Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – After graduating from the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team as the program's career Canada West points leader, Jordan Taupert has signed his first professional contract.
Realizing a dream to play in his ancestral homeland, the smart, hard-working two-way forward recently signed with Germany's Lausitzer Füchse in the DEL 2 for the 2024-25 season, with an option for a second year.
"It kind of felt like it wasn't real," said Taupert when he signed last month. "It's always been a dream of mine to go play hockey in Germany since I was a little kid and see where my grandpa grew up and see the culture over there.
"When it happened, it felt so good. It was awesome."
His grandfather was born in Germany, so Taupert is in the process of obtaining a German passport and, thus, won't count as an import on the Weißwasser-based squad.
There were seven Canadians on the Lausitzer Füchse roster in 2023-24, which is stocked with players who have varying degrees of impressive minor pro experience across the globe.
"The top league in Germany is pretty much all ex-AHL guys," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "It's really hard for even East Coast guys to make the DEL, so it's NHL guys and longtime AHL guys. Him getting into DEL 2 is really impressive. It's quite a good league."
Most of the players in DEL 2 either have seen extensive time in the ECHL or have other equivalent European league experience.
"I think it's going to be a lot faster, players are going to be a lot more skilled," said Taupert, who finished with 46 points in 72 Canada West games for the Griffins, and 74 points in 100 overall games at MacEwan, stretching back to the ACAC in 2019-20. "It will definitely be a very fast game. Obviously, a lot stronger.
"I'm going to try my best to have a great summer here and grind, and I'll be able to compete at that level, which I know I can."
Jordan Taupert finished a productive five-year career with the Griffins in 2023-24 as one of the best two-way players in Canada West (Jacob Mallari photo).
Surely part of the appeal to Lausitzer Füchse was Taupert's strong two-way play. He started his career with the Griffins in 2019 as a talented offensive player – winning MacEwan's Male Rookie of the Year award after a point per game season – but finished it as one of the elite 200-foot players in Canada West.
"With pro, it's harder to get points than it is in college, so being able to play when you don't have the puck is super important," said Dailey. "A lot of those leagues have very stingy defence and it's harder to score. The more complete player you are, the more chance you have that you're going to get to play and be successful.
"That's something I think he did a great job of developing over his time here. When he came to us, he was quite a prolific scorer from the AJHL (232 points in 292 regular season games with Drumheller and Drayton Valley), so our challenge for him was rounding out his game. By the end of his career, he was someone who was trusted in the D zone late in games. It says a lot to his work ethic and character."
Taupert finished his career with a big impact in the Griffins' inaugural Canada West playoff series, leading the team with three points in two games against Mount Royal, along with his strong defensive game.
"I have to give credit to Dales on that, he really helped me improve my game on that side of the spectrum," said Taupert of developing his strong two-way play. "I'm very happy. I think it went very well at the end of my career here."
Taupert is the second Griffins player to sign in Germany in as many years, following defenceman Curtis Roach – a 2022-23 graduate who played last season in the DEL 3 with SC Riessersee. Roach wrapped up a big season with 31 points in 43 games.
"I was texting with him after I signed and he just said it was absolutely amazing, just a cool experience," said Taupert. "The fans are crazy. He absolutely loved it. He said it was nothing like he's seen before."
Taupert will head over in mid-August, joining Lausitzer Füchse just ahead of an exhibition tour to the U.K.
"He put in a lot of work," said Dailey. "He did everything I asked of him. I'm just happy to see him get rewarded with a pro deal. Definitely, our program is proud of him. It's a very, very good league, too, so I'm excited for him to show people over there what he's capable of and what the U SPORTS level produces."
