Whiteduck lands at Sault College

Sault College Cougars have signed an energetic, speedster with prior experience in both the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and Superior International Jr. Hockey League ahead of the looming 2022-2023 academic/athletic season.

He is 21-year old forward Pineshish Whiteduck, who spent the 2021-2022 season with the Sudbury Cubs and Espanola Express of the NOJHL and the Dryden Ice Dogs of the SIJHL. He finished up in Dryden and helped the Ice Dogs to a third place finish during the regular season and through two rounds of the playoffs.

Whiteduck totalled seven goals, 16 assists, 23 points in 37 games during his time over parts of two seasons in the NOJHL. In 28 SIJHL games, where he was used as a shutdown forward in Dryden by Ice Dogs head coach Kurt Walsten, Whiteduck netted two goals, seven assists, nine points.

The 6 foot, 190 pound Whiteduck attended Sault’s College’s recent spring tryout camp and totally impressed Cougars head scout and recruiter Charly Murray.

“His speed and his motor really stood out,” Murray told Hockey News North. “He drove nine and a half hours from his home (in Maniwaki, Quebec) to get here and once he got on the ice he never took his foot off the gas. His energy and speed that he showed were just off the charts.

“We are really excited for young Mr. Whiteduck and what he will bring to Sault College as a student athlete,” Murray added. “I had a chance to not only watch Pineshish play at our tryout camp but I got to meet and talk to him in person. It is very obvious that not only can he play with a high compete level but that he is a very nice young man.”

In all, 38 skaters and nine goalies took part at the recent tryout camp, said Murray.

“We signed nine players, including Whiteduck and a few of our returning local forwards such as Caleb Wood, Noah Boman and Parker Morgan,” Murray added.

Wood, Boman and Morgan all have previous experience in the NOJHL with the Soo Thunderbirds. Wood also played for the Soo Eagles.

Sault College plays at the Division 2 level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The Cougars are the only Canadian men’s team in the entire ACHA, which includes Division 1, 2 and 3.