A series of pencil marks fills part of a kitchen wall at the Dodig family home. It’s where Jay and Tracie have long tracked the growth of their sons Jimmy and Matty.
As the tallest member of the family, standing 6 feet, 6 inches, Jay once upon a time etched the words “SOME DAY” alongside his pencil mark. He figured it was only a matter of time before Jimmy and Matty eventually caught up to him. He wanted to prepare himself for that moment.
It looks like “SOME DAY” is coming sooner rather than later, especially with Jimmy now standing 6 feet, 5 inches.
“It’s definitely getting close,” Jay said. “He comes up from his bedroom in the morning and I’m like, ‘Who is this kid?’ He’s a horse. I look at him and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. Where did Little Jimmy go?’ ”
His massive frame is among the many reasons Jimmy, a shutdown defenseman for the Cretin Derham Hall boys hockey team, has a chance to hear his name called this weekend at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. He currently is ranked No. 95 among North American prospects by NHL Central Scouting. Though the rankings don’t guarantee anything, it’s a good bet that a team will take a chance on an 18-year-old with limitless potential.
“Just going to enjoy every moment of it,” Jimmy said. “Hopefully my name gets called.”
This moment has been more than a decade in the making for Jimmy. He fell in love with hockey while learning to skate on a portion of the frozen ice over Minnehaha Creek near where he grew up. He has used that particular sheet of ice to work on his craft as he has grown into his body, developing the skill set needed to succeed as he developed and fine-tuned his hockey skills.
“He was never the kid that just showed up and dominated,” Jay said. “He was the kid that had to grind to make most of the teams he’s been on. He works extremely hard, and I think that’s what sets him apart from some of his peers. He’s got a different mindset than the average person.”
Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Jimmy only recently let himself think about the possibility having a future in the professional hockey. It wasn’t until he slowly started to establish himself as a key player at Cretin Derham Hall that he thought that might be an option for him.
“I started to realize that I could hang with the big boys,” Jimmy said. “That gave me a lot of confidence.”
He earned a spot on the Raiders’ varsity squad as sophomore, and recorded 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists), then was named a team captain as a junior, and recorded 23 points (6 goals, 17 assists). He still has another year left at Cretin Derham Hall, so he’s in position to be the straw that stirs the drink for the team as a senior.
“He’s a little bit of a throwback because he loves playing defense,” Raiders boys hockey coach Matt Funk said. “We’re in a day and age of offensive defenseman, and while he can definitely do that and he will show more of that, he’s a defensive defenseman that we can trust to go up against anybody’s top line.”
No doubt his size makes everything a little easier for him when he’s on the ice.
“It’s definitely helped with my reach and my poke check,” Jimmy said. “Just my ability to shut guys down with my stick.”
The whole family will be in attendance this weekend at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. As he thought about what that moment was going to be like to watch his son walk across the stage, Jay paused for a few seconds, then unleashed the perfect response, saying, “He will always be my Little Jimmy.”
Indeed. Even if recent (and future) pencil marks suggest otherwise.
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