Career
A gritty, hard-working winger, Jackson was drafted in the third round, 44th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1988 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He would attend the University of North Dakota the following season, and although his college career would get off to a slow start, he showed steady improvement and recorded 23 goals by his senior year. Joining him at North Dakota was fellow 1988 Canuck pick Dixon Ward, the first of 4 different stops where the two players would play together.
Jackson would turn pro in 1992, and spent most of the next three seasons with the Canucks" AHL affiliates.
He performed well in limited National Hockey League action, scoring 6 goals in 13 games, but struggled to crack a deep Vancouver squad. He became a free agent in 1995 and signed with the Buffalo Sabres.
In 1995-1996, Jackson would have his longest National Hockey League audition, registering 5 goals and 9 points in 22 games for the Sabres. He would sign with the New York Islanders in 1997, and play 8 more National Hockey League games in the 1997-1998 season, recording a goal and an assistant
Jackson would continue on in the AHL until retiring in 2003.
He finished his National Hockey League career with 12 goals and 6 assists for 18 points in 45 career games. He added another 199 goals in 11 seasons in the AHL. Following his playing career, Jackson served as an assistant coach with the Manchester Monarchs, the same team he played his final two seasons with, from 2003–2005. In January 2006, he was named head coach of the Adirondack Frostbite of the United Hockey League following the death of coach Marc Potvin.
Jackson is currently an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota, who advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Frozen Four during his first season in 2006-2007.
