“He was my best friend” – Ryan Winterton on the loss of his brother Jacob and support from the Kraken

The Seattle Kraken were in Toronto for an October matchup with the Maple Leafs, coincidentally right in the backyard of young Kraken forward Ryan Winterton’s childhood home. As he rode the team bus, he received a call that no 22-year-old should have to field. The cancer his older brother Jacob had been fighting was deemed terminal. He had six months to live.

“I remember getting the call. I was on the bus, and… it wasn’t embarrassing, but I just couldn’t keep it together,” Ryan said. “And just hearing that news about your best friend being terminally ill, it doesn’t matter who it is, it’s never easy to cope with, let alone your brother.”

A former junior player for the Flint Firebirds and Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, Jacob’s ordeal began during his fourth season playing U Sports hockey for the University of Guelph Gryphons. As that last season wore on, he had battled through pain in his shoulder but assumed it was something a surgery could fix when he was done playing, perhaps something like a torn labrum.

And with the Canadian healthcare system working differently than that of the United States, it took many months between when Jacob first started feeling pain and when he could get an MRI to determine what the issue was.

“You have to wait a while to get in,” Ryan explained. “It’s not like the States where if you just need [a surgery or a scan], you can get in and pay for it. You have to wait, and [in his case], I want to say it was like six months or nine months. So it wasn’t like he could just go in and see what was wrong with his arm… It was really bothering him.”

When Jacob finally got the MRI sometime in April 2025, he was told he needed to go to the hospital right away. There, he received his diagnosis: osteosarcoma.

At the time, Ryan was in Coachella Valley, where the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds were preparing for the Calder Cup Playoffs. Learning that Jacob had bone cancer was devastating, but optimism remained that he could be cured and continue on with his life.

It wasn’t until another month later that the Winterton family learned the gravity of the situation. The delayed diagnosis had been long enough for the cancer to metastasize from Jacob’s shoulder into his lungs.

The Kraken organization quietly steps in

As Jacob’s prognosis deteriorated, Ryan received immense support from his teammates, and the Kraken organization quietly stepped in and did everything in its power to try to help save Jacob.

“They sponsored him to come here to get treatment, because nothing in Ontario was really working,” Ryan said. “There’s not as good of cancer research there as there is here, especially in Seattle. So he tried to do a clinical trial, and obviously, that was kind of the last hope.”

Jacob spent about 40 days in Seattle, using that clinical trial as a last-ditch attempt to find something that worked against his illness.

“[The treatment] didn’t work, but at the end of the day, it was still [owner Samantha Holloway], [CEO Tod Leiweke], and members of the ownership group coming together and sponsoring him to come out here and live and just try and give him last hope, you know?”

The Kraken’s support came without fanfare. It wasn’t something the team publicized, but when Sound Of Hockey asked, the team confirmed that Holloway and members of the ownership group sponsored Jake’s clinical trial and supported the family in Seattle.

“The Wintertons are an incredible family, and Garth, Lesley, Ryan, Jake, and Julia hold a special place in our hearts,” Holloway said. “Jake was a remarkable young man who showed so much courage, and we’re lucky we got the chance to know him. It meant a lot to be able to support Jake, Ryan and their family, and we’ll continue to be there for them.”

The feeling is mutual between the Wintertons and the Kraken.

“The organization and everyone involved will forever go down in my family’s hearts, and I consider this home now,” Ryan said. “So I think we owe a lot of thanks to people. Obviously, it’s not the way we wanted it to go, but at the end of the day, we still are very thankful for what everyone’s done. I know Jake was very, very happy about what was going on and the care he was given.”

“The toughest couple weeks of my life”

As the Kraken were preparing for a then-crucial game at the Nashville Predators on March 19, Ryan received more bad news. Jacob’s cancer had spread again into his esophagus, and doctors were now giving him just two weeks to live.

“[Jake] didn’t want to be in a hospital anymore,” Ryan said. “He wanted to get home and see his friends, and that’s when I was… We were in Nashville, and then I got the call, and I was going to play that game. And then I woke up from my [pre-game] nap, and I just didn’t feel… it didn’t feel right to go out there, and potentially [get injured and] jeopardize not seeing my brother again. It was just something I couldn’t live with, and I’m very thankful I didn’t play that game.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the Winterton family and Jacob’s girlfriend had embarked on a 37-hour road trip from Seattle back to Ontario so that Jacob could spend his last days at home and be near his friends. Ryan said his dad, Garth, drove straight through without staying overnight anywhere along the journey.

Ryan made it home a couple of days later. He recalled arriving around 10 p.m., and Jacob had been waiting up for him.

“My parents had told me how tough the mornings were for him, like he couldn’t catch his breath. We kind of had a feeling at that point that that was it. So I saw him at 10 o’clock that night, and then in the morning, the same thing, he wasn’t doing good. He actually took out his oxygen tube when he was sleeping, by accident, and was really struggling that morning.”

The family called 911 and got Jacob to the hospital.

“He was ready,” Ryan said. “He didn’t want to do another morning where he thought he was going to suffocate on his own air. It’s tough to talk about, but he was ready, and he didn’t want any more suffering.

“It was the toughest couple weeks of my life, and I’m sure it will be until I die.”

Jacob Winterton passed away on March 25. He was 25 years old.

Remembering Jake

Ryan loved his brother and admired him throughout his entire life.

“He meant the world to me. Growing up, he was two years older than me, and just growing up through hockey, through whatever it was, you just always look up to your older brother. And I was talking to the host of the funeral, and I was saying my brother had so many friends around his age, obviously two years older [than me], and he would always have parties and have friends over at our house. And the one thing about him is that he was never embarrassed of me and would always bring me around.

