Riverhead middle-schooler hockey phenom taking the junior leagues by storm

Long Island isn’t known for its ice hockey but one player is trying to change that.

As it stands, there are only three AAA PAL teams on Long Island and in order to play a full season, they need to travel up and out-of-state. Though Riverhead doesn’t have a team, what it does have is one of the most talented goaltenders in the nation.

Jacob Zacharewicz, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Riverhead Middle School, has dedicated years to his craft, starting as a 6-year-old on roller blades. Hockey is just what spoke to him.

“I wanted to be just like Rick Dipetro on the Islanders,” Zacharewicz said. “Well when he was in his prime and still good at least. I looked up to him.”

Not everyone can step between the pipes and be dominant. It takes year-round training with private lessons, elite tournament play and traveling—a lot of traveling.

To reach the highest level of competition, Zacharewicz and his father pack up the truck with equipment and travel all over the country.

“I’ve put on 30,000 miles on my new truck in one year,” his father said. “We’ve driven all over the United States. When it’s too far we fly. We’ve been to Toronto, Quebec, Montreal, Finland, Sweden, even China and this year we’re going to Czech Republic and Slovakia for one of the best tournaments in the world.”

His league season with the Junior Islanders just ended and though his offseason just started, it isn’t much of an offseason.

“We’re traveling somewhere every other weekend,” his father said. “We’re already booked through July.”

Zacharewicz’s name has skyrocketed in the last year. After producing top-caliber performances on a grand stage, coaches have taken notice. He’s not just part of one travel team that sticks together every tournament—he’s part of about 10.

“I have coaches I never heard from calling my phone,” his father Sylwek Zacharewicz said. “Saying ‘We’re having a tournament in Montreal or somewhere, can Jacob play goalie for us?’ Most of the kids he plays with are from Canada or other states up north. There are some kids from like California and Florida too.”

Coaches handpick their players from all over. There are no tryouts, just invitations. It doesn’t matter where they live; the point is to get the most talented kids on the same roster. But exposure isn’t free. There’s traveling expenses, hotels, meals, tournament entry fees and the PAL season isn’t cheap either.

“I pay about $20,000 for it all each year,” his father said. “Look, some people buy a boat, some people buy cars, this is my thing—driving my kid to hockey games. That’s what I spend my boat money on. He loves it, I love it. We can’t wait for the next game.”

The goalie can either be the hero or the one who’s blamed. His position is so crucial to the success of the team. Not everyone is cut out for it.

“I’m the only player out of the whole team that dresses differently,” Zacharewicz said. “I’m on the ice all the time. There’s nothing like being in a big game when you’re under pressure and everyone’s looking up to you to make that big save.”

Playing in front of a crowd of 12,000 people in Quebec last year, Zacharewicz had perhaps the one playoff game that will always be a part of his legacy. His wrists hurt the day before so he sat out an exhibition game. After a day of rest, the coach asked if he was good to go.

“I told him I was feeling much better,” Zacharewicz said.

His wrists started to flare up during the game but Zacharewicz paid no attention to it. He battled through it and won the game for his team, 3-2. He sat out the next game in the playoffs and his team lost. He went back home and got his wrists checked out. Turns out, both of them were fractured.

“The local newspapers were praising his effort,” his father said. “Imagine if they knew he did it with broken wrists.”

Games like that make Zacharewicz a household name. Each game he plays, he opens another set of eyes. Eventually, invitations will be turned down more often than accepted. It’s just the nature of success.