Anton Jacobs-Webb, Para ice hockey

Anton Jacobs-Webb admits he didn’t know much about Para ice hockey until a few chance encounters with Paralympians.

Growing up in Williamswood, Nova Scotia he played street hockey with his friends and neighbours and when winter came, they’d move their games to the local frozen pond.  That was about the extent of his hockey playing.

“I never played stand-up hockey in a league,” Jacobs-Webb says now. “I can skate, but I was never the greatest skater.”

Born with his left leg shorter than his right, Jacobs-Webb has worn a prosthetic since birth. He’s undergone several surgeries, including one in 2012 to remove his knee and turn his foot, allowing the heel to lock into his prosthetic and act as a knee-like hinge.

When he and his family moved to the Ottawa-Gatineau area, his prosthetist connected him to Hervé Lord, a three-time Paralympian in Para ice hockey. Lord gifted the young Jacobs-Webb a handful of autographed photos of the national Para ice hockey team.

It instantly sparked an interest in the sport. He joined local club teams and began competing across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.

“Then I made the Quebec provincial team and met Jean Labonté,” he says.

Labonté, the former captain of Canada’s national Para ice hockey team helped him find his passion for the sport, even driving him to Montréal for training camps.

From there, he excelled. Now 19 years old, Jacobs-Webb has found a spot on the national team roster.

While his sights are set on the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, Jacobs-Webb is still trying to balance school – he’s looking at a pursuing a career in engineering – work, and sport.

His teammates are scattered across the country, so each athlete must train individually before coming together for training camps for one week each month, on average.

Next Generation funding helps ensure that Jacobs-Webb can remain focused on his Paralympic goals.

“Having funding means I don’t have to do a part-time job, study and train. I work in the summer as a bike mechanic but in the season, I can focus on schoolwork and hockey.”

“The amount of money you have to train makes a direct impact on your training results,” he adds. But it’s not always easy.

“Usually when I train, I train at the school gym just because it saves time. But that gym is closed on the weekends, so I have to find another gym to go to. I had to get another membership, and that’s just one extra cost to pay.”

Jacobs-Webb also recognizes the impact that Next Generation and early athlete funding has on strengthening the Paralympic Movement.

“The amount of people we get at the top level to represent Canada depends on how many people get to try Para sports in the first place,” he says. “And that’s something we need.”