Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic of the Montreal Canadiens’ parents expressed an interest in learning hockey with him.
Johnathan Kovacevic credits his parents for helping him develop an optimistic mindset, which led to his success. Johnathan, a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, is the son of Angie, a Bosnian, and Novica, a Montenegrin.
Angie worked as an IV nurse and Novica was a software developer at a prestigious Ontario hospital. Kovacevic also enrolled in civil engineering because he felt the need to be prepared in the event that hockey didn’t work out.
He started thinking about an NHL career midway through the 2016–17 season after speaking with Jets scout Max Giese.
oic-pub-ad-placeholder-110" data-inserter-version="2">He was taken 74th overall in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets. Kovacevic signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Jets on March 17, 2019, following three seasons at Merrimack College.
The parents of Jonathan Kovacevic, Novica and Angie, first met in the summer of 1991.
Johnathan Kovacevic, a defenceman in ice hockey, was reared in Ontario, Canada, by his parents, Novica and Angie. They first connected in the summer of 1991, just a few months after Novica immigrated to Canada.
At first, during a group picnic, a close acquaintance in Hamilton’s Serbian community tried to set them up. Due to a schedule conflict, their friend tried a different strategy and hosted Novica and Angie for dinner instead. The connection was immediate, and the commitment followed shortly.
The Athletic reported that Novica had entered Canada in May 1991 on a six-month visa, which made matters worse. Novica’s departure from Canada and eventual return to it were discussed by the pair, but they ultimately decided against it. But they got married at the end of the year.
His mother, who has been married for 30 years, used her Hamilton education to train as an IV nurse, mostly caring for cancer patients at a prestigious cancer treatment center.
Angie was called back when COVID-19 put a strain on staff resources even though she had planned to retire in January 2020.
Jeremy Kovacevic Mother was raised without running water or electricity.
Jonathan Kovacevic’s father, Novica, was raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and enrolled in a prominent technical school there.
His father worked as a software programmer in Sarajevo throughout the 1980s, travelling for work to nations like England and Japan before Yugoslavia’s slow disintegration sparked a number of conflicts.
Thankfully, Novica made the smart choice to start a new life as the threat of conflict lingered in 1988 and 1989. He departed for Canada in May 1991. After a few weeks, war broke out in Slovenia, and in Croatia and Bosnia, it grew dreadfully worse over the next years.
According to The Athletic, Novica had seen Muslims, Christians, and individuals of all ethnicities coexisting happily and working together in Sarajevo.
He would have loved to continue working and travelling in what had been an amazing setting throughout the 1980s, if not for the Yugoslav Wars. Instead, he found himself in Hamilton in the summer of 1991, safe, sound, and about to fall head over heels in love.
Jeremy Kovacevic Daniela and Ryan are two siblings.
Johnathan, a defenseman who is 25 years old, grew up with his sister Daniela and brother Ryan.
In addition, his sister is an occupational therapist who works with children at the Waitemata District Health Board in New Zealand, and his brother is also an engineer.
She also obtained a Master of Science in occupational therapy from McMaster University in 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile.
