Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The pipeline from the Canmore Eagles to the MacEwan Griffins continues to be free flowing.
Five years ago, it was goaltender Thomas Davis, who just graduated from the program among the top-10 Griffins' goalies in career saves and minutes.
Last season, Vincent Scott blazed into the program from the Eagles, impressing with a record-setting rookie campaign.
Former ACAC championship-winning Griffins' forward Bryan Arneson is currently an assistant coach in Canmore.
And now, defenceman Brody Tallman will join the Griffins men's hockey team in 2024-25.
"He has ties to Vincent Scott and Bryan Arneson in Canmore," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "Vincent definitely helped us in the recruiting process.
"We're very excited to add Brody to our team."
After producing 17 goals and 45 points in 52 regular season games from the blueline in 2023-24 – including 14 power-play goals (tops among all Alberta Junior Hockey League defencemen) – Tallman was a nominee for the AJHL's MVP award, earned a spot on the league second all-star team and was named the Eagles' Team MVP.
The Lethbridge product and member of Kanai Nation was also regularly tasked with shutting down the opposition's best players, including going against new Griffins teammate and previously announced recruit Caden Cabana, whom he met in the first round of the AJHL playoffs.
"Brody, for us, will bring a little bit of sandpaper," said Dailey. "He's hard to play against. He competes and skates well. He put up a ton of points, as well, especially on the powerplay. So, he'll help us in those areas.
"But I think the main area he'll help us with, especially in his first year, is with compete level. And he has leadership qualities being a captain."
Indeed, Tallman was captain of the Eagles in 2023-24, leading them to the league semifinals. As he adjusts to the U SPORTS level, expect him to get more and more minutes with the Griffins as his career progresses.
Brody Tallman also brings leadership experience as the captain of the Canmore Eagles in 2022-23 (Kwitkowski.photography).
"It's a lot to ask of a first year to lead your team in any category, so that's not our expectation," said Dailey. "What we expect is that he competes every day and raises our overall competitiveness, which is something we need to work on as a team. He fits that.
"He works hard, he's out in the community volunteering his time, and the thing that I really liked is he's really passionate about being a Griffin. He really wanted to come to our program. We were his first choice, and he was pumped when the commitment went down.
"That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to create a team and community where people really want to be a part of it. And that's a testament to the players doing a great job and representing our program so well that other people want to join."
Tallman grew up in the Lethbridge elite hockey system and also has 11 games of Western Hockey League experience with the Portland Winterhawks, producing two points. All total, he finished his junior career with 92 points in 147 AJHL games split between Canmore, Drayton Valley and Okotoks.
