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In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2024-25 season, we will go team-by-team to profile new players entering the league, as well as offseason acquisitions through trades. We speak with the coach/GM of each team to get their thoughts on the new crop of players.
Next up are the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
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The Salmon Arm Silverbacks finished the 2023-24 season in third place in the Interior Conference with a 34-17-0-3 record. The ‘Backs defeated the Merritt Centennials in six games in the first round, before dispatching the West Kelowna Warriors in five to reach to Conference Finals for the second straight year. Same as the year before, they matched up with the number-one seeded Penticton Vees and ultimately lost a hard-fought series in seven games.
Looking to build on their success over the past two seasons, Salmon Arm has had a busy summer, adding new players to bolster their lineup. We spoke with head coach Tyler Shattock about this year’s new recruits.
New recruits
Wyatt Stefan (2005, F)
Hometown: Laguna Beach, Calif.- Previous team: Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL)
- College commitment: Sacred Heart University
The son of former NHLer Patrik Stefan, Wyatt spent the past two seasons with Danbury of the North American Hockey League. In 2023-24, he led the team in goals (22), assists (22) and points (44).
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s good on the walls and he’s a big kid. We knew we needed some goal scoring. It was something that we thought that we could get better at from last year, so he should help in that respect. He plays the right way, but has that ability to finish pucks in and around the net.”
Aaron Van Wie (2006, F)
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.- Previous team: Holderness School (USHS-Prep)
- College commitment: University of Maine
Van Wie was his school’s leading goal scorer last year with 30 in 29 games, while finishing one back of the team lead with 59 points.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s highly skilled and obviously produced a lot of points at the prep school level. He’ll have to learn how to create on offence a little bit differently in the junior game, but as the transition period goes on, his talent and his skill will push him to the top of our lineup.”
Easton Walos (2008, F)
Hometown: Hartland, Wisc.- Previous team: Mount St. Charles Academy (15U AAA)
Walos put up huge numbers with Mount St. Charles’ under-15 team last season, finishing with 23 goals, 66 assists and 89 points in 58 games.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a very talented kid who can create offence and who shoots the puck a ton. Even though he’s a young kid, I think that he can come in and be productive. It’s kind of a common theme with how we try to recruit. To fill in spots around our veteran players, we wanted to bring guys in that could provide that offensive element to our game and I think that he’ll do that as a young guy.”
Scott Miner (2005, D)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.- Previous team: Chippewa Steel (NAHL)
Miner had the most points among defencemen for Chippewa, notching 30 in 59 games last season.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“We lost some defencemen this year, so we needed to replace them with guys that we knew could come in and contribute right away. Scott makes a good first pass and he defends well. We’ll look for him to play big minutes for us and be stable back there, but also contribute offensively.”
Carson Olsen (2006, D)
Hometown: Warman, Sask.- Previous team: Battlefords North Stars (SJHL)
- College commitment: UMass-Lowell
Olsen produced 10 goals, 20 assists and 30 points for Battlefords in 51 games last season, which led to him being voted as the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“Carson is a great skater who plays with a little bit of an edge. We think that he can come in and create a lot of offence for us from the blueline, but not at the cost of the defensive side of things. His skating will make him adapt to the league very quickly and, even though he’s a 17-year-old, we expect him to make an immediate impact for us.”
Liam Beamish (2007, F)
Hometown: Beamsville, Ont.- Previous team: Fort Erie Meteors (GOJHL)
- College commitment: Penn State University
Beamish led the Meteors with 27 goals in 46 games last year and finished second in team scoring with 56 points, just one back of the lead. He was named the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year. In the postseason, he put up 19 points in 21 games.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He plays his position really well. Liam played on a good team last year and, at 16, was a big part of their success. We expect him to come in and make an impact for us right away, even at a young age.”
Sawyer Prokopetz (2004, D)
Hometown: Wainfleet, Ont.- Previous team: Merritt Centennials (BCHL)
- College commitment: University of Nebraska-Omaha
After starting last season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, Prokopetz joined the Centennials in October. He had 10 points in 42 games for Merritt.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“We got to see what he can do in the first round of the playoff last year. He’s a big kid who makes things difficult on the opposition and brings a little bit of edge to the game, which we thought we needed. He will be part of what we do here leadership-wise as a group. He’s going to be a stable guy that’s going to defend, shut things down and be good on the penalty kill. He’s a four-year junior now, so he’ll be able to establish himself as a premier shut down defenceman in our league.”
