Local product Salame returning home to help bolster left side of Griffins' defence
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – In restocking the left side of MacEwan's defence, men's hockey head coach Michael Ringrose went looking for players that can be effective both defensively and offensively.
In fitting that model to a T, Ringrose announced Wednesday that veteran former Western Hockey League blueliner Neithan Salame is joining the roster for the 2022-23 Canada West campaign.
Salame brings 185 games of WHL experience to the fore, mostly with the Brandon Wheat Kings over parts of five seasons but also with the Regina Pats, with whom he finished his junior career as an over-ager in 2021-22.
"Neithan's a solid left-hand shot defenceman," said Ringrose. "He has the ability to play a 200-foot game. He has good feet, can get himself into the rush and add offence from the back end, but also has a really good gap, is a really strong defender and is going to be a valuable piece of our squad moving forward."
Salame, who produced 14 points in 36 games with the Pats this past season, finished with 46 career WHL points. In 149 games with the Wheat Kings from 2018-21, he posted a +37 rating, proving his ability to defend against some of the WHL's best.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound product of Edmonton's KC organization was originally a seventh-round pick of the Wheat Kings in 2016. Ringrose has long kept tabs on him and the fit with the Griffins is perfect for Salame.
"He knows a few guys on our roster and they speak highly of the program," said Ringrose. "We're starting to get some traction because the guys coming in are getting a taste for what the program is and the potential we have at MacEwan."
