Kings’ Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s Upbringing Non-Issue For Anyone Who Knows Hockey

“How are they going to fit that name on a jersey?”

That was this writer’s first concern – albeit not a serious one – when the Los Angeles Kings drafted Jaret Anderson-Dolan at this past weekend’s NHL Draft. It proved to be the only concern. For others, however, concerns spread further than the length of the youngster’s name.

A native of Calgary, Jaret Anderson-Dolan entered this past weekend’s Draft projected to be selected in the first round. That did not prove to be the case, though, as the 17-year-old had to wait until the second round when the Kings selected him 41^st overall. In fairness, though, players rising and dropping a few spots is – and always has been, frankly – part-and-parcel to what the NHL Draft is all about. Heck, the same could be said for all four major North American sports. Anderson-Dolan’s case, though, may have been a different one altogether.

One thing about the youngster that’s drawing a lot of attention is his upbringing.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan was raised by two mothers – Fran and Nancy – something this writer didn’t learn about until after he researched the centreman’s extraordinary conditioning regimen. More on that later, though.

While we don’t know whether this was the case this past weekend, Anderson-Dolan did tell the Spokane (Wash.) Statesman-Review that, upon becoming eligible for the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft, some teams would pass on him due to his upbringing. In fact, despite having the talent to be a top-five pick, Anderson-Dolan wasn’t chosen in the WHL Draft until No. 14 when the Spokane Chiefs called his name.

Mark Yannetti, the Kings’ Director of Amateur Scouting, however, had something to say about teams who passed on Anderson-Dolan for this reason.

“If anybody had a problem with [Anderson-Dolan’s] family situation, they should go screw themselves. It’s sad to say that that could be happening,” Yannetti told Helene Elliott of the L.A. Times Saturday by phone.

Anderson-Dolan, who now has two full season with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs under his belt, celebrated a breakout season in 2016-17, scoring 39 goals and 76 points in 72 games. Said output was a vast improvement from his 14 goals and 26 points from the previous campaign.

In addition to possessing speed, skill and confidence, there is something even more impressive about Jaret Anderson-Dolan: his work ethic.

Going back to his aforementioned conditioning regimen, Anderson-Dolan’s is something that helped this writer become immediately sold on the youngster.

Every preseason, the Spokane Chiefs hold VO2 testing, which, according to the Spokane Statesman-Review, “measures the capacity of a person’s cardiovascular and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to the muscles.”

Traditionally, this is an event where only veteran players participate. However, despite being a 16-year-old rookie, Anderson-Dolan was invited. Not only was the freshman competitive, but he won – and convincingly, too.

Anderson-Dolan’s test number were in the mid-60s. For those keeping score, not one of his teammates eclipsed 60 that year. The following season was even better as the 5-foot-11, 191-pounder scored in the high 60s – numbers that would contend for the highest at the NHL Combine in any given year.

This alone was what piqued this writer’s interest in the youngster, but only found out about his upbringing later in the day. When reading that Anderson-Dolan was raised by two mothers, this writer pleasantly said to himself, “Hey, that’s a nice story,” read about it and that was it. However, for those who believe the centreman’s upbringing should have an impact on his career, this writer is in agreement – but for another reason.

Growing up, Jaret’s mother Nancy ran her own business for food addiction treatment. This resulted in Jaret – and his older brother, Dorian – routinely eating healthy, which included organic food far before it became, if you will, society’s ‘in’ thing.

“For me it’s kind of a habit, just talking about the things you can do to take advantage of your opponent. I was raised in a house where we eat right, so it’s pretty easy for me,” Anderson-Dolan told Jay Cohen of the Chicago Tribune in regards to his conditioning.

So, if anyone is going to let Anderson-Dolan’s upbringing influence their opinion on the youngster, so be it. But, let it be his eating habits and his fitness level, for those reasons — among others, including a solid two-way game — should have exhorted teams to draft the 17-year-old sooner and not letting him having two mothers deter them from passing on him. Yet, while the latter shouldn’t have any clout on Anderson-Dolan as a player, that shouldn’t necessarily be the case for him as a person.

Before the Kings hired him as an assistant coach last week, Don Nachbaur had spent the previous seven seasons as head coach of the aforementioned Spokane Chiefs where he recently coached — you guessed it –Jaret Anderson-Dolan. Having said that, Nachbaur’s insight entering this weekend’s draft held an abundance of resonance for the Kings.

“When you have the coach of the team on speed dial and he’s telling you that it is an A-plus family and a support system that he had growing up, I don’t care if it’s two moms, I don’t care if it’s two dads. What I know is the reason he is the kid he is, is because of his upbringing,” Mark Yannetti told Helene Elliott on Saturday by phone. “It’s that nature versus nurture thing.

“We certainly weren’t scared off by it. You see where we took him. For me it’s nothing. It’s a matter-of-fact thing. It’s just a detail. It was nothing we ever discussed. He has two loving, wonderful parents that raised him to be a certain way, which is why he is the player he is today. … I hope we’re at the point now where a non-traditional family is now considered a traditional family. I would hope we’re there. Either way we got a kid we coveted and I’m happy that he was raised the way he was and I’m happy he’s the player that he is.”

Last season, Anderson-Dolan, in support of both the LGBTQ community and the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” campaign, wrapped his sticks in rainbow hockey tape. In fact, Jaret’s teammates did the same in an effort to end, or at least combat, homophobia in sports. A gesture like this should prove that a teammate growing up with two mothers should, indeed, have an influence in the locker room – but a positive one.

In any sport, teams will be faced with prospects from various types of upbringings as far as the eye can see, so to speak. There have been a number of cases, for instance, where aspiring athletes were raised by single parents who may have lost one parent to an illness or even an acrimonious divorce. In a case like this, a child could grow up with a myriad of different beliefs or issues, yet teams will, to a large degree, put positive emphasis on their skill anyway – and rightfully so. So, why should the case be any different for Jaret Anderson-Dolan?

Despite the reluctance of some teams in the past, Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s upbringing is laden with positives. He is openly proud of the way he was brought up and frankly, the Los Angeles Kings are openly proud to have a quality player and a quality person as a member of their organization.

This sort of puts the long-name-on-a-jersey issue in perspective, doesn’t it?

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!

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