Jonah Spayd is a defenseman for the University of Georgia hockey team. He is a freshman intending to major in finance from Dacula, Georgia.

He started skating lessons at age 6. After seeing hockey players across the rink, he decided to switch from figure skating to hockey.

“My family is half Canadian, so my mom kind of put skates on us at a really young age.”

Spayd grew up watching the Ice Dawgs, so now playing for them and attending UGA has been a full-circle experience.

“It’s a surreal moment, especially South Carolina. I had never played in front of a crowd that size,” Spayd said. “I mean, I watched the Ice Dawgs as a kid, so being one is super cool.”

He chose not to play junior hockey because he wanted to have a normal high school experience and have the opportunity to participate in other activities, including leadership clubs, multiple sports and even multiple jobs. Before joining the Ice Dawgs, he played for the Atlanta Phoenix.

“Yeah, playing juniors would have been fun, but I wanted a normal high school experience. It allowed me to do a lot of cool things that if I was doing juniors, there was no way, like a lot of leadership clubs that helped me get into Georgia.”

His favorite part of hockey is teamwork and how you can’t do it all on your own. You can make mistakes, but so can your teammates. Everyone understands that hockey is a team game and that you need your teammates, so it’s not a one-man show.

“It’s the ultimate team sport. Like, it’s impossible to do it yourself. You take Connor McDavid, for example. He’s the greatest player to ever touch the planet, but he doesn’t have the right system built around him, and he’s not going to win because of it.”

His favorite part about being a defenseman is having control over the play.

“I kind of think of myself as an offensive defenseman, so I like to make the puck move and start from behind; be the first person to touch. I like being the place where the play starts. Playing defense and blocking shots is a lot of fun too.”

His goal for this season is to get to know his teammates better, connect with them on and off the rink and do whatever is necessary to win.

“I already got to know them very well through San Diego. I think we have a great team, and we mesh really well. So I’m excited to build that little friend group,” Spayd said. “I just want to make sure I’m doing my absolute best to help the team out in any way, shape or form, whether that’s me playing 20 minutes a night or me staying in the press box because I’m a scratch. I’m just willing to help the team.”

Spayd is a Chicago Blackhawks fan and is excited about Connor Bedard being announced as the team’s new captain.

“That’s great news, and then (Patrick) Kane’s gonna be an assistant in his first year back.”

He used to wear No. 19 because of his favorite Blackhawks player, Jonathan Toews, but now he wears No. 21, a meaningful number because of his sister, Sydney, who played collegiate softball.

“She wore 21 in her high school career because I guess it’s what she got, and stuck with, but it became attached to our name, Spayd, you know? So it was an option for me, and I picked it, so I’m gonna ride with it.”

Fun fact: Spayd is good at whistling, plays competitive disc golf and has placed second in a tournament.