UNH Commit JP Turner Discusses Challenging Year

UNH Commit JP Turner
Signing NLI

A few days ago, UNH Commit JP Turner (DOB: 1/31/2003) turned 18. He navigated the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic as a 17-year-old trying to advance his hockey career while working to graduate from high school. Turner's junior season at Avon Old Farms (Connecticut) ended in early March, 2020 just as the pandemic began it's hold on the United States. Earlier this week, JP returned to action with his Avon teammates. As my interview with JP shows, his year-long journey included unexpected challenges and opportunities to grow and mature as a hockey player and student. Here's our interview:

Interview

Mike Lowry: Congratulations on scoring 2 goals and an assist against Canterbury in your triumphant return as the captain of the Avon Old Farms (AOF) Winged Beavers. Would you describe what it meant to rejoin your teammates for the first time since last March?

John 'JP' Turner: It was awesome. I’ve been with most of these guys for three years and especially since such a heart breaking loss last year against Salisbury it was really refreshing to be back home and compete with these guys.

Mike Lowry: In late April, 2020, your AOF teammates named you Captain for the 2020-21 season. Were you planning to return to AOF for your senior year?

JP Turner: It was such an awesome moment being named one of the team captains at Avon. We have such a great group of guys and for them to name me one of the leaders of the team meant a lot to me. I was set on returning for my senior year and was really looking forward to competing for an Elite 8 championship with the guys while playing for Coach Gardner. Him and Coach Pereira have helped grow my game so much and shape me into the player I am now and will be in the future. I have the upmost respect for both of them and look up to them very much.

Lowry: Last season, you were the leading goal scorer for Avon (19 goals in 27 games) and helped lead the team to the semifinals of the New England Prep School Elite 8 Championship. A few days after that March 7th semifinal game, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19 and the sports world was turned upside down by the pandemic. How has the ongoing pandemic effected important decisions like where to play hockey this season and how to meet the academic requirements of your senior year?

Turner: To be honest I thought the virus was going to blow over in a month or two. I expected to return to campus by April and finish the year at school last year. Once summer came around and the virus was still big, I kind of had a few ideas of what hockey season was going to look like while remaining optimistic to having a real prep season.
On the academic side, I knew Avon was going to provide an online option and thinking realistically that I’d have to consider that at some point. I’m a student who needs to be in class and engaged and online school is something I knew I’d struggle with.

Lowry: In late October and early November, you faced a fast-paced series of important events:
~ October 23: The New England Prep Founders League, which includes Avon Old Farm, cancelled all competition for winter season sports.
~ October 27: The National Hockey League Central Scouting Service named you to the Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2021 NHL Draft.
~ November 5: Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News named you the #22 USHL Player to Watch with NHL potential.
~ November 14: You played your first game of the 2020-21 season with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League.
In the ensuing 19 games with Sioux Falls, you scored 4 goals and compiled a +/- rating of +1. Overall, how would you describe your play in the USHL and your level of satisfaction with your performance?

JP Turner with his first @USHL goal! 3-2 Sioux Falls!#BeHerd pic.twitter.com/yBL0CXlRJH

— Sioux Falls Stampede (@sfstampede) December 9, 2020

Turner: The USHL was a big jump for me and I knew that going into it. I like to score goals and create offense and I hadn’t produced as much as I would’ve liked to. With that being said, I understand how big the jump is and how every level you go up it will only get harder and harder to score goals.

Lowry: Avon has a couple games scheduled against the Salisbury School this weekend. Do you plan to play in these games and any other AOF games that might be added to the schedule? Do you anticipate returning to the Sioux Falls Stampede for their finish to the 2020-21 season?

Turner: Yes I plan to play in those games. I played on Monday against Canterbury school and I continue to play the rest of the games here at Avon. With how crazy the world is I understand how important it is to find a sense of normalcy and even being at Avon for a short amount of time has given me that.
I left Sioux Falls because I was struggling academically and knew I needed to get back and be in class and get my grades up to par. It’s not fair to my parents and myself to slack off in school especially for all that they’ve sacrificed for me to be able to go to Avon.
Since I left for academic reasons, I do not plan on returning after the next month at Avon. I returned for school and being with my best friends, being away from these guys had a toll on me. These guys are some of the best friends I’ve had and I couldn’t be happier going to class, the rink, and everywhere else on campus with them.

Lowry: You signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of New Hampshire on November 11th. Do you anticipate enrolling at UNH in Fall 2021 or 2022?

Turner: As for an enrollment, I don’t know whether I’ll enroll this fall or next. That’s still up in the air. UNH is such a special place and I’d like to get there and experience everything it has to offer as soon as I’m able to, but I have to prove that I’m ready to go and that starts with school.
The schoolwork at UNH will be challenging and I think Avon has done a great job preparing me for doing school while living at school. On the hockey side, I need to continue to improve all aspects of my game especially getting more explosive feet. UNH has done a fantastic job developing players and I look forward to continuing my development there.