Mason has Knight vision


By
May 3, 2020

He is working out on his own, in the family basement and in the garage. He jogs alone through his neighbourhood — and thinks of the season ahead. A 2020 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft pick of the London Knights, Mason Chitaroni has a vision of where he wants to be when training camp opens.

“I am riding the bike, lifting weights, working on my flexibility … I am on my roller blades and I am running about eight kilometers every second day to get my cardio up,” Chitaroni revealed in a recent interview with Hockey News North.

The son of former Sudbury Wolves, OHL standout Terry Chitaroni, the youngster said that while he talks a lot of hockey with his dad, he prefers to train on his own inside and outside the family home.

“I want to be self motivated and self determined,” relayed the smooth defenseman with world class speed who London was able to nab with the second last pick of the fifth round (99th overall) at last month’s OHL draft.

With hockey — and sports in general — on the sidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is uncertainty as to the start of OHL training camps and the 2020-2021 regular season itself. But Chitaroni has given a lot of thought about what is ahead.

“I want to show London that they made the right choice in drafting me,” he said evenly.

“I want to go there and show them what I can do … and I want to be in the best shape I can be and then let them decide what their plans are going to be for me,” added the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Chitaroni who won’t turn 16 years of age until October.

Meanwhile, Jamie Henderson, who coached Chitaroni with the Jr. Greyhound midgets during the 2019-2020 season, said London “is getting a highly motivated player who has a real upside.

“Mason can flat out skate with the best 2004 birth year players anywhere and he has a lot of raw talent,” Henderson added in further praise of Chitaroni, who notched six goals, 13 assists, 19 points in 38 games for the Jr. Greyhounds during the 2019-2020 regular season and was named the top minor midget defenseman in the Great North loop.

London Knights draft pick Mason Chitaroni runs the streets in the neighbourhood of his family’s Sault Ste. Marie home. (Photo by Allana Plaunt.)

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