Former professional hockey player turned Teacher, Jonathan Filewich is leveraging the experiences and transferable skill sets learned throughout his hockey journey into a successful and fulfilling post hockey career, while his dedication and commitment towards inspiring and mentoring his students is being recognized in a big way.

Born and raised in Kelowna, British Columbia, Filewich enjoyed a successful Junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) split between the Prince George Cougars and Lethbridge Hurricanes. From 2000 – 2005, Filewich played in 321 WHL games, tallying 121 goals and 125 assists. Looking back, getting to the WHL was something he never would have predicted. 

“I came from a family that didn’t really have a huge hockey background,” said Filewich.  “When I was drafted into the WHL, I didn’t really know what to expect. I ended up just ‘going with the flow’ when I arrived.  Little did I know that would be a motto of mine through my entire hockey career.  Each step I took was not lost on me, and I was simply happy to be there.”

Filewich’s hard work and dedication to the game paid off when he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (70th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. 

“I can remember in my last year with Lethbridge I scored 42 goals. What made it even more impressive was that it was during the NHL lockout, so I was playing against players such as Ryan Getzlaf, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Seabrook, Andrew Ladd and others who should have been playing in either the NHL or American Hockey League (AHL) at the time. It was incredible.”

Following his junior career, he was assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh’s American AHL affiliate. From the day he arrived at his new team, he felt an immediate culture change.

“When I arrived in Wilkes-Barre, we won almost immediately. This was a complete turn for me because I did not have that level of success in junior. In my first professional season, we went on a 23-game stretch to start the season where we did not lose in regulation. That organization has a winning culture where they always find ways to be successful.”

The height of Filewich’s AHL career came during the 2006-07 season when he was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game in Toronto, Ontario.  

“I was a little lucky in that situation where I was surrounded by amazing teammates who should have been selected to the All-Star team ahead of me, but were called up to Pittsburgh at the time. Players like Eric Christensen helped me become so successful and pushed me to a higher level. I was just next in line to represent our team at the All Star Game.”

During the Skills Competition portion of the event, he was informed he would be competing in the Fastest Skater Competition.  Although it came as a surprise to some, Filewich did not disappoint.

“If you ask any of my coaches, they would say I do not really have one single strong point to my game, but rather I was able to do a little bit of everything.  I was a bit confused when I was selected to be part of the Fastest Skater Competition, but I ended up winning the entire event.  I think it opened my eyes and everyone else’s because since then I always seemed to win that competition during team skills events.”

On January 21st, 2008, three years into his pro career, Filewich’s childhood dream became a reality when he made his NHL debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins against their rival Washington Capitals. At the time, this rivalry was primed with the matchup of Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin, although he never truly got to see the two compete in person.

“I still have chills in my body just talking about it; it was a day I will never forget.  Unfortunately, I did not get to play with Crosby because he was dealing with some injuries at the time, but Evgeni Malkin was still playing. I could not tell you how many minutes I played that night, I just remember sitting on the bench, seeing these star players on the ice, and pinching myself to make sure it was real.”

Filewich skated in five games with Pittsburgh during the 2007-08 season before returning to Wilkes-Barre, but the experience of playing in the NHL would help serve as an inspirational story during his eventual post hockey career as a Teacher.   

In 2009, Filewich made the decision to continue his professional hockey career overseas in Austria, where he signed with EC Salzburg of the EBEL. Once he arrived, Filewich experienced immediate success, totalling 32 points in 45 games, while also helping his team win both the EBEL Cup and Continental Challenge. Through it all, he remained thrilled with the quality of the competition and professionalism of playing overseas.

“EC Salzburg was owned by Red Bull so we were treated like an NHL franchise. We were expected to be there training for 11 of the 12 months of the year, but we were always treated like royalty. There were a lot of American and Canadian players there as well, and we just seemed to win everywhere we went.  In my second season with Croatia, I got to experience the culture and became immersed in it, which was awesome.”

However, for all the triumph during his professional hockey career, Filewich also suffered his share of injuries.  And as the years passed on, he began to focus more on taking care of himself and starting a family. The decision to step away from professional hockey in 2011 to focus on his family and begin a new career, as expected, was not easy.

“While I was playing in Croatia, my concussion problems began to worsen and I started to ask myself if this was worth it. While I was having so much fun, I knew it couldn’t continue.  I knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to start a family. It was time to put family first and I made peace with the fact that it was time to come home.”

Throughout his career, Filewich took advantage of tuition grants and programs offered through the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) Career Enhancement Program, which provide opportunities for current and former PHPA Members to prepare for an eventual post hockey career.  Filewich took online courses during his pro career which allowed for a smooth transition between careers. This helped him swiftly begin his next chapter as a Teacher.

“I was fortunate to have family who wanted me to have some focus on education, so I was taking classes while playing in the AHL. Once I retired, I enrolled with Brandon University for Physical Education studies, allowing me to branch off to a variety of options. I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to pursue a career in Education. Ten years later, I am about one course away from finishing my second Masters Degree.”

Filewich is thoroughly enjoying his post hockey career teaching Grades 5-6 at Souris School, located in Souris, Manitoba.  He thrives on building relationships with his students and using what he learned in school and throughout his hockey journey to grow as an educator. 

“I have come to notice through living in a small town that having the opportunity to build these relationships with my students is the best part of the job. Especially during the pandemic, I can use examples or experiences from my own hockey and teaching career to help students maintain their perspective. An idea like Dress Up February, a way to make our days brighter through this year, is something I loved seeing my students initiate and take pride in.”

Filewich’s dedication to his teaching career has not gone unnoticed, as he has been nominated for the Most Valuable Teacher Award for the month of March through a contest hosted by the NHL, NHLPA, SAP & EVERFI. This nomination was due to his dedication in bringing STEM concepts to his students within the classroom, including online, interactive hockey math games as well as other STEM sports activities. As one of only 20 teachers throughout North America nominated for this award, the entire community of Souris has supported Filewich in an effort to help him receive the most votes and win a $10,000 technology grant for his school board. How the community has come together to help is what makes this so rewarding for Filewich.

“This type of program uses subjects like hockey to teach in a different context. Being a former player, I loved it and used this as an opportunity to have people involved without actually playing the game. My students thought it was the best idea ever, so they naturally gravitated to it. This is what led to my nomination for the Award.”

“The entire community has gotten behind the contest. You can see posters of it all around town with details from my students on how to vote. We have local businesses reaching out to help, radio stations and newspapers talking about it.  The support has been absolutely amazing. Seeing how meaningful this recognition is to everyone is what makes this so rewarding for me.”

With the voting set to end on March 31st, Filewich and the community of Souris, Manitoba are encouraging anyone and everyone to cast one vote per day to help him become the Most Valuable Teacher for the Month of March. To cast your vote, please visit http://nhl.com/MVT.

Jonathan Filewich’s dream of one day becoming a professional hockey came true.  Now, he’s inspiring others during his post hockey career as a Teacher, so theirs can come true too.