By Luke McGinnis
Throughout every stage of his career, from junior hockey to USports to the professional ranks, Jameson has followed a remarkably similar pattern.
Each season, he gets better.
“I think my work ethic is my biggest thing. Growing up on a farm, my dad was a really hard worker and my mum was as well, so I was brought up in a family that works hard. I was able to apply that to my hockey career.
“I’ve also always had a desire to learn and love the process of getting better and training. Throughout my career, I’ve always tried to get better, both on and off the ice.”
Jameson’s journey began in Triple A hockey with the Southwest Cougars, where he spent three seasons developing his game. After an adjustment period in his first campaign, his production increased year after year, culminating in a breakout 2014/15 season.
“Hockey was probably my main sport, but during high school I played a ton of other sports. I was playing volleyball, baseball, badminton and track and field, so hockey wasn’t as big of a focus for me during those three years.
“Looking back, I don’t think I really understood how to get better at hockey at that point, and I feel like I had some poor coaching as well.”
The pattern continued following his move to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Swan Valley Stampeders. After recording seven points in 50 games during his first season, Jameson led his side in scoring over the next two seasons.
He posted 44 points in 60 games in his second campaign before captaining the Stampeders and leading the team in scoring with 70 points in just 59 games during the 2018/19 season.
“My first year in Swan Valley was probably the first time I really learned how to develop. I had a really good assistant coach in Darren Webster, who worked with me one-on-one.
“I barely made the team at tryouts and played fourth line the entire year. I didn’t have a lot of ice time, but Darren and I would work together before and after practice, and even on Sundays when we had the day off.
“That’s where I really learned how to get better and improve. I’d work on something and then start seeing it pay off in games, and I loved that process.
“Darren saw something in me that I probably didn’t see in myself at that point. After that first season, when I had only scored two or three goals, he told me I was going to score 20 the next year. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t even believe in myself enough to think I can do that.’
“He helped instil confidence in me, and the next year I went on to lead our team in goals and points. That’s when I started to become more confident in myself and realise that if I continued to put the work in and loved the process of developing, I could keep improving.”
Following his junior career, Jameson committed to the University of Manitoba, where the trend continued. He scored at a half a point-per-game pace during his first season with the Bisons before taking another step forward in his second campaign.
Despite losing the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jameson returned to produce another standout third season, scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace while once again serving as team captain.
“When I was in Swan Valley, my whole goal as a 19- and 20-year-old was to crack a Division I team in the States. That’s what I was working towards.
“I didn’t exactly reach that goal, but the work I put in trying to get there allowed me to have success at the University of Manitoba. Even though I didn’t achieve the goal I had originally set, all that work helped me grow and develop and made me ready to play at Manitoba.”
After making the move to the professional ranks at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, Jameson spent the next two seasons refining his game in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies and Norfolk Admirals.
He registered 37 points in 71 games during his rookie season with the Grizzlies before following it up with 38 points in 63 games for the Admirals the following year, finishing among his team’s leading scorers in both campaigns.
“I’d got used to being one of the better players on my university team, and then going into professional hockey put me into a lot of stressful and uncomfortable environments that I hadn’t experienced at university.
“I got scratched for the first few games, and there was a level of internal competition in professional hockey that I hadn’t really dealt with before. It took me a while to feel comfortable and confident in the ECHL and earn my place.
“I think a lot of guys go through that when they first turn pro. You really have to earn the trust of the coach, get comfortable and confident, and earn your role.”
Jameson made the move to the Elite League ahead of the 2024/25 season with the Glasgow Clan, recording 10 points in 53 regular-season appearances. He joined the Fife Flyers the following year, where his offensive production once again took a significant step forward, leading the team with 30 points in 51 games.
“My first year in Glasgow was kind of the same thing I went through in the ECHL. I was going into a new environment with players who had already established themselves and had successful careers in Europe.
“It took me a while to get comfortable, and I felt like I was playing in other players’ shadows a lot of the time. I didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity, and I didn’t make the most of the opportunities I did have.
“Last year with Fife, there was a higher expectation for me. I felt a lot more comfortable having played a year in the league, expected more of myself and was able to play with more confidence and freedom.”
Now preparing for his third season in the Elite League, this time in Dundee, Jameson will be looking to continue the pattern that has defined his career so far.
“I think I’m going to be given a lot of opportunity in Dundee this year, and I want to make the most of it and take another step forward.
“As a team, we want to be much better than we were last year. We want to be back in the playoff picture and fighting our way up the standings.
“For myself, I want to be a real difference-maker for the team and have an influence on every game. I want to play to the best of my ability. That’s something I felt I missed when I was in Glasgow.
“Hopefully I can build on the season I had last year, contribute more offensively and help our team win as much as I can.”