“Like, those guys that he was best friends with are my best friends now, because he let me be around them all the time, whereas if I was the older brother and my younger brother was trying to party or hang out with me, I would tell him to beat it. But it was just kind of his demeanor that he really was passionate about me and everything he did. And he was my best friend, obviously.”

Ryan remembered that as Jacob was fighting for his life, he showed incredible strength and that he was the one constantly trying to keep the family’s spirits up, not the other way around.

“We should have been lifting him up and telling him what he wanted to hear. But instead, the entire time, he was just the best through it all, and just making sure that we were okay.”

Tragedies and times of crisis often have a way of bringing people closer together. For the Wintertons, Jacob’s initial diagnosis meant that he and his girlfriend would move to the Winterton family home, where they stayed for a year, with the exception of his treatment in Seattle. Ryan really appreciated that he got to spend most of the summer with his brother in Ontario before leaving for training camp.

“I know my parents are grateful that they got to spend the whole year with him and his girlfriend, and it just brings everyone closer. And I think the most important thing for that is just to stay close now. Because, I mean, that was his wish, was to just stay very close. And it’s easy to do that when that’s your brother’s only wish.”

While these were unfathomably hard times for the Wintertons, Ryan finds solace in knowing that his brother is resting now.

“In a sense, it’s a relief that he’s not suffering anymore,” Ryan said. “I would say the last little… about two months was really hard for him and for my family, just watching what he had to go through. So now that he’s at peace, it’s obviously terrible that we don’t get to talk to him anymore, but there’s a sense of relief where we know he’s in peace, and he’s not struggling anymore.”

Support from inside the Kraken dressing room

Every now and then, hockey fans get a brief glimpse into the humanity of the players. One such glimpse came Thursday night after the Seattle Kraken defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3 in a shootout.

Winterton was outstanding in his second game since rejoining the team, making a crucial backtrack play in the third period that broke up a 2-on-1 rush and leading coach Lane Lambert to say: “What I think of Ryan Winterton is he just keeps getting better and better. He’s all around the puck, he probably had five chances to score tonight.”

The Kraken have a tradition of passing off a player-of-the-game Sonny Hayes racing helmet from the movie F1 after wins. On this night, it so happened that Brandon Montour had the helmet in his possession from the last time Seattle had won. He gave it to Winterton.

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bigger than hockey 💙🩵 pic.twitter.com/j5xK6Lsw6r

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) April 10, 2026

“There’s more to this game than just us in this group,” Montour was heard announcing to the dressing room in a video released on Kraken social media channels. “I’ve been dealing with it all year. Wintsy’s been dealing with it as well. Here you go, bud.”

The connection between Montour and Winterton runs deeper than just that ceremonial helmet pass and hug. Montour also lost his older brother, Cameron, after a long fight with ALS back in October, coincidentally around the time when Ryan was learning about the severity of Jacob’s prognosis.

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An extremely emotional Brandon Montour discusses losing his older brother Cameron this past week after a long fight with ALS. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/Gau614Xm96

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 25, 2025

Yet while Montour, 32, has been dealing with that grief throughout the season, he has also quietly been lending support and consolation to his much younger teammate.

“I spoke to [Ryan] throughout the year, and as the time was coming, he was asking questions on how to handle it,” Montour said. “It’s a tough conversation just because there’s no way to handle it. It’s just a tough situation that you have to kind of just have with you and carry with you and deal with. I thought hockey helped me.”

When Jacob moved to Seattle to pursue the treatment that the Kraken were sponsoring, Ryan said that Montour insisted on getting the family’s temporary address in the city so that he could send them food and make sure they were as comfortable as possible.

“He obviously doesn’t have to do that, and he just wants to because he’s that good of a guy,” Winterton said. “Monty is just one of the best guys I’ve met. Especially being [10 years older than me], he’s just been always the guy that would come up to me and make me feel comfortable. When I was a call-up, he’d make me feel comfortable, he just has that thing about him that makes you want to come close to him and his family.”

Ryan also corroborated that he and Montour had kept in touch while Jacob appeared to be nearing his final days. Montour’s treatment toward Ryan has earned him admiration with Lesley and Garth Winterton.

“My dad met [Montour] once, my mom maybe met him once, and just the fact that he’s taken me under his wing and tried to take care of my family when they were here with getting them food. It just, I honestly can’t really say enough good things about Monty, and I’m just grateful that he’s such a good guy and was there for me through it all.”

Montour said he also sees a lasting connection forming between the two in the wake of their coinciding family tragedies.

“He sticks to more of the younger crew, but he knows I’m there for him, and it’s bigger than hockey,” Montour said. “Everything’s bigger than hockey when it comes to family and how close him and his brother were. I know how he’s feeling, and it takes time, but I’m glad that he’s, obviously, battled back and been able to play the last couple games.

“Anything I can do to lend a hand or help him in any way, and this goes beyond this year. Even if one year, we end up on different teams or whatever, we’re close and I’ll always stay connected to help him out.”

Carrying on Jacob’s legacy

Like Montour said about hockey helping him cope with the loss of his own brother, Winterton also called it “refreshing” to be back with his Kraken teammates and to have hockey to help get his mind off everything he’s gone through over the past year.

“It obviously still hurts and stuff like that. But the guys have been awesome, coaching staff, organization, just everyone has been so good about this whole situation, and for that, I’m grateful.”

As Ryan now moves forward in his hockey career and begins to close out this exceedingly difficult chapter in his life, he knows that when he steps on the ice, he’s not doing it alone.

“Now, it’s just living in his memory and knowing he’s watching us and just doing everything I can to make him proud. I know he was proud when he went, and [now I’m] continuing to live on his legacy.”

Header photo courtesy of Ryan Winterton.