Hurricanes’ defenseman Jalen Chatfield someone young campers can ‘look up to’

It has been an eventful summer for Jalen Chatfield of the Carolina Hurricanes.

The defenseman signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension with the Canes. He saw some teammates depart in free agency, including veteran D-men Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce. He also was engaged, taking a knee and proposing to his girlfriend, Drew.

Chatfield returned to Raleigh over the weekend, ready to prepare for what could be an eventful season for the Hurricanes after an intriguing offseason.

Chatfield was on the ice Saturday at Invisalign Arena, making a guest appearance at the Hockey Players of Color summer camp. More than 40 youth players participated this year and enjoyed having Chatfield in their midst for the day.

“They all had smiles on their faces and many had questions,” Chatfield said. “I just went out there and tried to be who I am, and hopefully make their day and continue to push them to continue to play hockey and grow into great men and women.”

Some of the questions caught Chatfield off guard — one kid asked why Sebastian Aho had been traded (Aho was not). He also noted, chuckling, that among all the smilers were a few kids giving him some good-natured trash talk.

Chatfield, 28, is a good role model for many of those at the camp. He’s a player of color, the son of a white father, Scott, and a Black mother, Tomara. He’s a self-made NHL player.

“It’s amazing to see these kids have someone they can look up to,” said Jazmine Miley, the founder and CEO of Hockey Players of Color. “He’s currently playing for the team, and to be able to see him first-hand and talk to him and get autographs from him, I can’t thank him enough for taking time away from his personal life to be here.”

Chatfield said he first began skating at 5 years old, first on rollerblades and then ice skates, in his hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. His parents weren’t hockey fans — his dad played basketball — but ‘Chatfield soon became a Detroit Red Wings fan and hockey convert.

“Growing up I never thought I’d be in the position I’m in now,” he said. “It’s amazing how life works when you never give up.”

Chatfield knocked down any obstacles in his path in ascending in the sport. Undrafted by an NHL team, he eventually signed with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League — and won a Memorial Cup — and attended camps in San Jose and Detroit before earning an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

Chatfield played for the Canucks’ AHL team, fought his way through an injury, and made his NHL debut with Vancouver in January 2021. From there, it was on to signing with the Hurricanes, where he helped their AHL team — the Chicago Wolves — win a Calder Cup title while also getting in some NHL games.

Chatfield has become a staple of the Canes’ lineup, giving coach Rod Brind’Amour someone who plays with an edge and rugged in the defensive end but also has some offensive skills.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Chatfield said. “It took me a while to really appreciate what I did what my career, but it was an uphill battle most of my career.

“Still now, I’m going to continue to grind. Coming from Ypsilanti, getting cut my whole life, never being drafted, I just continue to face adversity the right way and work hard.”

Chatfield and Dmitry Orlov were the Canes’ third defensive pair last season, and that could change with the loss of Skjei and Pesce. Carolina signed free-agent defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker, and training camp will decide the pairings.

“We lost a lot of guys but we’ve got a lot of guys coming back,” Chatfield said. “We’ve got the same coaching staff. We’ve got players who know how to play and how to win, so we’ve got to continue to raise the bar and get the job done.”

Chatfield got in some skating Saturday at the camp. One of those on the ice with him was Sergio Becom, 15, who is in the HPOC program.

“It was awesome,” Becom said. “Being Mexican-American, having another person of color here, someone in the NHL, was really inspiring for everyone out here.”