LAS VEGAS -- Cameron Whitehead has yet to turn pro, but the Vegas Golden Knights goalie prospect has already experienced success in an NHL-like setting.
As a freshman at Northeastern University last season, the 21-year-old helped his team win the Beanpot tournament at a packed TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins. He made 33 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory against Boston University on Feb. 12 in the final of the annual four-team, all-Boston tournament.
Whitehead earned the Beanpot Eberly Award as the top goalie in the tournament, which also includes Boston College and Harvard University. He made 21 saves in a 3-2 overtime win against Harvard one week earlier.
“It was amazing," Whitehead said of the Beanpot at Golden Knights development camp last month. "You don’t know how much it means to a school until you win it. Just the amount of excitement and energy it brings to the school means a lot.”
Whitehead, selected by Vegas in the fourth round (No. 128) of the 2022 NHL Draft, compared the atmosphere at the Beanpot to that of an NHL game, but with a twist.
“Both student sections are just yelling at each other the whole game,” he said. “It brings that electric atmosphere that some NHL games don’t have because students don’t scream at each other. It’s a lot of fun playing in a 20,000-seat arena.”
Whitehead was 17-4-3 with a 2.62 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and four shutouts in 35 games last season, making 30 or more saves in a game 19 times. He won Hockey East Goaltender of the Week honors twice, was named Northeastern rookie of the year and made the Hockey East All-Academic Team.
“He had a heck of a freshman year," Golden Knights director of player development Wil Nichol said. "He got to play on a big stage at the Beanpot. ... It wasn’t uncommon that he put his team in a position to win a lot of hockey games.”
Whitehead, who will return to Northeastern for his sophomore season, credits his goalie coach at the school, Brian Mahoney-Wilson, with helping him develop the skills to translate to the next level. Whitehead (6-foot-3, 170 pounds) wants to improve his hand-eye coordination and footwork, primarily to prepare for when he makes the leap to pro hockey.
“At the pro level, guys are so skilled they know how to pick corners,” he said. “I just have to manage my space and getting those angles down.”
Whitehead isn’t rushing his development, though. He feels that when the time comes to become a professional, he’ll be ready after having played such at such a competitive level in college.
“It’s about preparation and adding to those extra tools,” he said.
