Jamahl Eakett Signs in FPHL

(Photo by Mark Mauno, WSHL)

Five year WSHL veteran, Jamahl Eakett, signed a pro contract in the Federal Professional Hockey League. 

"The Mentor Ice Breakers have signed forward Jamahl Eakett to a PTO contract, adding another highly skilled forward to a group that the club has improved significantly this offseason," as reported on mentoricebreakers.com.

Junior hockey tends to be that window where an individual begins to recognize the type of player they are, and what roles they will serve for their teams in the future. There's always a humbling moment the higher you go up in level of play, but in juniors it's typically when you see many players evolve into pure goal scorers. 

But the most exciting part is always their breakout season... 

At least that's what it was like for Jamahl Eakett who debuted for the Las Vegas Storm in 2015-2016. It took time for the Provo, Utah native to turn into the leading scorer we saw in 2019-2020. 

(Photo by Mark Mauno, WSHL)

Eakett only played 27 games—in his first two seasons in the WSHL—splitting time between the Storm, and later moving to the Bellingham Blazers. He didn't necessarily make a splash with four goals and two assists in his first 15 games with Vegas. Nor did his two points in 12 games push the pace for Bellingham initially.

It's safe to say that Washington and Bellingham Sportsplex faithful weren't expecting 63-points out of Eakett in 2017-2018. The Blazers had themselves a quintet of 50+ point scorers which vastly facilitated play for Eakett who was rightfully a part of that group. He registered 32 goals and 31 assists in 44 games that year, but it was never the pinnacle of his ascent. 

It's difficult to truly pin-point which year is Eakett's 'Breakout Year.' 63-points sure does seem like a lot, but when compared to double that amount, 63 seems rather light. Many would have placed bets on the likes of Thomas Steven or Robbie Eichelberger to second T.J. Prexler on the Blazers scoring list in 2018-2019–per usual.  

But it wasn't so because Eakett felt like he wanted 114-points (50G-64A). Physical play didn't even take a toll on natural talent considering he was also among the highest penalized on the team with 74-PIMS. For a player who's only 5'11" he really takes up a lot more room out there. 

Postseason play was never much of a euphoric feeling for the Washington squad, which may have been a catalyst for Eakett to steer away from the Blazers. It was rather shocking news league-wide as his name and the Blazers were almost synonymous. 

And it was in the second year Provincial Division with the Hinton Timberwolves where Eakett finally had his best season. It was exactly what Hinton needed as they lacked a pure goal scorer in their inaugural year. The Timberwolves fluctuated between first and second in their division battling with the Edson Aeros for the one-spot. Eakett was able to get the Timberwolves out of ruts, continuing his goal scoring pace. He tallied 60-goals and 63-assists for 123-points in 2019-2020–leading the league in goals and points. 

Eakett's transition into the pro ranks is one to keep an eye on. 

"Jamahl is a player who can clearly put the puck in the net,” said Ice Breakers Head Coach Sebastian Ragno. “He is a player we have been after for a majority of the offseason, and to get him signed is a big step forward for our team. I look forward to seeing his success transfer to the FPHL here in Mentor.”