Silver Knights forward co-authors children’s book on race, diversity

Jermaine Loewen accumulated enough experiences during his first 23 years to eventually fill a novel.

Before he does that, the Silver Knights winger started by writing something a little shorter.

Loewen co-authored an illustrated children’s book during the offseason that centers on the themes of racial differences, inclusion and kindness.

“It was actually my agent’s idea,” Loewen said. “He wanted to write a book, and I thought it would be cool to be involved in something like that. Definitely a new and unique experience.”

The book called “Ari’s Awful Day/Mainer’s Move” is co-authored and illustrated by Thom Van Dycke. Without giving away too much, Mainer the black bear is new in town and hopes to meet new friends at the hockey rink but is rejected by Ari the lion.

Eventually, the main characters meet in the middle of the book and learn to embrace their differences to become friends. There is an accompanying website (arithelion.com), with additional educational resources for parents, teachers and kids.

Loewen said the project was heavily influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement that gained recognition during the summer.

“We started writing a book and the whole BLM thing was going on and we just decided to adjust the book based upon that a little bit,” Loewen said. “It’s about some of the circumstances and things I went through in my life. I just kind of put them in a book.”

Loewen was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, and lived in a children’s home until he was adopted at age 5 by Stan and Tara Loewen of Arborg, Manitoba.

He started skating when he was 6 and played his first organized hockey game at 10. He progressed enough to become the first Jamaican-born player selected in the NHL draft when Dallas took him in the seventh round in 2018.

Loewen didn’t sign with the Stars after his career in junior and earned a deal with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League after being invited to Golden Knights training camp.

He played 31 games for the Golden Knights top minor league affiliate and appeared in 19 games for Fort Wayne of the ECHL, posting six points (four goals, two assists) and 85 penalty minutes combined.

This season, Loewen has appeared in 10 games for the Silver Knights with one assist and nine penalty minutes.

Milestone for O’Regan

Forward Danny O’Regan assisted on the Silver Knights’ first goal in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to Colorado for his 200th career point in the AHL.

O’Regan, who also had an assist in Friday’s win over Colorado, has 72 goals and 129 assists in 261 career AHL games with the Silver Knights, Hartford, Rochester and San Jose.

He leads the team with 17 points, including five goals.

Patera debuts

Goalie Jiri Patera stopped 31 shots to earn the victory in his first AHL game Friday. Patera, 22, was a sixth-round pick in 2017 and opened the season on injured reserve.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.