PHOTO: PURE LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Salmon Arm, B.C. — The Salmon Arm Silverbacks are excited to announce that 17-year-old forward Mathieu Bourgault has committed to play NCAA Div. I hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
The St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que. native joined the Silverbacks this season after one year at Lake Forest Academy, where he led the program in scoring in 2019-20 with 50 points — 23 goals and 27 assists — in just 22 games.
“I felt like RPI was the place that would help fulfill my dream of becoming a pro hockey player,” Bourgault said. “They have an amazing coaching staff and I really love their culture. They want to win and I want to win, so I think it was a really great fit.”
Last season, Bourgault’s 50 points made him a top-5 scorer among U-17 players in all of United States high school prep hockey.
“The Salmon Arm Silverbacks would like to congratulate Mat on his commitment to RPI, ” Silverbacks head coach Tyler Shattock said. “Mat is a high-ceiling, very talented guy. He’s got size, skill — I think he’s tailor-made to go to the college game. He’s a kid that always wants to learn and I think he’ll be a real nice piece for RPI.”
Earlier this season, Backs forward Danny Ciccarello also committed to RPI, while forward Zach Dubinsky joined the Silverbacks from RPI with their season on hold.
The RPI Engineers compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey League, composed of 12 total teams.
Hear from Mathieu about the commitment in the video below:
