Who is JT23 Hockey?
JT23 Hockey was started by former WHL hockey player and Bettendorf, IA native Jake Toporowski. Recently, Jake decided to step away from his playing career and start passing on the knowledge he has learned to youth hockey players in the Quad Cities, the same place he started. Jake will offer one on one and group training for both on ice hockey skills training and synthetic ice training. If you are interested in training or would like more information, you may send a private message or an email to jt23training@gmail.com.
JT23 Hockey Skills Lab
The Skills Lab opened in August of 2020 bringing hockey players of all ages and skill levels a new training facility. At The Lab, there is a 30’x22.4’ synthetic ice sheet where Jake works with players on shooting, stick handling, deception, etc. to enhance their game. Small group sessions (maximum 3) and private one on one training are available. Please feel free to reach out via email at jt23training@gmail.com.
Meet the Coaches
Jake Toporowski
Jake has played hockey since before he can remember... but he did it all a little backwards. Jake’s first ice time was with the Quad City Mallards, his first stall was in their locker room, and his first number was 88. Ask him any other player’s number and he’d tell you their name and (most of) their stats. He was a 3-year-old stat expert, and that part of him has only grown. He started playing organized hockey with the Quad City Ice Eagles and did so until his first year Peewee at age 11. In 2009, he began to play for the Chicago Mission, a AAA team in the suburbs of Chicago. With them, he got to travel weekly and grow even more as a hockey player. At the end of his second year of Bantam in 2013 (15 years old), he was drafted to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. This was especially exciting as his dad played major junior hockey there and his mom’s whole family lived in Spokane. He signed his Standard Player Agreement later that summer before returning to the Mission for one more year. Jake played and went to high school in Spokane from 2014-2017 when he decided to retire and come home to Iowa, foregoing his 19 and 20-year-old seasons in the WHL. Amazingly, Jake and Luke got to play one game together the night before Jake made the long drive home. Since being back in Iowa, Jake has utilized his Scholarship earned through playing in the WHL, while also having the opportunity to coach Quad City Ice Eagles squirts to their first ever NIHL championship, be the Director of Skills Development, start his own business, JT23 Hockey. For fun, Jake likes to watch sports (not always just hockey), go to country concerts, and spend traveling when time allows.
Luke Toporowski
Luke was born, in 2001, the most perfect little brother.... irritating! Luke grew up the younger brother desperately trying to get in with the older kids, so he had to learn how to keep up. He bugged Jake and Jake’s friends to let him play hockey with them in the basement or garage and eventually bugged his way on to the Quad City Ice Eagles mite team two years early. That’s kind of how he has always been, speedy and in your face. That’s how he draws penalties (and how he takes them occasionally). That’s how he got under his opponents’ skin from 2011 - 2017 when he was playing for Chicago Mission. Luke left the Quad City Ice Eagles when he was a second year Squirt (10 years old) and also played for Chicago Mission. In 2016, Luke became the highest American born draft pick in the WHL since 2009, going 8th overall. Luke had a respectable 16-year-old season, leading to a chance to start his 17-year-old season playing for Team USA at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup where he tied for the team lead in goals before returning to Spokane for the season.
