Jelsma looking to make his last playoff run with Colts a special one

Climbing into his truck, Beau Jelsma asks to give him a second for the Bluetooth to kick in.

He explains that he’s just heading home after finishing getting his hair cut ahead of Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series against the Niagara IceDogs at Sadlon Arena on Thursday night.

“Getting a mullet,” said the Barrie Colts captain with a chuckle. “All the boys are getting mullets.”

At least he’ll have a helmet to cover up his new slick hairdo on the ice.

“I know,” he said before laughing out loud.

 Anything to gain an edge. After all, it’s playoff time. Jelsma’s favourite time of the year.

This playoff run, though, hits a little differently for the veteran overager. It’s his last crack at winning an OHL championship and that’s not lost on a player who says he loves winning and hates losing.

After all, what better way to put a bow on the junior career of a player who spills his heart out on the ice every single night.

“I’ve been beat out of the playoffs three years in a row, and two years ago, we had the team that could have done it,” said the 20-year-old, recalling a tough second-round loss to North Bay in seven games. “That Game 7 that we lost to North Bay, that is still in the back of my mind.

“I want to cap my junior career off with a win. I want to win so badly in this league. It’s hard. It’s going to be a long playoff and there will be some ups and downs, but I believe in everyone on this team and the staff. You know what? There’s only one thing to do and that is win.”

That familiar passion was there in his career regular-season finale last Saturday night. Every shift of his in the 8-1 drubbing of the IceDogs was pedal to the medal.

He played with that determination and firebrand style that Barrie fans have loved him for since he first arrived in the city.

The game may have meant nothing in the standings, but for Jelsma every game means something. It’s something his dad, Bryan, instilled in him working on a farm growing up in Delmer – a 40-minute drive from London.  

“I love hockey so much and every time I go on the ice, it’s an opportunity to be great,” said the five-foot-10 centre, who racked up 115 goals and 241 points through 259 games over his four years with the Colts. “I know I have off nights, but one thing for me that I know I’ll always bring is work as hard as I can. If you don’t work hard, good things don’t happen. You work hard; good things will happen.

“My father has always told me that. I love to win, but I hate to lose. Every single game we’re on the ice, I have the opportunity to win. It doesn’t matter if the game didn’t mean anything. It doesn’t matter. You have an opportunity to win, you have to win. Especially with it being my last regular season game. Capping off my OHL regular season career there with a win was amazing.”

Colts’ general manager and head coach Marty Williamson has grown quite familiar with that Beau passion, that Beau drive.

“That’s what you love about Beau,” Williamson said of his overager’s heart. “We’ve been together a long time, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him. He shows up to practice, he shows up to games, and he plays hard. He’s got that energy and it’s infectious with how hard he plays the game.

“He’s accountable. He’s come to me many times and said, ‘if you need to give me (crap), you do it.’ He’s a good farm boy and I have really enjoyed my time with him. I’m going to miss him an awful lot when this season ends.”

After an outstanding first half of the season where they climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference standings, the Colts struggled at times through the second half, playing .500 hockey.

Jelsma knows Barrie is a much better team than the one that went through a pair of five-game losing skids later in the season. He believes that they have come through that, and it will only make them stronger.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” he said. “Adversity is great. It sets us up for playoffs. We’ve been through it all and I’m super excited for this run we’re going to have.”

The Colts can perhaps look back at the 2022-23 Peterborough Petes, who would go on to beat the London Knights in the OHL finals and advance to the Memorial Cup.

Like the Colts, Peterborough loaded up during the season at the OHL trade deadline to take a serious run. The Petes, though, would stumble their way over the final couple of months of the season and finish a disappointing fourth in the Eastern Conference.

That was before everything came together in the playoffs. The Colts, who still managed to win the Central Division and finish second in the conference, would love a somewhat similar story for them this year.

“It takes time,” said Jelsma. “Time for a team to come together and gel together. We have so much firepower on this hockey team this year. It’s going to take time for us to figure it out. I feel we haven’t put together a full 60 (minutes) and you know playoffs is the best time to do it.

“We’ve shown that we’ve had great periods and if we get that full 60 going, I think we’re going to have a very successful run here.”

It was a different story last season, but Jelsma showed why he deserved the captaincy when the team traded away Connor Punnett at the deadline.

The Colts looked to the future at the deadline and with a playoff berth on the line, there was Jelsma refusing to give in on the season.

He would play a central role in helping the team qualify for the playoffs and then push the top-seeded Oshawa Generals to six games in the opening round of the playoffs.

“I remember going into that playoff series I had a meeting with the guys, and I said, ‘Hey, don’t worry about standings or where we stand. We’re in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we got to play Barrie Colt hockey, and we got to play to win.’

“And that’s what we did. We came up short against a very good hockey team, but it gave us confidence going into this year.”

Jelsma said that will be his same speech heading into this year’s playoffs.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It really doesn’t,” he said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. It’s junior hockey, anything can happen. We just have to stay humble, stay composed.

“It’s big because we know the fans want it, we want it. (Colts’ owner) Howie Campbell wants it. It’s been a long time since this city has seen a championship and what a year to do it.”

Jelsma can’t believe how the time has flown by. He remembers coming post-COVID not sure if he was going to make the team. He gives credit to the older veterans who stepped up and guided him through camp and his early seasons. Something he now looks to do himself for his younger teammates.

“It feels like yesterday I was on a line with (Ethan) Cardwell and Declan McDonnell. It just goes by so fast,” said Jelsma. “I’ve had so much fun. The bus trips, the hanging out with the guys. Just winning hockey games. Even just going through the daily grind.

“The biggest thing with the Barrie Colts is we got such a tight group. The fans have a big thing with that because every night we’re playing with the crowd behind us, and we just want to win every game. It’s made it very enjoyable for me.”

Jelsma wants that fun to continue as long as possible. The opportunity to win a championship doesn’t come along often.

“In the OHL, there’s been a couple of guys that have had a shot at winning it, but I’d say the majority of the league they have one shot, one year at winning a championship,” said Jelsma. “I learned over the years how hard it really is to make it there. I’ve been through three playoffs and the farthest we’ve gone is the second round.

“You just got to take advantage of these opportunities. Every night don’t think about the future, just think about the now. What can I do in the now to help my team win. That’s the message around the rink right now. We have an older team, and guys are going to be moving on to pro next year and college and it won’t be the same team. We just got to live in the now and take advantage of our opportunity, because there won’t be many opportunities like this.”

Colts’ overager Owen Van Steensel understands what Jelsma is feeling.

An OHL title eluded Van Steensel the last three seasons in North Bay before he was traded to Barrie at this year’s deadline. He’d love nothing more than to hoist the championship trophy with Jelsma and his teammates.

“He’s our leader. He’s our rock,” Van Steensel said of Jelsma. “He’s been through it all. I’ve known Beau for a long time. He’s a great kid, from a great family, but he just works. He competes and there’s nothing more he wants than to win and we’re trying to do it with him.”