It’s about the journey, not the destination, and nobody knows that better than Jason Shokalook.

Born on Sept. 30, 2002, Shokalook quickly became accustomed to an intense travel itinerary from a young age: every Monday and Wednesday, his mother would pick him up from school and drive 2.5 hours south to Pittsburgh so that he could play hockey, and another 2.5 hours back to their hometown of Erie. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they’d drive 2 hours and back to Cleveland, where he played soccer.

After balancing both sports for nearly two years, Shokalook decided to focus on becoming a professional soccer player and regularly commuted back and forth from Pennsylvania to Ohio, before finally earning a scholarship offer from the University of Akron, where he majored in business.

Shokalook broke onto the scene during his junior year, leading the Zips in goals (9), points (24), shots (38) and shots on goal (22) across 18 appearances (17 starts), before ascending to a new level in 2023 with a league-high 14 goals and 5 assists in 17 appearances, as well as league-highs in shots (83) and points (33). Furthermore, he was also able to accelerate his development in South Carolina and Michigan during the offseasons in 2021 and 2023, playing for USL League Two sides SC United FC and Flint City in 2023.

After winning the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year award, Shokalook was invited to the annual adidas MLS College Showcase in Phoenix, where he did well enough to convince Chicago Fire to select him with the 35th pick of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

Forced to bide his time in the shadow of MLS Next Pro Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner David Poreba, Shokalook scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 27 appearances across the 2024 season under Ludovic Taillandier. Shokalook looked set to replace Poreba as the team’s attacking talisman following the arrival of new manager Mike Matkovich, but instead, he missed the season opener and came off the bench in the next three.