Stingrays' Lee making name for himself in pro hockey

If you're a fan of Quinnipiac University hockey, chances are you know who Jayden Lee is. The 5-foot-9, 161-pound defenseman played for the Bobcats from 2019 to 2024 and helped lead them to their first-ever National Championship in 2023. Now in his first season of professional hockey, Lee is on an American Hockey League contract with the Hershey Bears, who assigned him to the South Carolina Stingrays. Lee has made a significant impact in South Carolina, recording 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) and a +11 rating in his first 20 games with the Stingrays.

A Hockey-Filled Childhood

Lee's journey to professional hockey started in North Vancouver, where he grew up in a family of six with three siblings who all shared his passion for the sport. His older brother, Justin (26), played hockey at Simon Fraser University, his younger sister, Julia (21), is currently in her senior year at Mount Allison University, and his youngest brother, Joshua (16), plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League. Reflecting on his childhood, Lee shared, "We would play hockey against each other in the backyard or in the basement. We were always quite competitive but respectful as siblings. There were times when the four of us would get on the ice together, which was great for just messing around and having fun with each other."

Lee has always been hooked on hockey, and he credits his parents, Michael and Jennifer, for supporting his passion. "My parents were really great at giving me the opportunity to get on the ice and have fun, and I just fell in love with hockey and kept rolling with it," he said.

Finding His Path

Lee's competitive spirit and love for hockey began to crystallize into a career aspiration during his Bantam years. "It was around Bantam age, I was probably around 14 or 15 years old, when I flew down to Denver with my team, toured the University of Denver, and watched a game against North Dakota," he recalled. "Just feeling the experience of college hockey really made me think, like, man, this is something I could see myself doing one day. I kept grinding from there, made my way through juniors, and eventually committed to Quinnipiac. Everything just took off from there."

Growing up in Vancouver, Lee initially didn't know much about college hockey, as the area's hockey culture focused heavily on the major junior route. However, Lee's strong academic interests led him down a different path. "I always enjoyed school and was always a good student," he said. "Once I got exposed to college hockey, I was like, wow, if I could continue playing at a really high level and get an education, that's the best of both worlds."

Choosing Quinnipiac

Quinnipiac offered Lee the perfect blend of elite hockey and academics, particularly with its 3+1 accelerated dual-degree program in finance. Lee earned his undergraduate degree in 2022, MBA in 2023, and MS in 2024. "The first thing that stood out to me was just how unbelievable Quinnipiac's hockey program is," Lee explained. "On top of that, when I toured the campus, I thought it was really cool. It's only about 10,000 students, so class sizes are relatively small. In my five years, my biggest class had maybe 35 students. So it's not like you're just another student in a lecture hall of 500 people. It's more intimate. You can get to know your professors. They get to know you by name, and I thought that was very cool."

The National Championship

At Quinnipiac, Lee became a cornerstone of the Bobcats' program. The highlight of his collegiate career came in 2023 when Quinnipiac won its first-ever National Championship, defeating Michigan in the semifinals and top-ranked Minnesota in the championship game with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory. "It was really cool to share that with the whole Quinnipiac community," Lee said. "Being the first National Championship in program history, it had an even greater impact. It was also the first time my whole family was together watching me play in person and the first time my grandparents saw me play live in college hockey. It was an awesome experience and something I will remember forever."

For Lee, it was also special to share the National Championship with Quinnipiac hockey alums who helped grow the program into the national powerhouse it is today.

"We really felt the support from the hockey alums, the guys who walked so we could run—the guys who started when Quinnipiac wasn't a D1 program, those who played before we had our own rink—and everyone in between. Just feeling their support and camaraderie was really special. I didn't fully feel that impact until the weeks after winning. Everyone just rallied together, and it was really cool to see."

One of those proud Quinnipiac alums was current Stingrays Assistant Coach Scott Davidson, who played for the Bobcats from 2015 to 2019 and helped Quinnipiac reach the national title game in 2016. Davidson remembers watching the game at Eli's bar in Milford, Connecticut. His only regret is not flying to Tampa to see the game in person.

"I regret not booking a flight to go down there," Davidson said. "Some of the guys I played with had rented a place down there, and a lot of the older alumni made their way down for it. It was in Tampa, which was also where we had played in the National Championship game my freshman year. I was watching the game in Milford, Connecticut, at a bar called Eli's, and when they scored nine seconds into overtime to win it, I wasn't looking at the TV and missed the goal. I had to see it on replay, but it was such a cool feeling. It definitely sent chills up my back. None of the guys on that championship team were NHL studs, but they were blue-collar, get-the-job-done, gritty, culture-driven players. They were the epitome of the success they had."

