Stocky left-winger Jim Jackson played with tremendous heart during his short NHL career. He was a fairly productive scorer in junior and the minors but was relegated to a more defensive role in the big league.
A native of Oshawa, Ontario, Jackson was a popular member of the OHA's home town Generals from 1976 to 1978. He played the next two years with the Niagara Falls Flyers and finished with 101 goals during his four years in junior.
Undrafted and unsigned, Jackson continued to play with the Richmond Rifles of the EHL then the IHL's Muskegon Mohawks. The Calgary Flames inked him as a free agent at the start of the 1982-83 season. This came about largely at the insistence of the team's chief scout, Gerry Blair, who was a neighbour of Jackson's and knew of his intense desire to play.
Jackson spent two seasons as a role player for a Calgary club that was competitive in the regular season but annihilated in the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers. He often formed an effective unit with star Kent Nilsson and Eddy Beers. Aside from a five-game stint with the Buffalo Sabres in 1987-88, Jackson toiled in the minors the remainder of his career until his retirement in 1990.
