Whaler defencemen Cooper De Waal (left) and Mat Morison (right, green jersey) offer the team's food bank donations to Sources Food Bank White Rock/South Surrey | Photo courtesy of Alistair Burns, White Rock Whalers.
Cooper De Waal, Mat Morison drop off non-perishable goods.
SOUTH SURREY – Instead of a crisp tape-to-tape pass inside Centennial Arena, rookie defencemen Cooper De Waal and Mathew Morison made a wholly different hand-off on Dec. 20.
De Waal and Morison spent time at Sources Food Bank White Rock / South Surrey and dropped off non-perishable food items that players and fans had brought to games throughout December.
The food bank is only a 10-minute drive away from the Pod’s home rink. Jaye Murray, the food bank’s manager, thanked the players.
In addition to his white game-day jersey, De Waal, 18, wore a red St. Nicholas hat. He said that service on behalf of the local community was a “big part” of each Whaler’s responsibility.
Cooper De Waal volunteered to bring the food donations into Sources. "You need food to fuel your body – and without it, you just couldn’t play,” he said.
Players and fans donated those items at December home games.
‘Impossible’ to succeed without food: De Waal
I posed an existential question to the Whalers: without access to food, how would the Pod really fare on the ice?
“It would be pretty much impossible – you need food to fuel your body – and without it, you just couldn’t play,” De Waal thoughtfully answered.
On a lighter note, Morison added that his favourite pre-game meal was perogies; De Waal stuck to a hockey staple: chicken and rice.
Interview with Cooper De Waal, Mat Morison
left to right: Whaler Jacob Dorohoy kneels next to non-perishable items collected on behalf of Sources Food Bank with teammates Matt Burry, Sam Dowell and Bryce Margetson. | Photo courtesy of Alistair Burns, White Rock Whalers.
