Captain’s leadership helps Steelheads succeed. ‘He exemplifies the Steelhead way.’
A.J. White found a home. The Idaho Steelheads found a leader.
White is in his second year as the Steelheads’ captain and third year with the team — leading yet another successful season for the franchise so far.
The Steelheads finished second in their division and advanced to the second round of the ECHL playoffs the past two seasons. This season, the team is 17-9-3-2 and again sitting at second place in the Mountain Division.
White, a forward, has played a key role on a successful team before. Over the course of his NCAA career at UMass-Lowell, White won two Hockey East championships and a regular-season title and helped his team to a spot in the Frozen Four. But White’s hockey career started much earlier than any of this.
“I got Rollerblades right before I turned 3,” White said. “And after my parents saw how well I did on those, they put me on ice skates right after my third birthday.”
It wasn’t long before White decided that hockey was the sport for him. When he was 7, he told his father that he wanted to take hockey more seriously. His father immediately found him a team to play on. Growing up in Michigan, it wasn’t tough to find.
White played with a few different professional teams after college. In the AHL, he played with the Milwaukee Admirals for five games and the Providence Bruins for 12. Then, he moved to the ECHL, where he played with the Atlanta Gladiators for half a season. He scored five goals and earned 15 assists, but he still didn’t feel at home. It was the next year, after joining the Idaho Steelheads, that he felt something special for the first time.
“It’s incredible here,” White said. “I tell all my friends and family back home that Boise is my favorite place I’ve been. I have my girlfriend here with me and we hope one day to make it our home. That’s how much it means to us.”
White has proven an indispensable leader with the Steelheads. Dating back to the 2017-18 season, White has scored 32 goals and recorded 76 assists. This season, he has six goals and 17 assists. And while his performance on the ice has been impressive, it’s what fans can’t always see that is really special.
“When the chips are down, he’s the kind of guy we look to to get us going,” goalie Tomas Sholl said about his captain. “Sometimes it takes a little spark to get things going and he’s the one who steps up to give us that.”
It was White’s father who helped him adopt this leadership style.
“Hard work was instilled in me by my father since a young age,” White said. “Because of that I’ve been a leader on every team I’ve been on. It’s easy for me to work hard every game.”
White’s consistent effort day in and day out has won him the Steelheads Hustle Award two years in a row, and coach Everett Sheen says that White showcases exactly what he wants his players to be.
“He exemplifies the Steelhead way. He exemplifies hustle,” Sheen said. “At practice, he brings it every day. At games, he brings it every day. If he’s not feeling good, he still brings it every single day.”
This season, White has continued his success. He is on an eight-game point streak going into this week’s home series (Friday and Saturday vs. Allen) and is still proving why he is an invaluable leader.
“He leads by example,” Sholl said. “He takes it on himself to do the little things every day. He’s doing it every day and gives a good example to the young guys. He proves what it takes to be a pro.”
You can see White’s leadership in the way he plays. In a sport that often turns violent, White is in the middle of altercations, but not to join in. Rather, he is pulling his teammates aside, keeping them calm, and reminding them of the task at hand. On the season, White has only served 8 minutes in the penalty box. In a pair of games against the Fort Wayne Komets on Dec. 13 and 14, the Steelheads were hit with 15 penalties as multiple fights broke out on the ice. Both times, White helped keep his team focused and led the Steelheads to wins.
“You have to keep your composure in this sport,” White said. “Games get out of hand and someone has to be that calm voice. There’s the common goal amongst us and that’s to win. We can’t get carried away and just have to find a way to win.”
Those wins against Fort Wayne finished a long homestand that started Nov. 20. The Steelheads have to spend 10 of the next 15 games on the road, and having a captain as consistent as White is crucial in a stretch like that.
“Doing the little things at home are easy,” Sholl said. “It is a little tougher on the road. You have got to lean on your leaders and your experienced guys. White is a huge part of that.”
The team has started off their string of road trips strong, sweeping the Norfolk Admirals on a three-game trip to the East Coast. White had three assists in the series.
Success has followed White wherever he has gone, and his coach expects that to continue.
“He’s a great person first and foremost,” Sheen said. “But he’s got a lot of good drive. Whatever he does, he’ll be successful.”
White’s father, who helped him get to this point in his hockey career, still offers pointers to his son. Whether White is shooting too little, or taking too many risks, he knows his father will be watching, ready to offer pointers after the game.
White makes sure to take each season one game at a time, but that doesn’t stop him from taking the time to appreciate his time on the ice.
“I’ve been playing for such a long time and consider it a job, but we are all fortunate to play such a fun sport,” White said. “It is something I love to do. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have some buddies I played hockey with and they always remind me how lucky I am to still be playing. Every game I try to be the best player I can and make them proud.”
