Pond hockey was Jesse Winchester’s on-ramp to what eventually would become a successful NHL career. The shortening of outdoor hockey’s season due to human caused climate change inspired him to become EcoAthletes newest Champion.

“I always loved the outdoors and became more attuned to climate change during my playing career,” the player development executive for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators noted. “But I was not a vocal proponent of climate action until after I retired and especially after I became the father of two girls, who are now seven and five years old. Being an EcoAthletes Champion will help me advocate for climate action for them and for other kids so that they can have the opportunity to play and love pond hockey like I did.”

Like many Canadian boys, Winchester, who grew up in the tiny town of Cornwall, Ontario about an hour from Ottawa and close to the US border, worked his way up through hockey’s very competitive youth leagues. He had innate talent, but it was his combination of hard work and love for the game that gave him the chance to make it to the sport’s highest levels. In fact, talk to him about hockey for just five minutes and the one word that comes through time and again is love.

“I loved all of it, forever!” Winchester rhapsodized. “I loved the thrill of it. When I was a kid, I loved playing goalie at first, but my dad saw that I was skilled at the forward position so, he steered me in that direction. And I loved playing forward and became very good at that position — thanks, dad!”

Being enamored of the game did not ensure that he would automatically ascend to the NHL. Winchester was small for his age, which hurt him in the eyes of professional scouts so, he was passed over in the prestigious Ontario Hockey League’s draft when he was 15. His options limited; Winchester chose a different path: College hockey in the US. He ended up at Colgate University in upstate New York.

“Colgate was a great school for me for two reasons,” he shared. “Academics — both of my parents are teachers, so it was important to go to a top university, and hockey. And they have been a strong Division I program for decades and so I had a chance to chase my NHL dream while getting a good education.”

In the classroom, Winchester majored in geography, which offered a strong environmental science component. On the ice, the Raiders made the NCAA hockey tournament his freshman year and were a “strong, well-rounded team” during his four years on the Hamilton, New York campus.

Despite having a strong career at Colgate, he went through the NHL draft without getting selected. Free to sign with any team that would give him a shot, the lifelong Ottawa Senators fan inked a deal with his hometown club.

“I never expected to make it — of course the vast majority of players don’t — but I kept on working and always believed that I could play at that level,” said Winchester. “Somehow, I ended up getting to the NHL, and played with the Senators for four years. The resiliency, mental toughness, and patience that I learned as an undrafted player helped me to become a dependable third- and fourth-line player. I also was able to block out pressure from the media and other outside noise, which allowed me to play my game and stay focused.

Winchester moved on to the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche before a concussion ended his career in 2016 after eight seasons.

“I became a dad and then I retired due to injury,” he recalled, “I didn’t really know what to do, so I jumped at the chance to coach in junior hockey. After two years, a former teammate invited me to join the player development department with the Senators. We work with the players while they’re on the way up, from junior hockey to college to our minor league team in Belleville, Ontario, helping them navigate the transition from amateur to pro. A big part of the job is to find ways to ease their minds around the unique pressures that they face so that they can maximize their on ice performances. Player development is very rewarding.”

Down the road, Winchester sees a potential future in coaching and/or in an NHL front office. In the here and now, becoming involved in the #ClimateComeback is a priority.

“I didn’t get involved with climate during my NHL career but have become much more interested in it since I retired,” he recalled. “I mean, how can you look at the news, at the emissions scoreboard and not be alarmed. So, among other things, I took a course in sustainable innovation at the Harvard Extension School. We must change, and I want to use my platform to advocate for climate action, help interested players do the same, and pass on lessons — and a healthier climate — to young players on the way up and my kids. That’s why I’m excited to become an EcoAthletes Champion. I can’t wait to work with other Champions and the organization to help bring climate action to our players.”

EcoAthletes’ founder and CEO Lew Blaustein is excited to see Winchester in #ClimateComeback action.

“Jesse combines strong climate knowledge, curiosity to learn much more with — and this is the key — a strong desire to pay it forward to with up-and-coming players,” offered Blaustein. “He told me that this past winter, the Rideau Canal, which many Ottawans have used to skate-commute to work over the years, did not get cold enough for folks to skate at all. That is not acceptable to him. Jesse wants to do what he can, through the prism of hockey, to make a real difference on the #ClimateComeback.”

You can follow Jesse on Instagram and Twitter