Payton Nelson (2005, F)
Hometown: Centennial, Colo.- Previous team: Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
Nelson split time between the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL and Minnesota of the NAHL last year. During his time with the Wilderness, he had seven goals, seven assists and 14 points in 24 contests.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He should have a little bit more of an offensive opportunity with us, so that he can can produce at a level we need. He skates really well and he’s a really good kid. He will be good for the dressing room, but we’re bringing him in to produce some offence for us, something that we needed from last year.”
Ben MacBeath (2008, D)
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.- Previous team: Edge School Prep (CSSHL U18)
MacBeath put up six goals, 23 assists and 29 points in 26 games with Edge School in 2023-24.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a young kid and a very good skater. He’s smooth and makes a good first pass. I think there will be a transition period, but he’ll be able to come into the league and adapt to very quickly.”
Andrew Ballantyne (2004, G)
Hometown: Whitby, Ont.- Previous team: Merritt Centennials (BCHL)
Ballantyne appeared in 29 regular-season games for Merritt in 2023-24, going 12-13-3 with a .902 save percentage and one shutout. In the playoffs, he upped his game and finished with a .912 save rate in six contests.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“We got a first-hand look at what he could do in our playoff series with Merritt. All reports are that he’s a high-character kid that will help the leadership of our team. With [returning goalie Ryan] Grout being 17, we thought it was a good idea to have two guys in net to be competitive, share time and push each other to be better.”
Joose Pesonen (2005, D)
Hometown: Kuopio, Finland- Previous team: KalPa (U20 SM-sarja)
- College commitment: Yale University
Pesonen came up through the KalPa system and has played there since the 2019-20 campaign. In his first full season with under-20 team last year, he had a goal and three assists in 37 games.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a solid defender and very responsible. He’s going to be a steady impact guy for us back there. It will probably take him a while to get used to the to the smaller ice surface, but when we watched him, we noticed he does a lot of things that will adapt to the North American style very quickly with his defending and ability to make things difficult for guys offensively.”
Liam Bursaw (2007, F)
Hometown: Warman, Sask.- Previous team: Warman Wildcats U18 (SMAAAHL)
In his second year with the Wildcats under-18 team last year, Bursaw tied for the club lead with 54 points in 44 games, including a team-best 22 goals.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He learns quickly and plays the game the right way. He’ll do the hard stuff along the wall. He can also skate, so he’s going to bring bring some pace to our game. That’s something that we wanted to establish in the summertime here. We’re looking for for him to come play a solid two-way game and then expand on offence as the year goes on.”
Brenden Espenell (2007 D)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.- Previous team: Sioux Falls Power (16U AAA)
- College commitment: Merrimack College
Espenell was productive with Sioux Falls last year, putting up 44 points in 76 games across all competition.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a big right-shot defenceman who is a very good skater and good on the offensive blueline. Our staff had nothing but good things to say about him after seeing him play live. We’re looking to get a little bit bigger on the back end, but also adding talent too, to make sure that we can compete offensively. He brings a combination of both.”
Isaac Nelson (2007, D)
Hometown: Northville, Mich.- Previous team: Oakland Jr. Grizzlies (16U AAA)
Nelson led the Grizzlies in points from the blueline with 20 in 56 games, while his 12 goals were also most among defencemen.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a big kid. We’re trying to get a little bit bigger on the back end and he takes up a lot of space. Isaac will make things difficult for guys offensively. He’ll bring an edge to our team that we need. We’re looking for him to continue to improve over the year. We have high hopes that he’ll make an impact for us back there.”
Luke Brierley (2007, D)
Hometown: Barrington, Ill.- Previous team: Chicago Mission (16U AAA)
- College commitment: Penn State University
Brierley has spent the past four years in the Chicago Mission system, finishing his time there with the under-16 team last season.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“He’s a skilled defenceman with a good hockey IQ and who sees the game really well. We’re excited to bring him out because we think he can help our transition game and our offensive game from the blueline.”
Acquired via trade
Alex Sandhu (2005, F)
Hometown: Delta, B.C.- Previous team: Powell River Kings (BCHL)
In his second year in the BCHL, Sandhu totaled five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 52 games for Powell River. He was traded to the Coquitlam Express in June before being acquired by Salmon Arm in a second transaction on July 29.
Shattock’s scouting report:
“Alex is a guy we’ve heard had a really good summer. He’s been around the league and looks to have the ability to create offence, which we thought was important for our group heading into the season.
Photo credits: Dan Hickling (Van Wie, Walos, Espenell, Isaac Nelson, Brierley), Liz Wolter (Prokopetz), CSSHL (MacBeath), Christina Jean Photography (Ballantyne), Island Images (Sandhu)
