All 16 Real-Life Hockey Players & Media Pundits On Shoresy
Shoresy, the spinoff series of Letterkenny, merges the sport of ice hockey with the fictional realm of television by casting many real-life professional hockey players and media pundits. Shoresy is similar to other sports comedies but tends to be more vulgar in its tone. The Canadian series follows the Sudbury Bulldogs as they risk the potential to be shut down. Luckily, Shoresy (Jared Keeso) stops this from happening by making a bet and reshaping the team to play better than ever before.
Praise has been given to Shoresy for its portrayal of First Nations characters and its placing of female characters in charge. For some of the cast members of Shoresy, this is their first acting job. This is because Shoresy, with all of its quips and comedic notes, still aims to depict a realistic ice hockey team and this is accomplished by casting actors with experience in the world of the sport.
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16 Marty McSorley
Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, And More
Many hockey players who appear in the series also have acting roles in the show. McSorely, however, plays himself. He appears in season 4 during Shoresy’s time attempting to appear as a commentator on sports programs. He and McSorely are supposed to have a discussion about the “best fighters” in hockey, but Shoresy wants McSorely to voice his opinions first, which does not go over well on the program.
McSorley is a former NHL player who played for several different teams during his long time no the ice. He got his start in 1983 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. McSorely was famous for his work as a defensive player, and for a time, was even known as “Wayne Gretzky’s bodyguard” when the two played on the same teams.
His career lasted until 2001 with the Boston Bruins. When he hit another player with his hockey stick during a game, he was suspended from play and convicted of assault. The suspension lasted for a year and ended up being the end of his hockey-playing days.
15 Terry Ryan
Montreal Canadiens
Terry Ryan plays Ted Hitchcock, a player recruited to the Sudbury Bulldogs. He is a Newfoundlander, making him stand out among the other players for his unique way of speaking and his accent that makes it hard to understand him at times. It is also noted that Hitchcock has a particular fondness for martinis despite his rough-around-the-ages vibe. Each time Shoresy introduces Hitchcock, he likes to point out that when his full name is said fast, it sounds rather funny and vulgar.
Before he started acting, Ryan grew up playing ice hockey as a kid. Later, he would earn the title of Rookie of the Year in 1998 after being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. However, his time with the team was cut short due to an ankle injury. Ryan spent the following years playing in ball hockey tournaments and Newfoundland senior hockey, eventually entering the film industry. Before landing a role on Shoresy, he appeared in Jared Keeso's previous series, Letterkenny.
14 Jonathan-Ismaël Diaby
Jonquière Marquis
In Shoresy, it could be argued that Jonathan-Ismaël Diaby plays himself as Dolo, which is a nod to his nickname in real life, JoDolo. When selecting the new members of the team, Shoresy brings on Dolo as one of the most exciting prospects as he was drafted into the NHL. However, Shoresy is quick to note that Dolo turned down the opportunity to play "in the show" because he chose to pursue his dreams of being a rapper instead.
Diaby is also a rapper, and was able to share his creative opinions about which of his songs would be used in his scenes
In 2013, Diaby was selected in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft, drafted by the Nashville Predators. The latest team he played for was the Jonquière Marquis, playing defense. Mirroring his character's artistry, Diaby is also a rapper, and was able to share his creative opinions about which of his songs would be used in his scenes.
13 Chase Coughlan
Sudbury Wolves
Chase Coughlan joins Shoresy in season 4 as Mason, one of the new Lakers players being mentored by the Bulldogs. He is someone who does not mind stirring things up. Coughlan did not have to do much acting for the role, according to an interview with The Sudbury Star, as he approached the role as if he was playing himself.
That is because Coughlan actually plays hockey in Sudbury where the show is based. Coughlan plays for the Sudbury Wolves, a member of the Ontario Hockey League, and the same team that has played a game annually wearing the Sudbury Bulldogs jerseys from Shoresy and auctioning them off for charity after. He was approached to audition for the show by one of his own former trainers, who is now a hockey stunt coordinator for the show.
12 Brian McGonagle
Co-Host Of Spittin' Chiclets
Brian McGonagle guest stars as himself in Shoresy. He is one of several personalities to appear in the opening of Shoresy, as a guest on the show "Questionable Calls". He is the only non-Canadian member of the panel, and therefore, when Shoresy's name comes up as a strong contender for the dirtiest player of all time, he is the only one who has not heard of his infamous reputation.
