It's about that time – students get ready to head back to university or leave home for the first time to attend their chosen institution of higher learning.
Deanne Whenham is one of them and she'll need to remember her skates because she'll be lacing them up for an American university.
Whenham is set to join the women's hockey program at Lindenwood University-Belleville in Belleville, Illinois after signing her letter of intent back in May. Lindenwood University-Belleville plays in the Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League, which is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, a separate organization from the NCAA.
It was a bidding war for her services, said Whenham, with several schools looking to recruit her but Lindenwood University-Belleville had one thing that took it over the top.
“They have criminology and that was a big selling point for me,” she said. “When my mom and dad went down with me, they got this really good vibe about the coach and my teammates.”
If it wasn't obvious, she plans to major in criminology.
Whenham spent last season playing at the Banff Hockey Academy in Alberta, where she competed in regular season games and while she had just two assists all season, she was disciplined with a grand total of just two penalty minutes.
She plays defence, which is always a sought-after position, especially a stay-at-home one like Whenham is, but she admits she'll be in a battle for ice time.
Some of that competition will be against players she played against while in Banff.
“They have a ton of defence so it's going to be a competition to get on the ice,” she said. “There are a few girls that were on NAX (Northern Alberta Extreme) and another one from another team I played so when I heard she was on the team, I thought that was crazy.”
Lindenwood was quite happy to get Whenham's name on the dotted line early in the recruitment process. In a press release, head coach Kat Hannah said she was excited to be able to sign the first-ever player from the NWT to her squad.
“We cannot be more excited to welcome her to the team,” she stated. “She has a team attitude and is ready to do whatever it takes to make not only herself a better player, but the team as well. She works very hard and has a good eye for the game. Deanne takes care of the corners and the front of the net, does an excellent job communicating and supporting the play and battles especially hard in the defensive zone. She is a quick learner and soaks up the little things which shows as she improves literally every day.”
If you've seen Whenham being recognized for another sport, you would be right. She's also an accomplished golfer having won a gold medal at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto and the women's club championship at the Yellowknife Golf Club that same year.
She won't be able to play with the Lindenwood women's golf team until the spring when hockey season is compete but she's already got a spot.
“I sent my scores to the coach and she already has a shirt waiting for me,” she said.