Jon Mirasty`s biography

Jonathon Gary Frank Mirasty was born on June 4, 1982 in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada and raised on Flying Dust First Nation. Flying Dust First Nation is a very strong aboriginal community consisting of close to 1,000 members and located just northeast and adjacent to Meadow Lake. Growing up as a Native North American Indian of Cree descent, Jon quickly learned how to become a proficient farmer, hunter and fisherman as a child. Jon and his sister Jennifer were raised on the Mirasty farm by his father Gary, mother Cathy, and grandparents Frank and Neva. Jon`s grandfather Frank was one of the original members and founding fathers of Flying Dust First Nation. He served close to ten years as resident Chief.

Jon`s mom Cathy was born and raised in Northern California and moved to Flying Dust First Nation after marrying Jon`s dad Gary. She comes from a predominantly Irish background and has always been an athlete herself. She was never one to shy away from the rough stuff either as she was a member of the varsity wrestling team in high school. We definitely know where Jon gets his toughness from!

Jon took his first steps on the ice at the age of 3 under the guidance of his mom. It wasn’t long after that he had a pair of hockey gloves and a hockey stick in his hands. At the age of 4, Jon started playing organized hockey under the tutelage of his father Gary, who also coached many of his teams as a youngster. Gary spent numerous hours in the rinks and on the ponds with Jonathon honing his hockey skills.

Encouraged by his older cousin and ex-minor professional hockey enforcer himself, Leon Delorme, Jon had found his calling in life at the age of 15 when he got into his first ever organized hockey fight while playing midget hockey for the Meadow Lake Lakers. From this point forward, Jon had fighting in his blood, whether it was on the ice or in one of the local bars as a teenager.

Ten years and roughly three hundred hockey fights later, Jon Mirasty has earned his nickname, “Nasty”, or “Nasty Mirasty”, by proving himself, time and time again to be one of the toughest, bravest and most entertaining hockey enforcers the world has ever seen. He fights with zero defense and welcomes punches to his face with a big smile. His warrior spirit is reminiscent to that of his deceased Indian Warrior heroes, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and Geronimo.

Standing at only 5`10, Jon is much shorter than the average professional hockey enforcer. Although this would result in a serious disadvantage fighting on skates to most, Jon has found a way to turn it into an advantage for him both physically and mentally. The bigger and tougher the opponent you put in front of him, the better he has always performed.

Jon also started boxing at the age of 15 and excelled at the sport by winning both Provincial and Golden Gloves Championships in 1998 & 1999, respectfully. His experience in the boxing ring has also helped carry over onto the ice as it has made him more proficient in punching with both his right or left hand equally, as well as improving his overall coordination and conditioning.

One of Jon`s biggest strengths to note is his balance on his skates and overall physical strength. Even though he stands at only 5`10, his bodyweight stays consistently around 220lbs. He is also known for his strong chin, as he can take a tremendous amount of punishment in any battle without going down. His ability and quickness to cross grab and switch hands throughout his fights is also one of his stronger points.

Jon began his Junior A hockey career with the Kindersley Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League at the age of 17. As a seventeen year old rookie, Jon established himself as one of the leagues toughest players and was ready to move onto the next level. The next season he made the Major Junior A level by playing for both the Prince Albert Raiders and Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. During his first season in the WHL as an 18 year old rookie, Jon earned close to 40 fighting majors and was on the radar screen of many National Hockey League general managers as he proved to be one of the leagues most skilled fighters. He had many great battles with current Minnesota Wild enforcer, Derek Boogaard, who stands at 6`8 and is currently one of the toughest players in the NHL.

The following 2001-2002 season was Jon`s NHL draft season. However, after only playing in 11 games with Moose Jaw, Jon decided to quit the Warriors club. He later played the remainder of that season close to home with the North Battleford North Stars of the SJHL and even played 2 games before them with the Flin Flon Bombers, also of the SJHL.

During his 2002-2003 campaign as a 20 year old, Jon split his Junior A playing time with both the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League and the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. During that season, Jon was blessed with his biggest gift in his life, when his son, Triston Jon Middleton Mirasty was born on February 15, 2003.

In the summer of 2003, Jon decided to further his education at the University of Saskatchewan where he signed up for summer and fall courses. He completed English 110 at the university, while also working part time as a nightclub bouncer.

Hockey and fighting was still in his blood however, and in October of 2003, Jon accepted a professional try out offer from the Bakersfield Condors of the East Coast Hockey League. Jon instantly became a fan favorite in Bakersfield and signed his first ever professional hockey contract. As a 21 year old rookie, Jon amassed 356 penalty minutes in 56 games, while leading the ECHL with 32 fighting majors. More importantly, he emerged as one of the best fighters in minor professional hockey proving himself in great battles against heavyweights such as Steve MacIntyre, Mike Sgroi and Josh Gratton, among others. Bakersfield is also the city where Jon met his current fiancé, Janessa Seymour.

Jon was then signed in August of 2003 by the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League. Norfolk was the top minor professional affiliate of the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League. After a very successful training camp, Jon was squeezed out of Norfolk due to the NHL lockout. Many NHL players from the Black Hawks signed one year deals with Norfolk.

Over the next 3 professional seasons, Jon spent much of his time playing in the roughest and toughest hockey league in the world, the LNAH (Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey). The league is located in the province of Quebec, and Jon played for the Sorel-Tracey Mission. In his three seasons with the Mission, Jon totaled 104 fighting majors in 101 games played. During the 2006-2007 campaign, Jon went unofficially unbeaten in 37 fights and was widely recognized as the number one fighter in the league. The hometown crowd in Sorel appreciated Jon`s warrior spirit and brave hearted efforts as they would chant, “Nasty”, “Nasty”, “Nasty” in their home arena, Le Colisee Cardin.

On June 1, 2007, Jon entered his first ever Mixed Martial Arts competition by competing at the TKO 29 promotion at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. With only two weeks of limited training, Jon faired well against his much more experienced opponent, but ended up losing the fight by referee stoppage late in the first round. He enjoyed the experience and will be back to compete in MMA when the time is right.

In July of 2007, Jon had officially retired from professional hockey and accepted a job as the new head coach and general manager of the Onion Lake Winterhawks of the Northeastern Alberta Junior Hockey League. However, just weeks later, Jon received a phone call from his good friend and fellow hockey enforcer, Brandon Sugden. Sugden recommended Jon`s services to Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon. Jon signed a 25 game professional training camp tryout. After his impressive training camp with the Crunch, Jon was signed to another 25 game PTO to start the season. With a lot of hard work, patience and perseverance, Jon signed his first regular season AHL contract on December 5, 2007.

Jon is currently 25 years old and just coming into his prime years as a hockey enforcer. He currently plays professional hockey for the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. The Crunch is the top minor professional affiliate team of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. Jon scored his first ever AHL goal on November 3, 2007 against the Binghamton Senators and earned his first ever AHL fighting major on December 1, 2007 against Albany`s heavyweight Trevor Gillies. Jon`s current goals are to continue his hard work and help his team win the Calder Cup Championship, as well establishing himself as the leagues premier fighter. He hopes to sign an NHL contract over the upcoming 2008 summer.

Jon spends his summers back home in Saskatchewan on Flying Dust First Nation. The majority of his time is spent outdoors with his son Triston. His outdoor activities include training & riding the family stable of horses, quadding, hunting, fishing, waterskiing, camping, etc. When not enjoying the outdoors, you will find Jon weight training at the local gym or back home on his couch watching the latest episode of CSI.