Meet Comets’ Forward, Josh Filmon
Jan 19, 2026Utica, NY – The latest Comet we had the pleasure of chatting with was second-year pro, Josh Filmon.
The 21-year-old was born and raised in Manitoba’s capital and largest city, Winnipeg. He grew up in what he described as an ideal hockey environment, with a backyard rink and a few siblings to keep him company. Josh is the third of four children in the Filmon family, with an older brother by six years, an older sister by four years, and a younger brother by six years. His older brother was drawn more to baseball than hockey and went on to play collegiately. He described his younger brother as a talented hockey player whom he hopes to overlap with at some point in his career. Filmon’s sister has special needs which he says has given him a unique perspective on life and is appreciative for gaining an understanding of what life is truly like for those with disabilities.
Filmon said it was merely the passionate hockey culture of Winnipeg that originally got him into the sport. “It was what everyone in my community did. I think I was four when I started lacing up the skates. My brother was playing, everyone on the block and every kid in my class was playing. I was eight when I started playing organized hockey. My dad coached and we weren’t afraid of practicing outdoors which was fun and some of the best memories of my life,” he reflected. Filmon added that those outdoor practices took place even in the dead of winter, which in Winnipeg can reach temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees below zero. He said when it was that cold, he and his teammates would abandon their hockey gloves and practice with mittens.
The original Winnipeg Jets franchise left the city in 1996, eight years before Josh was born. He said that he cheered for the Atlanta Thrashers before the team was purchased and relocated to Winnipeg in 2011 as the current Jets franchise, but admitted that he did not watch much hockey until he started playing juniors several years later. Among his favorite players have been Winnipeg star forwards, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, and prior to the Jets’ return, Detroit Red Wings’ superstar, Pavel Datsyuk.
Prior to juniors, Josh played two full seasons of prep school hockey at the RINK Hockey Academy in Winnipeg. Looking back at his hockey journey, he said it was there where he fell in love with the aspect of being part of a hockey team. “That was my first real experience of long bus trips and playing three-in-three’s and four-in-four’s. I loved being with the boys, traveling, getting in the gym. That was my first taste of being a fulltime hockey player and I just got addicted to pushing myself to get better.”
In 2019, Filmon was drafted in the fourth round and 67th overall by the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and made his debut during the 2020-21 season, playing a total of 17 games. He played three full seasons starting the following year, each of which he said was invaluable and crucial to his development. “It was a great experience for me. I had an amazing billet family which made the transition of moving away from home really easy. We weren’t great my first couple years which allowed me to play and have a ton of opportunity which is where I found myself as a player and created an identity for myself.”
Swift Current, Saskatchewan is a seven-hour trek from Winnipeg, and it was his first time moving away from home. He added that his first year there was a little tough given it was during the pandemic, and all the players were forced to live in dorms, which he described as being on the shabbier side, but it was short-lived with Filmon being there for only the last two months of the season.
The 2022-23 season, his second full campaign, was his best statistically, racking up 47 goals and 75 points in 64 games. He led the team in scoring and was named to the WHL’s First All-Star Team. The next year, his last, was the Broncos’ best season during his time in Swift Current. Despite being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Moose Jaw Warriors, Josh said he was grateful to be a part of a true winning culture.
Filmon and his family headed to Montreal in July of 2022 for the NHL Draft where was selected in the sixth round by the New Jersey Devils. When asked about the experience, he said, “It was pretty cool. When I first started playing junior hockey, (getting drafted) wasn’t really something that I knew about or was on my radar. I was just playing hockey and loving it. That whole draft year, going through interviews with scouts and going to the combine with a couple teammates, was a great experience. Now I’m playing against some of those guys in the AHL and just trying to make the most of this opportunity.”
Shortly after his second-to-last season in Swift Current, Filmon made his pro debut with the Comets on an amateur try-out in April of 2023, playing a total of four games and notching his first professional goal, a moment he would never forget. He started last season in Utica but would spend most of the year in the ECHL with the Adirondack Thunder, recording 36 points in 65 games. He admitted to finding a big difference in the level of play between juniors and pro hockey upon the start of his pro career. “The requirements for you to be able to play with skill and with the puck on your stick are much more physically demanding. I’m a smaller guy which is something I’ve been challenged with my entire life, and I’ve always had to figure out ways to be more creative. I think last year was all about figuring out how to do that. What this is really about for me is getting better. Long term, I want to find out truly how good I can be and the only way to do that is to keep approaching it with a growth mentality.”
Filmon closed out by expressing gratitude for where he is at this stage in his journey. He simply loves being able to play hockey for a living, and to be able to do it in the second-best league in the world, one step away from NHL, is a dream come true for him.
He plans to head back to Winnipeg in the offseason and looks forward to helping coach baseball with his younger brother. Away from the rink, Filmon enjoys exploring Upstate New York, spending time with his teammates, and honing his video game craft.
Filmon and the Comets are home this Sunday at 3 pm against Syracuse for the Kid’s Takeover game. For tickets, just visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.