Blind River to Sault College
Two high end graduates of one of the top programs in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have committed to the Sault College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association ahead of the 2024-2025 season.
Goalie Gavin Disano and forward Jake Kovacs are both graduating veterans of multiple seasons with the Blind River Beavers of the NOJHL under head coach and general manager Kyle Brick. Both Disano and Kovacs are Sault Ste. Marie products.
Disano spent parts of four NOJHL seasons in Blind River. As for Kovacs, he is a seasoned skater of close to 200 NOJHL games, regular season and playoffs included.
Sault College head coach Tanner Burton — himself a former NOJHL player in Blind River — likes what he has in two of his newest recruits to the well respected Cougars hockey program.
“Gavin Disano is an outstanding goaltender,” Burton began. “He has done extremely well in the NOJHL with a 51-23-6 career winning record, proving he is a high end caliber goaltender. His character and team first attitude is the backbone of his game. We are thrilled to have his experience on our roster and we are very excited to see Gavin in between the pipes for us in the coming season.
“Jake Kovacs was a sought after prospect by many college programs after his performance over the course of this season for Blind River. Therefore we are beyond thrilled that he chose to study and play hockey for Sault College. Jake put up 30 goals, 35 assists for 65 points this season for the Beavers. He is an all around player as evidenced by the fact that he was given the NOJHL’s best defensive forward award. Being able to take care of your own end and still produce numbers like Jake did is beyond impressive. He is going to play a big role for us this coming season. Jake also brings leadership and experience to our roster. We are very excited to see him suited up in blue come October,” Burton relayed to Hockey News North.
Disano plans to study Sports Administration at Sault College while Kovacs is enrolled in the Electrical Engineering program.