Quinnipiac Head Coach Rand Pecknold, who guided the team to its historic title, praised Lee's contributions. "Jayden was an elite player for us and a big part of our National Championship team. He was outstanding throughout his whole career at Quinnipiac. I can't say enough good things about Jayden as a person and as a player," Pecknold said.

Captaining Quinnipiac

Lee returned to Quinnipiac for a fifth season in 2023-24, taking advantage of the NCAA's extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He served as team captain and led the Bobcats to a 27-10-2 record. "Getting that opportunity with the COVID fifth year to return, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to come back. I didn't want to go anywhere else," Lee said. "I knew it was always going to be Quinnipiac."

In 2023-24, the Bobcats finished fourth in the nation in wins and were just one overtime goal away from returning to the Frozen Four. While it was disappointing for Lee to lose to national runner-up Boston College, he grew a lot in that fifth season.

"Throughout my time at Quinnipiac, I was very fortunate to play with a lot of great teammates and great leaders. In my fifth year, there weren't as many upperclassmen on the team, and it was really great for me to step into a more vocal leadership role and pass on to the younger underclassmen what the previous upperclassmen taught me about the culture of Quinnipiac. I think it was really big for me, and I was very honored to be in that position [serving as team captain]," Lee shared.

The Stingrays Connection

When Lee turned pro, Davidson was instrumental in recruiting him to the Hershey Bears organization. Davidson first met Lee in the summer of 2019, shortly after he graduated from Quinnipiac. Every offseason, Quinnipiac hockey alums return to campus to skate with current players. Lee, who was preparing for his first college season, enjoyed getting to know Davidson, who was getting ready to play for the Stingrays in the 2019-20 season.

"There were a bunch of pros back in town training and skating," Lee said. "Obviously, at the time, I didn't realize that Scotty would be my assistant coach in five years, but it was really cool to be around pros like him and see how they operate on a day-to-day basis and how they train. Now that I'm here in South Carolina, having a familiar face is nice. It really helped with my transition."

Davidson, who continues to follow Quinnipiac hockey as much as he can, spoke with Stingrays Head Coach Jared Nightingale in the 2024 offseason about bringing Lee to the team.

"I mentioned Jayden's name through conversations with Nighty when he was building the team," Davidson said. "It was a couple of phone calls to the agent and Coach Pecknold to help steer him in our direction. We were competing with a couple of other teams, and it worked out."

Davidson's familiarity with Lee from their shared Quinnipiac connection has made Lee's transition to professional hockey smoother. "Jayden has been unbelievable this year," Davidson said. "He's detail-driven, and when you want him to do something, you never have to ask twice. There's a lot of responsibility in his game, and I think he can play in all situations, whether that's power play, five-on-five, or penalty kill."

Nightingale echoed Davidson's sentiment. "I think Jayden's greatest quality is that he's coachable," Nightingale said. "His hockey IQ is high, and he's an exceptional kid and a really good player. He's someone I think will eventually get to the American Hockey League. He's deserving of that."

A Successful Stingray Start

Twenty-two games into the 2024-25 season, Lee and the Stingrays sit in second place in the ECHL's South Division with 33 points, just three points behind the league-leading Florida Everblades. Lee's contributions have been evident. He has the second-most points among Stingrays defensemen, and in November, the ECHL recognized him as the AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month for his league-leading +12 rating.

Lee's early success hasn't gone unnoticed by his teammates, including his roommate, goaltender Mitchell Gibson, who played against Lee for four years in college when Gibson was at Harvard. "It's funny how we went from fierce rivals in college to roommates and close friends," Gibson said. "He was a player who always stood out to me at the collegiate level, and he's proving his game can transition well into the professional ranks. The goalie-defenseman relationship is strong, and he's someone that I can trust in all types of situations. After living with him for some time now, it is apparent how intelligent a player he is. He's constantly watching videos from his own games or the NHL to learn and improve."

A Promising Future

Lee has embraced the challenges of professional hockey with the Stingrays, crediting his teammates and coaching staff for making the adjustment easier. "The group we have down here is highly competitive, which has really helped me settle in and feel comfortable," Lee said. "We've been able to win a lot of games so far, and hopefully, we'll win a lot more down the road. It's been a great experience so far."

Pecknold, who is in his 30th season as Quinnipiac's Head Coach, has followed Lee's success from afar, and he has been thrilled but not surprised.

"I knew Jayden would do really well in the ECHL," Pecknold said. "He has a high hockey IQ and a really good feel for the game. He's always ahead of the play and makes great reads offensively and defensively. The biggest thing about Jayden that I love is his character. He's not just great. He's a level up from that. He's special."