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| 1985 - 2002 |
Jason Porter’s dream of playing for Pirates took off in 1982 as the eleven year old son of the club’s first ever major team sponsors. His parents, Eddie and Peggy Porter, ran the Hereward Video Library who backed the team in their first season and were instrumental in bringing over John Lawless and Rob Carnegie, Pirates first overseas players. However, his debut came a little earlier than he would have dared hope for and in the most unlikely of circumstances. Pirates started the 1985/1986 season with an ambitious influx of new British players but the move backfired as simmering feuds in the changing room eventually led to a mass walkout of players and left Pirates facing ominous league fixtures with a threadbare squad. Coach John Lawless scoured the local junior teams for new talent and, amongst others, drafted in fourteen year old Jason Porter for the most intimidating of debuts away to top side Durham Wasps on 10th November 1985. The game was lost 2-13 but the long career of local boy Jason Porter was up and running. Initial misgivings amongst fans who saw Jason as merely the son of the club owners were soon cast aside as the lightly built fourteen year old filled-out and established himself as a gritty, no-nonsense and highly reliable D-man. The arrival of coach Rocky Saganiuk saw Jason play a key part in two successful campaigns that ended with trips to the Heineken Championship Finals at the prestigious Wembley Arena. Apart from a brief spell with the now defunct Stevenage Oilers, Jason became an ever present fixture on Pirates D right up to their final games in 2002, comfortably passing his 500th game for the team. Jason made a brief return in four games of Phantoms debut season before calling it a day, having appeared in an impressive eighteen seasons of Peterborough hockey. Jason never grabbed the headlines that many of his defensive partners shared. His game was not about eye-catching breakouts nor was it about mighty blue-line slapshots. Jason’s game was about disciplined defence, going in where it hurts, standing tall when the heat was on and reading the game so well that he knew where to be at all times. On top of that, Jason was the most loyal of home town players, not just playing a part in the successful days but pulling on the shirt through the many darker days when others around him jumped ship.
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#15 Jason Porter 1985 - 2002