Former Petes Star Jason Dawe Was in Manhattan When 9/11 Changed Everything

By Scott Arnold

Twenty-five years later, the former Peterborough Petes star still gets chills thinking about what he witnessed in New York City that morning.

Jason Dawe during his time with the Peterborough Petes (photo courtesy of the ontario hockey league)

For Jason Dawe, September 11th, 2001, wasn't something he watched unfold from a television screen.

He was in Manhattan.

Dawe, who played for the Peterborough Petes from 1989 to 1993 and helped the team win an OHL championship in 1993, was in New York as part of the Rangers organization when the terrorist attacks happened.

On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Dawe shared his memories of that morning on Facebook, offering a glimpse into what it was like to experience the events from inside New York City.

He was at Madison Square Garden for New York Rangers training camp when, according to Dawe, he watched the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

At that moment, Dawe says, there was no way of knowing what was happening or what was still to come.

Then another plane hit.

The events of the morning continued to unfold, and what initially seemed impossible became a terrifying reality for those watching from Manhattan.

Dawe remembers the moment the towers came down especially vividly.

Madison Square Garden, several kilometres from the World Trade Center, felt like it had been hit by a massive earthquake.

His hotel room was at 34th Street and Lexington Avenue, giving him a view toward the Hudson River and the area around Ground Zero.

He was suddenly witnessing one of the most devastating days in American history from the heart of New York City.

Twenty-five years later, the memories haven't faded.

Dawe described September 11th as the craziest day of his life and said he still gets chills thinking about what happened.

For Peterborough, Dawe is best remembered as one of the greatest offensive players in Petes history.

He remains the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer with 169 goals and ranks second in career points with 337. After his time in Peterborough, Dawe was selected in the second round of the NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and went on to play in the NHL with Buffalo, the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens before joining the New York Rangers organization.

But on September 11th, 2001, none of that mattered.

He was simply a hockey player in New York who found himself watching history unfold from inside the city.

And 25 years later, he still remembers exactly what it felt like.

We remember September 11th, 2001, through the stories of the people who were there, and Dawe's is one that brings that day a little closer to home.

Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

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