Bulldogs’ netminder Jacob Mardell heads off to Quebec with England for Pee-Wee Tournament

INCOMING: Bradford Bulldogs’ Under-14 netminder Jacob Mardell will fly out to Quebec with his England Under-13 team-mates on Tuesday to take part in the Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Picture: Andy Bourke.

BRADFORD BULLDOGS’ teenage netminder Jacob Mardell is set to fulfil two childhood dreams when he heads off to Canada to represent England at the annual Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.

The 13-year-old will jet off to North America on Tuesday ready to compete against teams from all over the world at the prestigious event.

One of the England games will be staged at the famous Videtron Centre, with others played at the nearby Pavillon de la Jeunesse.

As part of the experience, Jacob will stay with a local family, sampling the unique life and culture of the largely French-speaking Quebec area.

Having started his hockey journey with the Bulldogs from the age of five, Jacob has previously played for the Northern Conference and England North representative age group teams, but this latest call-up - which will see him and his team-mates compete in the Under-13 BB section from February 8-19 - will be his biggest experience yet.

BIG MOMENT: Jacob will get to play at least one of his games with England in Quebec’s famous Videotron Centre.

“I’m very excited, I’ve always wanted to go to Canada since I was young and the best thing about this is that I’m getting to play hockey while I’m there,” said Jacob.

“The hockey is going to be great, obviously, but I’m also looking forward to staying with my billet family and making new friends. 

“It’s going to be amazing playing that first game at the Videotron Centre on February 13 against Angers Ducs from France. Hopefully, I can make loads of saves for the team and we can get that win.”

Both Jacob’s brothers - Tom, 16, and Finley, aged 7 - also play for the Bulldogs, with his older sibling having already made a number of appearances for the Bulldogs’ senior team in the NIHL North Two.

They all got the hockey bug from watching the Sheffield Steelers with aunties Catherine and Julie from an early age, with Jacob always more interested in what the netminders were doing, rather than the skaters. 

And once he started playing himself, parents Simon and Rebecca have supported him throughout, involving a lot of miles and numerous early starts. Along with his brothers, they will be watching on and keeping track of his efforts back home.

“I have watched the Steelers from since I was a baby and I always found myself watching the goalies more than the players, so when I got chance to play myself at Bradford, that’s what I always wanted to do,” he added. 

“It’s going to be great representing England, hopefully I’ll get to do it again in the future, but there are a lot of good netminders at my age around the country, so I’ll have to keep working hard.”

Bulldogs’ head coach Andy Brown - who also coaches Jacob’s Under-14 team in the EIHA’s Division One North - said the whole club was proud of him and would be cheering him on from West Yorkshire over the next couple of weeks.

“It’s a huge achievement for Jacob and just reward for the hard work he’s put in over the years here,” said Brown. 

“The Quebec trip is an amazing experience which sees the best young hockey players from North America and Europe take part in the largest junior tournament in the world. 

“He’ll love it and we’ll be hoping it goes well for him and his England team-mates.”