photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
Emilio Jimenez is starting to see it all because of the game of hockey
From big cities to small towns, from areas where the game is just taking root to places where hockey is a religion.
The Toluca, Mexico native is 17 years old and a key player on Team Mexico as it attempts to wow its home crowd and win the gold medal at the 2025 Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division III Group A event. The world championship is being held through Saturday at Sante Fe Ice Rink in Mexico City.
Jimenez is a 5-foot-9, 157-pound defenceman who helped limit opponents to just six goals as Mexico started the tournament with a 3-0 record.
He got his start in the game of hockey about 10 years ago, when he grew tired of being in the stands watching his sister figure skate and wanted to join the fun on ice.
“When she had practice, I had to go there. I didn’t know how to keep busy in that time so I had to do something,” says Jimenez with a chuckle. “My mom said, ‘go ahead and try to skate. I rather you skate than being here and bothering me.’ It was a good experience.”
Jimenez played minor hockey in Mexico but reached a point where he wanted to move away to further his game. He had friends who played at Notre Dame, a member of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
“When they came back to Mexico, I could notice a big difference from the level they had and the level we were used to here in Mexico,” says Jimenez. “So I thought it would be good if I wanted to move forward in the sport.”
The Notre Dame hockey program is well-known to Canadians, as it was among the first hockey academies in the country. It’s located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, a village with a population of around 250 people. Pretty much the only thing there is Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a Catholic boarding school for students in grades 9 to 12.
Try and imagine leaving a place like Mexico City – population north of nine million – for a Canadian prairie village like Wilcox.
Oh yeah, there was also the weather shift, from sun and heat to, well, darkness and cold.
“I think I had one month of sunny weather and, until I came back home, I couldn’t wear a t-shirt. It was always hoodie,” he says. “You have to wake up before going to school and you finish your workout after school. I remember waking up at 6 am and it’s so cold there. It’s hard.”
But Jimenez doesn’t regret the move one bit, as the hockey was a step up to what he experienced in Mexico. After a season at Notre Dame, Jimenez was on the move again, this time back to a big city but in a different country once again. Jimenez had friends with ties to CATS Academy in Boston and he liked what he heard about the program and joined the team for the 2024-25 season. Another Team Mexico defender – Anuar Benitez – is one of Jimenez’s teammates at CATS.
“I wanted a little change, a place maybe more balanced. A city and a place where I could have more options,” he says. “I looked at CATS. It was a good program, it’s a little new, but it’s been good. I have made good friends and the team I’m playing for right now is international. I like the diversity of the guys on the team, we have a lot of hockey players from different countries.”
But this week the focus is winning gold the U18 Division III Group A championship. This is Jimenez’s third time playing in this event finishing fourth in 2023 and winning silver in 2024. A win at this year’s tournament would put move Mexico up to the Division II Group B event in 2026. Jimenez also represented his country at the Division III Group A world juniors earlier this year, where Mexico finished sixth.
Regardless of the results on the ice, though, Mexico will be the big winner this week, as hosting a world championship will continue to add momentum to the growth of hockey in the country. Jimenez is already seeing change from when he was a youngster taking those first steps and strides on ice.
“Absolutely, hockey is growing. There’s plenty of little kids playing,” he says. “There has been a lot of incentive for kids to go and play away, to improve the level. That’s a good thing that they allow us to move away to play hockey and then come back and improve the level here. We get to show the kids there’s a lot of room to keep moving on.”
From big cities to small towns, from areas where the game is just taking root to places where hockey is a religion.
The Toluca, Mexico native is 17 years old and a key player on Team Mexico as it attempts to wow its home crowd and win the gold medal at the 2025 Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division III Group A event. The world championship is being held through Saturday at Sante Fe Ice Rink in Mexico City.
Jimenez is a 5-foot-9, 157-pound defenceman who helped limit opponents to just six goals as Mexico started the tournament with a 3-0 record.
He got his start in the game of hockey about 10 years ago, when he grew tired of being in the stands watching his sister figure skate and wanted to join the fun on ice.
“When she had practice, I had to go there. I didn’t know how to keep busy in that time so I had to do something,” says Jimenez with a chuckle. “My mom said, ‘go ahead and try to skate. I rather you skate than being here and bothering me.’ It was a good experience.”
Jimenez played minor hockey in Mexico but reached a point where he wanted to move away to further his game. He had friends who played at Notre Dame, a member of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
“When they came back to Mexico, I could notice a big difference from the level they had and the level we were used to here in Mexico,” says Jimenez. “So I thought it would be good if I wanted to move forward in the sport.”
The Notre Dame hockey program is well-known to Canadians, as it was among the first hockey academies in the country. It’s located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, a village with a population of around 250 people. Pretty much the only thing there is Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a Catholic boarding school for students in grades 9 to 12.
Try and imagine leaving a place like Mexico City – population north of nine million – for a Canadian prairie village like Wilcox.
Oh yeah, there was also the weather shift, from sun and heat to, well, darkness and cold.
“I think I had one month of sunny weather and, until I came back home, I couldn’t wear a t-shirt. It was always hoodie,” he says. “You have to wake up before going to school and you finish your workout after school. I remember waking up at 6 am and it’s so cold there. It’s hard.”
But Jimenez doesn’t regret the move one bit, as the hockey was a step up to what he experienced in Mexico. After a season at Notre Dame, Jimenez was on the move again, this time back to a big city but in a different country once again. Jimenez had friends with ties to CATS Academy in Boston and he liked what he heard about the program and joined the team for the 2024-25 season. Another Team Mexico defender – Anuar Benitez – is one of Jimenez’s teammates at CATS.
“I wanted a little change, a place maybe more balanced. A city and a place where I could have more options,” he says. “I looked at CATS. It was a good program, it’s a little new, but it’s been good. I have made good friends and the team I’m playing for right now is international. I like the diversity of the guys on the team, we have a lot of hockey players from different countries.”
But this week the focus is winning gold the U18 Division III Group A championship. This is Jimenez’s third time playing in this event finishing fourth in 2023 and winning silver in 2024. A win at this year’s tournament would put move Mexico up to the Division II Group B event in 2026. Jimenez also represented his country at the Division III Group A world juniors earlier this year, where Mexico finished sixth.
Regardless of the results on the ice, though, Mexico will be the big winner this week, as hosting a world championship will continue to add momentum to the growth of hockey in the country. Jimenez is already seeing change from when he was a youngster taking those first steps and strides on ice.
“Absolutely, hockey is growing. There’s plenty of little kids playing,” he says. “There has been a lot of incentive for kids to go and play away, to improve the level. That’s a good thing that they allow us to move away to play hockey and then come back and improve the level here. We get to show the kids there’s a lot of room to keep moving on.”