Perlini has plenty of Soo support
He was born in Guildford, England and was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League out of Detroit, Michigan but Brendan Perlini will always have Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. as a home base.
The well-traveled Perlini, a 1996 birth-year left winger who is in his fourth OHL season with the Niagara Ice Dogs after originally being a first-round pick of the Barrie Colts, is prepping to step onto the world stage in Helsinki, Finland as a member of the Team Canada juniors.
A first-round, National Hockey League draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Perlini will have plenty of family cheering him on from Sault Ste. Marie as he skates for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships, which begin on Boxing Day.
Though his parents, Freddie and Vicki Perlini, currently reside in the Detroit area, they were both born and raised in the Soo and still spend the summer months in their hometown.
Not only that, he has a score of relatives who live in the Soo year-round, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins from the Perlini, Conway and Rowe families.
And while many in his family will be cheering him on from the good old Soo, Perlini’s older brother Brett will be following his kid sibling as he skates for the minor pro, Fort Wayne Komets.
A fourth-year pro, Brett played four seasons as a productive, Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association forward with the Michigan State Spartans after starring for the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
PHOTO: Brendan Perlini, in action as a member of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs.
Very nice article Randy, Vicki will be heading to Finland the day after Christmas,I’ll be cheering from home with a lot of supporters,GO CANADA GO,go Brendan go!!!Thanks Randy Jackie Conway…..
You are welcome, Jackie, and thanks for the nice words.