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Though the season may not have finished the way he had hoped locally, Soo Greyhounds forward Rory Kerins was honoured on Tuesday with the H.P. Broughton Award, which goes annually to Sault Ste. Marie’s Sportsperson of the Year.
Currently playing with the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat in the Calder Cup playoffs, Kerins posted career highs on the ice offensively for the Greyhounds.
A three-year veteran of the club, Kerins posted 43 goals and 75 assists in 67 games with the team, while his 118 points placed him second in Ontario Hockey League scoring.
Kerins called winning the award “an honour.”
“My time in the Sault is something that leaves me speechless because of just how much it meant to me as an athlete and a person,” Kerins said during his acceptance speech. “I can’t thank (the team) enough.”
“When I got (to the Sault) in August of 2018, I fell in love with the community, the city, and how everyone treats each other and just how close-knit the community is throughout the sports world and just in general,” Kerins also said. “I quickly realized what privilege I had and how special it was to play for the Soo Greyhounds and represent the Sault.”
Kerins added that he “quickly realized that putting that Greyhounds logo on is a stamp of the city.”
“You walk around the Sault, and you see that everyone wears that Greyhounds logo, whether it be kids playing minor hockey or a guy walking down the street with a Soo Greyhounds hat on,” Kerins added. “It’s a stamp of the city, and it was so special to play here. It was a privilege to play here, and I never took it for granted.”
Following the Greyhounds’ loss in game five to the Flint Firebirds in the second round of the playoffs, which ended the season for the team, Kerins called being a Greyhound “the biggest honour of my life.”
“The Sault will always be my home, and it is the best place to play,” Kerins said in accepting the H.P. Broughton Award.
The annual Rotary Sports Awards also sees the top male high school athletes honoured.
The Walter Lowe Memorial Trophy, which goes to the top male high school athlete, was awarded to a pair of athletes this season, going to Korah’s Michael Nicoletta and Daniel Bumbaco of St. Mary’s.
Both Nicoletta and Bumbaco were multi-sport athletes at their respective schools and multi-time winners at the awards ceremony.
Bumbaco was also named the athlete in hockey and track and field while sharing the soccer award with Korah’s Dylan Garson.
Nicoletta was also named the city’s top athlete in football.
In addition to sharing the soccer award with Bumbaco, Garson also was named the top cross-country running athlete and shared the top badminton athlete award with Korah teammate Darshan Kasundra.
Other award winners in their respective sports at the banquet were Ethan Williams of Superior Heights (basketball) and Justin McKay of White Pines (curling).
The B’Nai Brith Award, which goes to the student who best combines academics and athletics, went to Korah’s Nick Talvitie.
Korah won the Ross Winslade Award, which goes to the secondary school that accumulates the most points within the city for all boys’ and girls’ sports.
The Russ Ramsay High School Sports Hall of Fame also inducted a new member at the banquet, and longtime high school coach Ray Basawa earned the honour.