Jermaine Loewen skated in Kamloops last week as he prepares to join the Henderson Silver Knights, AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

JERMAINE LOEWEN

Former Blazer Loewen returns to Kamloops, preparing to suit up for new team this season

Jan 12, 2021 | 5:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — Jermaine Loewen returned to a place in which he spent five years of his life. Loewen has spent the last week training with the city’s junior and pro cohort last week before heading to Henderson, Nevada to join Silver Knights’ training camp, Vegas’ new AHL affiliate.

“It’s nice. I wasn’t expecting to be around at this time, but just taking advantage of the ice and people treating me so well, so I’m just really grateful,” he told CFJC Today.

Unlike other players he’s been skating with, Loewen has a start date to look to. The American Hockey League is sticking with a Feb. 5 start date, and Loewen will be playing with a different team after spending last year with the Chicago Wolves.

“I’m playing in Henderson next year. Chicago’s affiliation changed and Vegas got an AHL team, which is in Henderson, a little suburb in Vegas, so I’m going out there and going to try and crack the roster this year and have a bigger role,” noted Loewen.

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The 6’4″, 220 pound Loewen played 31 games with the Chicago Wolves, Vegas’ AHL affiliate last year, scoring his first and only AHL goal on Dec. 7 in his home province against the Manitoba Moose. He played another 19 games with the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL.

“It was a big learning curve for me, learning what I need to do and the adjustment and the lifestyle,” said Loewen. “Getting sent up and down, it was definitely a challenging first year for me in the pros, but I believe that it’s going to be a little bit easier for me next year. I’ll have more experience under my belt and confidence into that, knowing it’s not all brand-new.”

While he’s itching to get back to playing real games, Loewen has used the down time during the pandemic to make a difference. Loewen helped write a children’s book, Ari’s Awful Day and Mainer’s Move. The book, in which a character mirrors Loewen’s life story, is about accepting others and racial differences.

“My agent, he talked to me about ‘What would you think about doing a book?’ and I said it would be pretty cool to be part of a book,” he noted. “He got an author and illustrator and they started to put the ideas down and I gave some ideas — some of the things I went through, some of the experiences that I had with racism and other things. I just wanted to create a book and the book has a really strong message.”

Loewen has now switched his focus to the upcoming season and earning a new pro contract. His current deal expires at the end of this season.