White, Sim train, wait for call

NEW GLASGOW – Two of Pictou County’s most accomplished athletes hope they can continue their pro hockey careers.
Defenceman Colin White and forward Jon Sim keep training at the Pictou County YMCA while they wait word that a hockey team has acquired their services.
“All you can have is the will to play,” Sim said as the players began another workout with YMCA director and former pro player Dave MacIntyre.
“Like Sim, I’m waiting for the phone call,” White said. “We’re not picky.”
Sim will turn 35 in September. He played parts of 14 seasons with NHL or AHL teams, including 34 games with the New York Islanders on 21-10-11 before being sent down to their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Conn. and ending the season with a Swiss league team.
He played with three different European teams last season.
“We’re working hard to stay in shape and be prepared and we’ll wait and see what happens,” he said.
White will be 35 in December. He won a Memorial Cup championship with the Hull Olympiques in 1997 and has played 15 pro seasons since then.
He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils and won two Stanley Cups with them. He split his first two seasons with the Devils and the Albany River Rats of the AHL before 10 seasons interrupted only by injuries.
A year ago, White was bought out of the last year of a six-year deal with the Devils and signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks.
“Being away from my family is hard but I expect to be playing,” he said. “Year over year, (hoping to catch on with another big league team) comes with our age group. I see it with a lot of my buddies.”
White admires Larry Robinson, who recently became an associate coach with the Sharks after several seasons on the Devils’ coaching staff.
“I wish he was with the Sharks last year,” White said. “Larry’s a great fit. He’s helped me a lot and he’s definitely going to help their team and their defence, something the Sharks needed help with last season.”