by Carlynn Claypool | AHL On The Beat
The captain has returned.
Colorado Eagles forward Jayson Megna held such distinction that he earned the honor of team captain before putting blade to ice in his fifth season with the club and his 13th in the AHL.
During the home opener against the Tucson Roadrunners on Oct. 11 in Loveland, the fans welcomed him back with raucous cheers. Megna said coming back to Colorado after a year with the Providence Bruins was an easy choice because of the Eagles supporters, city itself and quality of life.
Maybe most special of all, Megna’s daughter, Hadley, was born here, and thus the family considers Northern Colorado home.
“It kind of checks every box for us,” Megna said. “My wife and I, we had our daughter here and I consider it a second home, so when we had the opportunity to come back, we jumped on it.”
Colorado certainly has plenty of reason to welcome Megna with open arms. He has tallied 320 points in 499 AHL games, a long way from an ice-skating themed birthday party that he attended as a child which would end up sparking a career playing hockey.
“I was born in Fort Lauderdale,” Megna said. “Not many youth hockey programs (in Florida) at the time. It’s gotten, obviously, a lot better with the Panthers.
“I moved to Chicago when I was five or six and went to a birthday party skate around when I was seven. Then I asked my parents to sign me up for a league and just started to fall in love with the game from there.”
Megna’s father, Jay, served as a driving force in his son’s pursuit of professional hockey. Jay Megna played defensive back at East Tennessee State University and spent time in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints in the 1980’s. Jayson witnessed the dedication and effort necessary to play professionally.
Learning the values and work ethic needed to be successful at the highest-level and ultra-fast-paced environment helped Megna play into a captain’s role with the Eagles.
As a captain with expansive experience, including 204 games at the NHL level, Megna has an opportunity to mentor some of the younger Eagles players.
And it’s a role he relishes.
“I do not take it lightly, and I feel very fortunate to be in that position,” Megna said. “I just try to help the young guys and help develop their talent so we can see them up in Denver with the Avalanche and have long successful careers.
“Whatever I can do to help them, that’s kind of my full concern.”