Outside the show, McGonagle is a blogger with Barstool Sports. Alongside former National Hockey League players, McGonagle hosts the hockey podcast titled Spittin' Chiclets. He is known by the nickname Rear Admiral, but more commonly as simply RA. Since the show's start in 2016, it's grown a large fanbase and become very popular show the sports genre podcasts due to the banter among the hosts and their NHL guests.
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11 Andrew Antsanen
Kahnawake Condors
Andrew Antsanen has a recurring role as Brant "Goody" Goodleaf. Goody is another one of the players who Shoresy chooses to add some life and "veteran presence" to their struggling team. Shoresy excitedly presents him as having been invited to "the show", aka the professional league, and even states that he led the league in scoring. However, he then has to point out that it was actually professional lacrosse that Goody played. There is also a recurring joke about Goody's love of chicken.
Antsanen is one of the many Indigenous actors starring in Shoresy. Aside from his acting endeavors, Antsanen has prior experience with the sport and as an MMA fighter. Years before Shoresy, Antsanen played as part of the Quebec Junior A Hockey League with the Kahnawake Condors but didn't play long and chose to coach younger players instead.
10 Kenzie Lalonde
Professional Women’s Hockey League Announcer
Kenzie Lalonde pops up in season 4 during one of the sports news broadcasts. She appears during a segment in which Shoresy fails to explain just why men's and women’s hockey are different from one another. Shoresy’s inability to get his point across certainly plays into the show’s tendency to flip the script on gender norms in television.
Kenzie Lalonde grew up playing hockey in Canada and played all the way through her time in university but did not end up playing professionally. Instead, she fell in love with broadcasting while attending university (via Hockey Canada), which is how she ended up becoming a sports announcer. Though she got her start on a small news station calling all kinds of different sports, she has risen to become the voice of women’s hockey in Canada. She even called the 2022 Olympic Games and became the first woman to call the play-by-play for men's hockey as well.
9 Jonathan Torrens
Co-host of the Taggart and Torrens Podcast
Jonathan Torrens has a guest role in Shoresy as commentator Remy Nadeau. The French-Canadian commentator has a penchant for speaking in his announcer voice even in everyday conversations. Similar to his character's job, Torrens is a television personality known for a variety of jobs, such as co-hosting Street Cents and Jonovision. His real-life career endeavor closest to that of his character Remy is his co-hosting job on the Taggart and Torrens Podcast, in which Jeremy Taggart and Jonathan Torrens discuss a variety of topics, including sports.
Torrens is one of a few actors to play characters on both Letterkenny and Shoresy, as he starred in Keeso's previous series as Noah. Ironically, Torrens' other famous roles outside of Canada are on hit Canadian series, like Trailer Park Boys where he plays J-Rock and Mr. D where he plays Principal Robert Cheely.
8 Jonathan Mirasty
Binghamton Black Bears
Among the ensemble of the show, there are three First Nation characters all named Jim, all played by professional ice hockey players. Jim #1 is played by Jonathan Mirasty. Not strictly hockey players, the Jims were guards at the local prison who were recruited into the Sudbury Bulldogs purely for their physically intimidating abilities as fighters. Jim #1 sells this fact the most with his massive size yet has a quiet demeanor.
The latest season he played in was as a left-wing for the Binghamton Black Bears
Before he earned the role of Jim #1, Mirasty's hockey career was extensive, as he played in multiple leagues, including the WHL, KHL, and the AHL. Throughout his career, he played for teams such as the Syracuse Crunch and the Fort Wayne Komets. The latest season he played in was as a left-wing for the Binghamton Black Bears as part of the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
7 Doug Gilmour
Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, And More
Doug Gilmour, whom Shoresy respectfully refers to as “Dougie Gilmour” has a brief cameo in season 4. Like most of the real-life hockey players in that season, he appears in a news broadcast that Shoresy is filming since Shoresy is dealing with what life after playing hockey is like. Shoresy cannot bring himself to simply call the man”Doug” during their discussion because he respects his time as a hockey player so much.
That might be because Gilmour had such a long career in hockey. His career began in 1983 with the St. Louis Blues, but he is likely better known for his time on several Canadian hockey teams. Over the course of his 20-year career in hockey, Gilmour played for eight teams, including one in Switzerland and three in Canada. He has since gone on to work as a coach and in player development for different teams.
