Jason Herter (born October 2, 1970) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

. He is currently an associate head coach at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peni ...

. Drafted in the first round, eighth overall by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in the

1989 NHL Entry Draft The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was the 27th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the p ...

, Herter played one

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) game, scoring an assist in a game with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

during the 1995–96 season. Herter represented Canada at one

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, and ...

-sanctioned event, winning gold at the

1990 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1990 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1990 WJHC'') was the 14th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held mainly in Helsinki, Finland. Canada won the gold medal, its fourth world junior championship, while the S ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. Herter also represented Canada at the

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, Unite ...

where Canada finished in fourth place.

Personal life

Herter was born on October 2, 1970, in

Hafford, Saskatchewan Hafford is a town in the RM of Redberry, Saskatchewan, Canada, consisting of 414 residents at the 2021 Canadian census. It is located near Redberry Lake, which consists of only salt water. History The first overseer was T.G. Bavin for the v ...

. He is married to wife Laura and has a daughter, Jordyn, and a son, Jacob. Jason is of French

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which deri ...

descent. Herter attended

Notre Dame College Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and i ...

Wilcox, Saskatchewan Wilcox ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Bratt's Lake No. 129 and Census Division No. 6. It is approximately 41 kilometres (25 mi) south of the City of Regina. Wi ...

, for four years.

Playing career

Notre Dame Hounds

Herter played midget high school hockey at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan aka:

Notre Dame Hounds The Notre Dame Hounds are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Canada. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The Hounds also had a junior "B" team that played in the South Saskatchewan Junior ...

of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA). During the 1986–87 season, he played on the Hounds midget team that placed second at the

1987 Air Canada Cup The 1987 Air Canada Cup was Canada's ninth annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, which was played in April 1987 at the Earl Armstrong Arena in Gloucester, Ontario. The Riverains du Richelieu defeated the Notre Dame Hounds to win thei ...

Gloucester, Ontario Gloucester ( ) is a former municipality and now geographic area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located east of Ottawa's inner core, it was an independent city until amalgamated with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 2001 to becom ...

. His 86-87 high school hockey teammates included future NHLers Scott Pellerin (1992 Hobey Baker Winner as the best player in NCAA college hockey), Rod Brind'amour, Jeff Batters and Joby Messier Herter remained with the Hounds for the next season when the team moved from

minor hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

Junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

, joining the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years ...

(SJHL). In the team's first season, Herter scored 38 points in 54 games as the Hounds won the Credential Cup as SJHL champions. After winning the Anavet Cup and

Abbott Cup The Abbott Memorial Cup, commonly referred to as the Abbott Cup, was awarded annually from 1919 through 1999 to the Junior "A" ice hockey Champion for Western Canada. The Cup was named after Captain E.L. (Hick) Abbott who was a noted hockey pl ...

, the Hounds advanced to the

1988 Centennial Cup The 1988 Centennial Cup is the 18th Junior "A" 1988 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The Centennial Cup was competed for by the winners of the Abbott Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Callaghan Cup, and a 'Host ...

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Pembroke is the location of the administrative headquarters of Renfrew County, though the city itself is pol ...

. There, Herter scored two points in five tournament games—including one goal in a 9–7 victory over the

Thunder Bay Flyers The Thunder Bay Flyers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. History On July 6, 1980, the Degagne Buccaneers and Thunder Bay North Stars were informed by the TBAHA that they would not be permitted to field teams i ...

—as the Hounds defeated the Halifax Lions 3–2 in the final game to win the

national Junior A championship The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of ...

University of North Dakota

Following his

Centennial Cup The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of ...

-winning season with Notre Dame, Herter moved to the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

to play

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

with the

North Dakota Fighting Sioux The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (formerly known as the Fighting Sioux) are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Originally in the Division II North Central Conf ...

of the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA). Midway through his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

season, Herter was ranked as the top player available at the

by the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the prof ...

