Manitoba visit turns Dutch man into one of the Jets' biggest fans

Jets fans everywhere are pumped about the playoffs, and one of the most passionate, Rowdy van Grieken, lives in the Netherlands. 

Van Grieken grew up a soccer fan, but his first-ever visit to Manitoba in the summer of 2011 changed everything.

There was a buzz in the province that year because the return of the team had just been announced. His younger cousin Riley Gagnon and her family, who live on a farm in La Broquerie, Man., explained why people were so excited.

"At the time I had no clue what it was about," van Grieken said. "They just showed me clips of hockey, they talked about it, and after that summer I decided to follow the sport."

He loved the speed of the game, but there was something else that attracted the former soccer fan to hockey.

"I was starting to get a bit fed up with soccer I guess. Especially the embellishments," he said. 

"That was something I really started to get frustrated with watching soccer, after watching a hockey game. Because it felt like hockey players would play through everything while a soccer player would try everything to get the other player sent off."

'Jets family'

When he returned to his home in the village of Breezand, in the province of North Holland, van Grieken and his cousin kept up the hockey talk. The whole time his love for the game, and the team, grew.

"The fan base is just fantastic, so loud and so passionate while it's considered a small market. That makes it so much more inclusive and almost a bit of a Jets family," he said.

His favourite player is Mark Scheifele, the Jets' first-ever draft pick, who general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff selected the same day he officially revealed the name of the team.

"I love the commitment and approach by management and ownership to be patient and build for a great future, rather than a fine present," said the 20-year-old, who is training to be an accountant.

"Cheveldayoff basically taught me a life lesson about patience and how great things take time."

'Home is where the puck is'

In December 2015, van Grieken realized his dream of seeing a live game, after he convinced his parents that experiencing Christmas in Canada would be a great bucket list experience.

The Jets beat the Penguins 1-0 on the strength of Connor Hellebuyck's first NHL shutout, and a Bryan Little penalty shot.

"I still have that penalty shot on my phone … so I can re-live it and show it to people," he said happily.

Van Grieken lives and breathes the Jets. A quote on his Facebook page says "Home is where the puck is." He watches live when he can — mostly afternoon games because of the seven-hour time difference. He studies all highlights and talks with fellow fans on a Winnipeg-based Facebook group.

It was on that group where, earlier this spring, he shared a picture of himself wearing a Jets jersey on a frozen canal in Amsterdam. It was the first time in about seven years that the canals froze over, so his dad suggested they go.

"I decided if we were going to skate there I wanted to show some love for the Jets," he said. Almost no one in his community seems to recognize his Jets jersey, but they do know the maple leaf means it's a Canadian thing.

His family, including his two younger siblings, don't share his love for hockey. And while his dad misses watching soccer with him, he will sometimes watch hockey just so they can hang out.

Inspired to play

A few years ago van Grieken transitioned from fan to player, even though he didn't know how to skate.

"It's hard to get used to the speed, I had to learn every step of it."

He is just practicing right now, but his dream is to get good enough to play actual games in an actual league. "Slowly but surely it's coming along," he said, laughing. "I'm not going to challenge Blake Wheeler for a one-on-one."

His other dream is a Stanley Cup for Winnipeg — a distinct possibility as the Jets come off their best regular season ever, and enter the playoffs with the second-best record in the NHL. 

"I can't wait."