​  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Already an accomplished roller hockey player growing up in Grand Cayman, Jaxon Cover laughed at the memory of his introduction to ice hockey and how he literally fell head over skate blades for the sport.Cover was 8 when he attended a summer camp in Toronto during his family’s annual trip north to see relatives.“One time, I tried to do a roller hockey stop where you twist your ankles. So I kind of just blew a tire and fell over and landed on my back,” he said. “They’re great memories and I do chuckle because since that moment to now I feel I’ve made amazing progress.”Indeed he has, in a journey that’s taken Cover from the Caribbean to Canada and potentially beyond: Some five years since playing in his first competitive ice hockey game, the 18-year-old is regarded as one of the more intriguing prospects in the NHL draft in Buffalo this weekend.Ranked 29th overall on NHL Central Scouting’s list of North American skaters, Cover is a good bet to be a second- or third-round selection on Saturday. And because of his untapped potential, some projections have him pegged going late in the first round on Friday.“Every game this year, he made you notice him,” central scouting chief Dan Marr said, assessing Cover’s rookie season with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights.“He did the small things, the little things that make scouts notice him,” Marr added. “So he might have been a hidden secret going into the season. He’s not now.”Simply being in the mix was enough for Cover while attending the pre-draft scouting combine earlier this month.“If you told me I’d be here maybe even two years ago, I wouldn’t believe you,” he said. “I’m really proud of myself just seeing how far I’ve come.”Shortly after being in born in Miami, his family returned to its roots in Grand Cayman, where Cover was a multisport athlete and especially drawn to roller hockey on an island that has one rink.Putting on blades for the first time at 3, he quickly began playing against older competition. Some five year later, Cover earned MVP honors competing in two age divisions at the 2016 North American roller hockey championships.His introduction to ice hockey wouldn’t come until 2020, when he and his older brother were sent to attend St. Andrew’s College, a private school north of Toronto. By his second year, he caught the attention of St. Andrew’s coach David Manning during an under-16 team tryout while skating alongside much more established players.“In quick order, you could see his elusiveness, his skill in tight, his puck control,” Manning recalled. “He still had trouble understanding when to pass and when to move, but his individual skill was undeniable.”Manning said Cover used free time during the pandemic his first year to develop his skills at      ​Read More