Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – The leading scorer on the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team through the first half of the season isn't a forward.

Nor is he a veteran.

Of all possibilities, it's an unlikely guy – not only is Neithan Salame a defenceman, but he's a rookie, to boot.

Four goals and 11 points in 16 games.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would be off to the start I have been," said the local product. "This league is really challenging with good players and good teams. I didn't really think I'd have the success that I'd be having."

Not only is Salame leading the Griffins in scoring, but he's also done it while trying to conserve his energy and focus on defence as one of just five healthy D-men the Griffins had in the last six games of the first semester due to injuries.

"He was playing an average of 27 minutes in those games, which is pretty outrageous for anybody, let alone a first-year defenceman," said Griffins interim head coach Zack Dailey. "I think what he's going to be able to do now is not have to manage his game as much. When you're playing those big minutes, you can't jump into the play as much. You have to be smart about where you jump and when to conserve your energy. 

"So, I think he'll be able to pick his spots a little bit better with his ice time being down around 20 minutes, where it probably should be."

The break has allowed for healing to MacEwan's rearguards, and they'll be able to ice six defencemen in their first weekend series of the second semester at Calgary on Friday (7 p.m.) and vs. the Dinos on Saturday (5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, both Canada West TV).

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Salame will, of course, still be a crucial piece on the back end for a Griffins team just two points back of the final playoff spot in the Canada West conference.

A strong two-way game with excellent skating and vision has allowed Neithan Salame to thrive for the Griffins in his rookie Canada West season (Joel Kingston photo).

"He is a great player for us," said Dailey. "He has been someone who's taken advantage of the opportunity he's been given. He's earned all the ice time and points he's gotten. 

"We did our homework on him," he added. "That's why we brought him into our program. First and foremost, he's a really great kid and he represents what we're about off the ice – how he treats people and how he goes about his business. On the ice, we knew he was a good skater, and we knew he made good plays, but I don't think we knew how dynamic he was offensively, so that's definitely been a good plus for us."

Selected by Brandon in the seventh round of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft out of the KC Squires, Salame played parts of five seasons with the Wheat Kings before a freak injury suffered on a knee on thigh hit led to Myositis ossificans in his leg and put him on the shelf for six months. 

Eventually, he was caught in an overage numbers game and released by the Wheat Kings in 2021-22, before being picked up off waivers by the Regina Pats.

"I loved my experience there," said Salame of playing 149 games in Brandon. "Unfortunately, I had a bad injury in preseason, and I ended up in Regina when I healed, and they picked me up off waivers. I finished my career there."

The plus side of that? He was a teammate of Connor Bedard last season and became good friends with the phenom who set records and led Canada to a gold medal at the World Juniors.

"He's a good buddy of mine," said Salame of the projected first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. "We chat a lot here. He's doing special things. I kind of expected it. He's such a good player. Just seeing him in practice every day, how hard he works and how hard he prepares, I'm not surprised.

"I text him after each one of these games he's played. He's doing really well and I'm really happy for him."

Neithan Salame, left, celebrates scoring against UBC on Oct. 29, part of a three-point effort that led to a 3-2 overtime win for the Griffins (Bob Frid, UBC Thunderbirds).

When Salame's WHL career wrapped up, he had options, but chose to return home to play at MacEwan as part of a rookie class that includes old friends Daniel Baker and Carter Chorney, who were also selected in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

"I've been away from home since I was 16 or 17 years old and it's been nice to be at home, live in my own house and be with my family and friends all the time," said Salame.

REAGAN RETURNS

Salame and the rest of the Griffins will not only get a boost in their playoff quest from getting some healthy bodies back, but they're also gaining a new/old teammate. Longtime Griffins defenceman/forward Cameron Reagan has returned after being in the fold with the ECHL's Worcester Railers earlier this season. He's eligible to play starting this Saturday.

"I think he's going to be a utility knife for us," said Dailey. "I think we'll start him out on defence, but with (Ryley) Appelt out at centre – I'm not sure how long he's going to be out for – Cam has played centre before and has done a really great job up front. So, he might get some reps at centre as well. 

"We're just happy to have him in our program again. He's someone who's been here for a while, understands what we're all about, he's won with us. So, he's just a veteran presence guys can look up to and lean on for help and experience. We expect him to make an impact for our group."