. Herter finished his freshman season with eight goals and 24 assists in 41 games. His 24 assists and 32 points set single-season freshmen assist and point records at North Dakota, although his point record has since been broken. Following the season, Herter entered the 1989 NHL Entry Draft ranked second overall among North American skaters, dropping one position in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final draft ranking. On June 17, 1989, he was drafted 8th overall by the

. Despite being drafted, Herter returned to North Dakota for his sophomore season. He also had the option of joining the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat Sask ...

, the team that held

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

rights, but chose North Dakota because the Canucks had five other prospects playing there. Throughout the season, Herter suffered from chronic

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial co ...

injuries and a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the human leg, leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest join ...

sprain A sprain, also known as a torn ligament, is an acute soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers ...

which limited him to only 38 games. However, despite his injury-plagued season, Herter scored eleven goals and 39 assists. Nine of his eleven goals were scored on the

powerplay Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to: Sports * Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games * Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket * Power play (cur ...

, a North Dakota single-season record for a defenceman. Further, his 39 assists and fifty points are both fourth all-time for a defenceman in a single season with the Fighting Sioux. For his performance, Herter was named to the WCHA Second All-Star Team as well as the All-Tournament Team at the 1990 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. At the completion of his sophomore season, Herter chose once again not to sign a professional contract and returned to North Dakota for his junior year.

Vancouver Canucks

Following his junior season with North Dakota, Herter signed a three-year, $500,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks that included a $100,000 signing bonus, despite Fighting Sioux coach Gino Gasparini suggesting he play his senior season. Herter then joined the Canucks for his first professional training camp and played in five pre-season games before being assigned to the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

, Vancouver's International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate. Herter's chronic groin injuries continued throughout his rookie professional season and he played in only 56 of Milwaukee's 82 regular season games and one of five playoff games.

New York Islanders

In December 1995, Herter was recalled by the

after multiple injuries to Islanders defencemen. On December 7, Herter made his NHL debut in a 7–4 loss to the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...

. Herter was one of the bright spots in the Islanders' loss, as he was on the ice for three of New York's four goals and none of Hartford's seven goals. He also assisted on

Zigmund Palffy Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

's second goal of the game and was partnered on defence with NHL All-Star

Mathieu Schneider Mathieu David Schneider (born June 12, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Considered an offensive defenseman, Schneider played 1,289 games in the National Hockey League with ten different teams, scoring 233 goals and total ...

International play

Herter represented Canada at one

-sanctioned event. In July 1989, he was among 32 players invited to the Canadian national junior team's summer evaluation camp in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

, for the

. Later that year in December, Herter was invited to the national junior team training camp, after which he was named to the final Canadian roster for the tournament despite finishing training camp with a

injury. Herter finished the tournament with one assist in seven games as Canada achieved a 5–1–1 record to win the gold medal. In July and August 1990, Herter was a member of the Canadian team at the

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. After finishing the round robin with a 3–0 record, the Canadian team lost 5–4 in a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only in ...

against the United States in their semifinal game and 6–1 to Sweden in the bronze medal game to finish the tournament in fourth place.

Post-playing career

After retiring from ice hockey, Herter became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

with the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL). He then became head coach of the

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. A ...

-based Russell Stover U16 ice hockey team of the

Midwest Elite Hockey League The Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), formerly Midwest Elite Hockey League, is located primarily in the Midwest United States and is the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. Players from all over the country move to the area ...

(MWEHL). In April 2008, Herter joined the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

as an assistant coach behind former

head coach

Dean Blais Dean Charles Blais (born January 18, 1951) is an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Omaha Mavericks, the men's team of the University of Nebraska Omaha, and also head coach of the United States men's national junior ice hock ...

. Jason Herter left after the 2010-11 season to become an assistant coach at the

University of Minnesota-Duluth A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' ...

Awards and honors

Transactions

* June 17, 1989 – Drafted in the first round, 8th overall by the

in the

* August 6, 1993 – Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

* September 21, 1995 – Traded by the Dallas Stars to the

for cash

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herter, Jason 1970 births Living people Athol Murray College of Notre Dame alumni Canadian ice hockey defencemen EV Landshut players Hamilton Canucks players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Kansas City Blades players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players München Barons players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games