One Campbell River hockey player is set to star with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Trojans this upcoming fall.
"It feels really good," says Mackinley Whalen. "I guess coming from a town like Campbell River, it didn't really feel possible for me to go and do that because I didn't get as much exposure like in (other players in)Vancouver, but it's super awesome."
Whalen has spent the last three seasons with the Vancouver Island Seals of the BC Elite Hockey League U18 AAA (BCEHL U18) and described SAIT's program as "super awesome." She also knows a few others committed to the program and visited the campus during a hockey trip.
"I think it's a good place for me to start," she says. "I do want to branch off to a U-Sport team in Calgary. That's my end goal, to get into U Sports, but I think that (SAIT) is a good base to start off with."
The Trojans play in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and feature teams from Briercrest College, University of Alberta Augustana, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Concordia University of Edmonton and more. ACAC is part of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) umbrella and is a tier below U Sports, the national sports governing body for universities in the country.
Whalen, a right winger, describes herself as a gritty, aggressive player with a powerful shot. She says she wants to push herself to U Sports but would also like to get into the Professional Women's Hockey League, where she would join fellow Campbell Riverite, Olivia Knowles (who plays for Toronto). However, she says it would be truly incredible for her to start from the little town of Campbell River and up to the PWHL.
Whalen started her hockey journey in the Campbell River Hurricanes program and played in a house league with boys.
"I feel it helped me and pushed me because, especially playing with the boys, they're a lot bigger and tougher, and that kind of made me who I am today."
She fell in love with the sport through her father, who she says played at a level when he was younger. She recounted days of watching hockey on the TV with him. She says he mentored into it.
"It's not like I was 'I don't know about it.' As soon as I put on the skates, I felt I was truly in love with the sport because of him."
Whalen watches the PWHL and the NHL with her parents and likes to compare the different techniques the men and women do and find what she likes to do better to help her improve herself as a player.
As for personal goals, Whalen is going into the fitness and wellness management program and just wants to make the best of it.
"Explore it quite a bit, make lots of friends and make the most of it as I can because I'm only there for a few years or if I get transferred to another team," she says, mentioning she had a tough year last year with injuries and reduced ice times.
