Stretched across the breadth of their blue line, a solid line of University of North Dakota players in white and green uniforms stood as one for the pre-game U.S. national anthem, except for two: kneeling side by side wereprospect Jacob Bernard-Docker and forward Jasper Weatherby, each wearing an ‘A’ on his sweater as an alternate captain.
“We wanted to make a statement that first game,” Bernard-Docker said over the phone from inside the UND hockey bubble in Omaha, Neb., where the Fighting Hawks are playing 10 games in a span of 19 days. JBD, as he is known, was a first-round draft pick of the Senators, 26th overall, in 2018. He is 20, and — like Weatherby — a UND junior.“I had two grandpas who fought in the World Wars,” said Bernard-Docker, who grew up in Canmore, Alta, and represented Canada at the world juniors.
But Bernard-Docker and Weatherby say they have received more positive messages than negative, and have tried to avoid the rabbit hole of online commentary.