Hockey
Giants To Rockets To Giants
Former 2011-12 Vancouver Giant netminder Jackson Whistle (6’1”) resided in Ladner with a billet Family prior to being moved to the Rockets.
Kelowna was where he put up an impressive stats in 5 GP in the 2014-15 Memorial Cup final managing a 2.60 GAA and .920 SVS%.
His day’s in Delta were numbered only do to a goaltender log-jam where one had to be moved and he was sent packing, with no regrets considering he calls Kelowna home.
From one Giants organization with a extended cup of coffee in Kelowna, now see’s him taking his talents to Belfast to suit up for the Stena Line Belfast Giants.
Belfast made it official and announced they signed Stephen Murphy and Jackson Whistle for the 2016/17 Elite League season.
The signing has Murphy returning for his eighth (8th) season while Jackson Whistle joins from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets for his first taste of hockey across the ocean.
Stephen Murphy joined in 2009 that saw the Giants go on to win their second ever Playoff Championship at the end of Murphy’s first season.
It’s interesting to note that while in Belfast the netminder starring in the penalty shots win in the grand final against the Cardiff Devils.
Since his (Murphy) first appearance in Northern Ireland, he has been the “main cog” of the team’s success, collecting All-Star awards and winning the British Netminder of the Year award on eight occasions backstopping the Giants to Elite League titles in the 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons.
Jackson Whistle now joins the Giants from the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League following four (4) seasons of exceptional play taking them to a Memorial Cup Championship.
He made his debut at the young age of 16. During Whistle’s time in Kelowna, his average GAA was 2.43 with an average save percentage of .919.
In 2014/15 he backstopped the Rockets to their first WHL championship since 2009 and lost out in overtime in the final of the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup Championship final.
Jackson played his junior hockey in the UK and will thereby count as a non-import player in the EIHL.
It’s interesting to note that he has a surname that will be or should be familiar to many Giants fans as his father David was the first ever Head Coach of the Giants, bringing a league title and a playoff championship to Belfast in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Steve Thornton, Giants Head of Hockey Operations, on the signings of Stephen Murphy and Jackson Whistle told the media “The decision to sign Stephen Murphy is one of the easiest for me to make each year.”
He continued “Murphy has been the backbone of our organisation since I signed him back in 2009 and has backstopped us to a Playoff title as well as two Elite League championships.”
He continued “I am excited to bring Jackson Whistle to Belfast as first and foremost, he is an excellent goalie with impressive stats in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets.”
He continued “He helped them win the championship in 2015 and standing 6’1” and I expect him to compete with Stephen Murphy for the starting net-minding duties this season.”
“It is also great to have a Whistle back in Belfast with Jackson following in the footsteps of his father David who was the Giants inaugural coach and left a great legacy behind in Belfast, giving us two of our championship banners.”
Pre-season games when Whistle played for the Giants were televised on Delta TV from the Ladner Leisure Centre.
The Belfast Giants are part of the family controlled and managed by OML Belfast Ltd. The Giants are the anchor tenant of the SSE Arena, Belfast and have brought Ice Hockey to over 1.8 million fans over the last 13 years.
In 2012 Mr Jim Gillespie was honoured and appointing as Honorary Life President of the Belfast Giants in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Ice Hockey in Belfast and his unwavering support of the Giants over the last number of years.