From Sault This Week
By Randy Russon
This speaks volumes to the status of the program and the recruiting efforts of the staff. That is, more than 50 players showed up for the recent spring skate of the Sault College Cougars varsity men’s hockey team.
Under the attentive, observant eyes of new head coach Tanner Burton, assistant coaches Alex Cruise and Toots Kovacs, chief scout Charly Murray, Thunder Bay area scout Don Smith et al, a striking group of returning players and newcomers went through the paces at the new Northern Community Centre.
When all was said and done, the Cougars committed to about 20 players — returnees and newcomers — ahead of the 2023-2024 school/hockey season. All commitments are contingent on the players being officially accepted into their fields of study by Sault College.
Among the skaters poised to return to the Cougars for the ’23-’24 season are solid, seasoned defencemen Chase Muswagon and Jordan Ritchie and high performance forwards Caleb Wood and Ethan Esposito. Formerly of the Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League, Muswagon actually began the 2022-2023 term at Sault College only to return home to The Pas, Manitoba to recuperate for the rest of the school year after suffering a severe concussion early in the hockey season.
Meanwhile, among the confirmed newcomers to Sault College and the hockey Cougars are defenceman Mason Wesley and forwards Michael Chaffay, Ethan Novello, Kaden Laverdiere and Dylan Winsor.
Wesley (Thunder Bay North Stars) and Winsor (Thunder Bay North Stars) are formerly of the aforementioned Superior International Jr. Hockey League while Chaffay (Soo Thunderbirds), Novello (Soo Thunderbirds) and Laverdiere (Sudbury Cubs) are all alumni of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Charly Murray, as the veteran head scout for the Cougars, relayed to Sault This Week that the calibre of players at this year’s spring skate compared to last year’s “represents a huge upgrade. We are already in position to be a better team this coming year than we were last year. No question about it.”
The ’23-’24 season looms as a fresh start for the Cougars, who overcame a slow beginning to the ’22-’23 campaign by finishing with an overall record of 13-12-1 among Division 2, American Collegiate Hockey Association competition. Behind the bench, the aforementioned Tanner Burton takes the helm of the Cougars from Mike Hall. Hall, who had been with the Cougars since their debut ACHA season of 2018-2019, had recommended Burton as his successor to Sault College officials.
(Originally published at https://www.saultthisweek.com/sports/local-sports/spring-roar-of-the-sault-college-cougars-hockey-men)
