bring some puck play to your game as well,' Josef said. 'I think it's good, to some extent, to push yourself and to expand your boundaries — and you also want to be a really good player at the level you play at, to build that confidence and swagger.'
Sascha Boumedienne has both. He has the self-starter's drive to push himself and the self-confidence. When he spoke with Jets media on Friday night, the bilingual Boumedienne was clearly well spoken, even as he soaked up the joy of the moment.
He will be at development camp in Winnipeg next week, then return to Boston University for his second year. Choosing BU took conviction — some believe Boumedienne would have been drafted in the top 10 had he piled up the points, playing junior instead.
Boumedienne says there's no doubt he made the right decision.
'I think it's just been good for my development. I really wanted to challenge myself, especially this year with going to BU and being the youngest guy,' he said. 'I felt like we had a really good plan in place for me and I want to challenge myself while playing against bigger players, kind of playing more of that pro-style game.'
Will his dad's pro experience help him realize that pro dream?
'I wouldn't be where I am today without my dad,' he said. 'He's been in my shoes right now and he's kind of taken these steps on his own when he was younger. He's been alongside me every step of the way and I lean on him a lot. He has done everything I'm doing right now and will be doing … I'm very thankful for not only him but my mother as well.'
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So yes, those postdraft hugs were well placed.
It takes a village to raise a hockey player, even when their parents do their best not to force them into hockey.
'I think all of our children have a big support system around them,' Josef said. 'They have a family that loves them and then cousins and a lot of close friends. We didn't try to take particular roles, myself and my wife. We tried to bring them up with love and show them different aspects of life.'
And yes, it delights Sascha Boumedienne's dad that he fell in love with hockey, too.
'You see the passion and the love for the game pretty early,' Josef said. 'Where it will take you, or take him, that's hard to say. But the passion and the love and the hours at the rink, that was evident pretty early.'
