Jayden Lee made his AHL debut for the Abbotsford Canucks back in October.
One of Vancouver’s most intriguing hockey stories may not be one you’re overly familiar with. Many players speak of their personal connections to hockey coming from their siblings — usually an older sibling who passes it on to their younger sibling. For North Vancouver’s Jayden Lee, the influencing process goes both ways.
Lee, who was signed by the Abbotsford Canucks during the 2025 off-season and made his AHL debut for the team back in October, has three siblings — all of whom have been involved in the sport of hockey.
“It’s been unreal. Just kind of brings us closer together because we’re all so passionate about it,” Lee told The Hockey News of what it’s been like growing up in such a hockey-passionate family. “It was really cool to watch my [older] brother as we were growing up [...] and kind of seeing him fall in love with the game, and that kind of helped me fall in love with the game and just be able to share those experiences with him and and learn from him, and then kind of pass that down along to my younger sister Julia and younger brother Josh. Just watching them do what they love is a lot of fun.”
Lee is the second-born of a set of four hockey-loving siblings. Justin, the eldest, played in both the BCHL and PJHL before joining SFU’s hockey team for a couple of seasons. Their younger sister, Julia, has spent the past five seasons playing at Mount Allison University. The youngest of the four, Josh, is in his second season with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL.
Vancouver’s hockey connections run deep, and for these siblings, this is no exception. After five seasons with Quinnipiac and a year in South Carolina, Lee joined the Canucks organization and was able to take part in Vancouver’s training camp back in September. There, he shared the ice with Vancouver Canucks prospect Parker Alcos. Only a few weeks later, Alcos was taking Jayden’s brother Josh out for dinner.
“We went out for dinner a few times, and then a couple weeks later, he’s taking my little brother out for dinner,” Lee chuckled. “The really cool part about hockey is that it’s such a small world, despite there being so many guys. [It’s] such a small world, everybody knows each other, and there’s connections left, right, and center. Some are more obvious than others, but it’s just really, really cool to see that connection. [Alcos] is a really great kid.”
Four players at the Canucks' training camp were from BC; Lee, Alcos, Arshdeep Bains, and Evander Kane. The North Vancouver local detailed the experience of being able to practice with Daniel and Henrik Sedin as coaches during Vancouver’s training camp in the fall.
“Just watching them on TV every night, to being able to talk to them and learn from them — crazy switch there. But I loved it. Just tried to soak in as much as I could have.”
Photo Credit: @AbbyCanucks - X Lee was one of many players in the Canucks organization impacted by the sudden avalanche of injuries that shuffled Vancouver, Abbotsford, and the Kalamazoo Wings’ rosters in October and November. As a result, he made his AHL debut on October 28, playing in three games for Abbotsford before returning to his expanded role in Kalamazoo.
“It’s just one of those things that you’ve got to be ready for. I enjoyed my opportunity up there [with Abbotsford]. It was a really good experience, just kind of learning the ins and outs of everyday AHL life, and then coming back here, just being able to play a lot of big minutes has been great.”
Making his AHL debut in Abbotsford meant a few things for Lee, the most important of which was the fact that his family got to be in attendance. While he’s back in Kalamazoo now, after spending six seasons out east, being able to make his AHL debut in a place where his family could hop in the car and drive down the highway was nothing less than “surreal.
“Honestly, the biggest part was that my parents and my grandfather could be there in the building. They’ve [made] a lot of sacrifices to help me get to this spot. They’ve supported me on my journey here. So just to share that moment with them, that was really special.”
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