| Jackson Whistle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1995-06-09)9 June 1995 (age 30) Kelowna,British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| EIHL team Former teams | Belfast Giants Vancouver Giants Kelowna Rockets Sheffield Steelers Nottingham Panthers | ||
| National team |  Great Britain | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Jackson Whistle (born 9 June 1995) is a Canadian-born British professionalice hockeygoaltender currently playing for theBelfast Giants of theElite Ice Hockey League and theBritish national team. He represented Great Britain at the2019 IIHF World Championship,2021 IIHF World Championship,2022 IIHF World Championship and2024 IIHF World Championship.[1][2][3][4]
Whistle previously played for theBelfast Giants during an earlier spell between 2016 and 2018, before spending one season with both theSheffield Steelers andNottingham Panthers.
Whistle playedAtom hockey in theBracknell Bees system, before moving back to Canada where he played for the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy.[citation needed] He was subsequently selected as theVancouver Giants fourth round pick in the 2010WHL Bantam Draft.[5] Before playing with the Giants, Whistle was a member of theGold Medal winning British Columbia team at the2011 Canada Winter Games. After his first season with the Giants, in which he played 21 games as back-up to starter Adam Morrison, he was traded for a 3rd round pick in 2014 Bantam Draft to theKelowna Rockets.[6]
During his first two seasons with the Rockets, Whistle played as back-up to starting goaltenderJordon Cooke. In the2014–15 WHL season he was named as the team's starting Goaltender.[7] Whistle was named November WHL Goalie of the Month after winning 12 of the team's first 14 games of the season.[8] The run of good form continued all season, culminating in the Rockets winning their fourthWHL Championship by beating theBrandon Wheat Kings 4-0 in the finals. As a result the team qualified for the2015 Memorial Cup, where they progressed to the final, losing 2-1 in overtime toOshawa Generals.
Whistle's final season with the Rockets was marred by injury, as he suffered a tornlabrum in both hips which resulted in season-ending surgery.[9]
Whistle started his professional career in the July 2016, signing with theBelfast Giants of theEIHL,[10] where he served as back-up to long-time incumbentStephen Murphy.
Whistle acted as the starting goaltender for much of the2017-18 season, as a result of Stephen Murphy picking up a season ending injury early in the season. Whistle played 44 games for the Giants, posting a 3.38GAA with a .895SV%.[5]
Whilst the Giants would finish 5th in the league, and lose in the playoff quarterfinal, they did take home some silverware, winning theChallenge Cup for the 2nd time in their history, beating theCardiff Devils 6-3 in the final.[11] Following the completion of the campaign, Whistle joined theSheffield Steelers, signing a 2 year contract.[12]
In his first season with the Steelers Whistle was named starter following the release ofMatt Climie, playing in 50 of the team's 60 games during the2018–19 EIHL season. During this time he posted a posting a 3.20 GAA with a .898 SV% and was named as the EIHL Player of the Week in February, with coachTom Barrasso describing him as the team's best player.[13] The Steelers would finish the season in 7th place, before losing in the Playoff quarterfinals to the Cardiff Devils.
In July 2019, Whistle made the shock move from Sheffield to their closest rivalsNottingham Panthers.[14]
In July 2021, Whistle rejoined the Belfast Giants ahead of the 2021-22 Elite League season and has remained with them since, winning the Challenger Cup, the League title and the Playoff cup in the 22-23 season. His team also qualified for theChampions Hockey League but Whistle did not play at all.[15]
Although born in Canada, Whistle is eligible to play forGreat Britain as a result of spending his childhood years in the country. He made his international debut at the2018 IIHF World Championships, coming in as relief for starterBen Bowns in a 6-1 loss toKazakhstan, conceding 1 goal.[16][17] Despite this loss, Team GB won the rest of their games and gained promotion to theIIHF World Championships for the first time in 25 years.
Whistle once again represented Great Britain at the2019 IIHF World Championship. As back-up to Bowns he did not start any games, however, he came off the bench in losses toCanada,Denmark andSlovakia, conceding 9 goals across the 3 games. He played three games at the2021 IIHF World Championship.
In 2024 Whistle would again representGreat Britain at theWorld Championships he would finish the tournament with a 88.1 SV% and a 4.06 GAA. Whistle would play four out of the seven games.
He is the son of former player and coach David Whistle. His younger brother Brandon also plays for the Belfast Giants.[18]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2011–12 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 21 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 863 | 52 | 1 | 3.61 | .873 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 21 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1166 | 38 | 1 | 1.96 | .931 | 1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2.74 | .889 | ||
| 2013–14 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1314 | 58 | 1 | 2.65 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 50 | 34 | 10 | 5 | 2962 | 126 | 4 | 2.55 | .909 | 19 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 2.52 | .916 | ||
| 2015–16 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 1559 | 66 | 2 | 2.54 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Belfast Giants | EIHL | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 830 | 36 | 1 | 2.60 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Belfast Giants | EIHL | 44 | 27 | 15 | 0 | 2576 | 145 | 0 | 3.38 | .895 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 8 | 0 | 3.85 | .855 | ||
| 2018–19 | Sheffield Steelers | EIHL | 50 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 2815 | 150 | 1 | 2.20 | .898 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 120 | 10 | 0 | 5.12 | .853 | ||
| 2019–20 | Nottingham Panthers | EIHL | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 2.91 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021 | Nottingham Panthers | Elite Series[19] | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 2.56 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Belfast Giants | EIHL | 15 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 2.30 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Regular season | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2018 | Great Britain | WC D1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4.26 | .889 | ||
| 2019 | Great Britain | WC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 91 | 9 | 0 | 5.89 | .848 | ||
| 2021 | Great Britain | WC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 5.13 | .874 | ||
| Awards | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| WHL Champion | 2014–15 | |
| EIHL | ||
| EIHL Champion | 2021–22 | |
| 2022–23 | ||
| EIHL Playoffs Champion | 2022–23 | |
| EIHL Challenge Cup | 2017–18 | |
| 2021–22 | ||
| 2022–23 | ||
| 2024–25 | ||
| International | ||
| IIHF World Championship Division I | 2018 | |
| 2023 | ||