Herning, Denmark- Having played for the US National Development Program and later winning two medals at the IIHF World Under-20 Championships, Colin White is no stranger to wearing the red, white, and blue. Therefore, when the Ottawa Senators’ season ended and he received an invitation to join Team USA in Denmark for the IIHF World Championships, White accepted with no reservations.

“[Wearing the national colors] never gets old,” he stated. “I was very fortunate this year to come to Denmark to represent the USA and play with a lot of guys I already knew and meet some new faces as well.”

Unlike the immediate decision to extend his season by playing at the World Championships, the Hanover, MA, native’s career was marked by the different options presented to a player who has his sights set on the NHL.

White seemed marked for stardom at an early age, and by 13, he was already suiting up for a full-season 16-and-under team on the South Shore. While he undoubtedly had the option to continue with that team as he entered high school, he enrolled at Noble and Greenough School and chose to play fall hockey with the Cape Cod Whalers.

While there seems to be little doubt that the fourteen-year-old would be noticed anywhere, he wanted to choose what he thought was the best route. In the hotbed that is Massachusetts, there are plenty of knowledgeable people quick to give advice, and nearly all of them advised him to go the prep route.

“Growing up, I always played for Neil Shea and our team was always great,” he recalled. “The guys started going to prep schools and I knew that it was time for me to make the move. I thought it was the right thing for my development and it’s worked out so far.

“With the prep season being in the winter, that still left the fall open. Almost everybody on the team played midget hockey in the fall, and the Whalers were known as a great organization, so I followed a lot of my teammates there.”

After two years at Nobles, White made another move to the US National Development Program. As is always the case, he caught the eyes of multiple NCAA hockey coaches, along with those from north of the border.

Upon completion of his two years with the NTDP, Colin left with a gold medal at the 2015 World Under-18 Championships and a scholarship to Boston College. Prior to matriculating at BC, he was drafted twenty-first overall by the Ottawa Senators.

“The biggest draw [to college hockey] was education,” he noted. “I wanted to go to school and not have my life entirely filled with hockey for those four years. I ended up signing [with the Senators] after only two years, but I’m still taking classes on now and it’s huge to fall back on after hockey. As we know, it doesn’t last forever, so for me, school is a big thing and my sister went to BC. [College hockey] was definitely the choice for me.”

Once he made the choice to leave Boston College, White was assigned to the Senators’ AHL team in Binghamton. However, he was called up after three games, in which he registered a goal and two assists, and played five games for Ottawa, including three in the playoffs.

“I’ll never forget my first game in the NHL,” he recalled. “It was at the Joe [Louis Arena in Detroit] and it was one of the last games there, so it was a pretty special first game and I’ll remember it forever.”

This past season, his first full season as a professional, saw White split time between Ottawa and the AHL after recovering from a broken wrist. His play, however, showed enough to USA Hockey executives to earn him a spot at this year’s Worlds. While in Denmark, he contributed mightily to the bronze-winning effort.

With the Senators looking to rebuild and get younger, it should be a very short wait before White earns himself a permanent spot in the NHL.