ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The newest recruit for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ice hockey team lacks size, but plays without fear.
He’s got good speed and a strong ability to improvise under pressure. As he grows, he won’t get pushed around physically, and could be highly elusive at both ends of the ice.
If you ask around, he’s already emerging as a go-to player and is racking up Facebook likes as quickly as his human counterparts are racking up goals.
In fact, we’re paw-sitive he projects as a perennial All-Star without ever touching the ice at the PPL Center.
- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have a new team pet
- Jax, a Boxer puppy, was introduced on social media on Jan. 9
- He's owned by assistant equipment manager Jake Rogers
Jax is a 12-week-old Boxer who has spent time cuddled in the arms of 6-foot-3 defenseman Egor Zamula, made friends with right winger Hayden Hodgson and earned playing time from head coach Ian Laperriere.
In short, he’s one popular pooch — even if he has yet to attend his first AHL game.
“There’s the guy who broke our social media,” Bob Rotruck, the team’s broadcaster and director of communications, jokingly said as he watched Jax stroll through the arena on Thursday.
The Phantoms introduced Jax on Jan. 9, sharing his photo and birthdate (Oct. 20) on their social channels. The tweet has been viewed more than 16,000 times and the Facebook post earned hundreds of heart emojis — along with comments from Phantoms fans proclaiming things such as, “I’m already in love.”
While Jax is not the first AHL dog (Milwaukee has Bender, Charlotte has Calder and Utica has Comet), he is a first for the Phantoms and will grow into the role under the watchful eye of his owner, assistant equipment manager Jake Rogers.
Rogers resides in Whitehall Township with his wife, Kayla, and Jax is the newest member of their family.
He made his Phantoms debut at the team’s holiday party — mostly due to his young age and mischievous nature, Rogers said — and immediately went on a charm offensive.
“It was a collective effort to convince everyone to name him our team pet,” Marketing Manager Mackenzie Reichert said.
For now, Jax will have to grow into his role before making an official public debut.
“He actually runs better on the ice than on tile floor,” Rogers said as Jax made himself at home on the plush carpet of the team’s locker room and enjoyed playing with his first tennis ball.
The pup has enjoyed a lot of firsts over the past few weeks — his first Kong toy, his first photo shoot and his first media interview — and is slowly growing into his role as the most adorable member of the roster.
The big test will come when he meets MeLVin, the furry team mascot who is part of the fun-loving species known as the Puck-Nosed Pladottle.
The intro is likely to happen during one of MeLVin’s 9-to-5 video episodes featured on the team’s YouTube page, Reichert said.
But first on the agenda is basic obedience, and just letting young Jax acclimate to life in the public eye.
“He’s not being trained for a specific purpose,” Rogers said, other than to cheer on the Phantoms and receive lots of belly rubs.
“He should grow to about 60 to 70 pounds,” Rogers said, pointing out the dog’s already massive paws as a good indicator of future growth spurts.
“He definitely won’t travel with the team,” he said, shooing Jax away as he tried to make a chew toy out of goalie pads. “I can only imagine what the hotel rooms would look like.”
