WHL NOTEBOOK: Salame overcomes adversity to return to ice

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This article was published 16/03/2022 (1534 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The play that led to Neithan Salame’s chaotic overage season in the Western Hockey League started innocently enough.

Salame, who was in a four-way battle for three overage spots with the Brandon Wheat Kings, was handling the puck in the second period during Brandon’s final pre-season game in Winnipeg on Sept. 25.

“I got the puck on the point and tried to make a little move with it,” Salame said. “I got a knee on thigh (hit), his knee collided with my thigh extremely hard. I got out of the game and went back to the (dressing) room and my leg just started to flare up. It was probably the most swollen I’ve ever seen a limb on a human before.

“It was freaky.”

When the team got back to Brandon that night, he was lying in bed at his billet’s house and the pain was so intense he headed to the hospital. Nothing was discovered that night, so Salame thought he might be OK.

Incredibly, Salame skated in two regular season games, on Oct. 8 and 9, after his best friend Chad Nychuk was suspended. Salame gutted out the two appearances but was clearly uncomfortable on the ice.

Unfortunately for the injured defenceman, the Wheat Kings chose to go with goalie Ethan Kruger, Nychuk and Finnish forward Marcus Kallionkieli to fill their overage spots, so on Oct. 14, he was dispatched to the Victoria Royals for a fifth-round pick in 2022 and a sixth-round pick in 2023.

After the trade, he headed home to Edmonton for a week for some treatment, and then went to Victoria. He underwent more testing and the damage was finally discovered.

“It wasn’t feeling right,” Salame said. “I think I knew it was something more than it was being diagnosed.”

When it was established he couldn’t play, the trade was reversed and Salame’s rights reverted to Brandon. After just a few days in Victoria, he headed home.

The injury was eventually determined to be Myositis ossificans. Simply put, it’s a condition where a muscle, usually a quadricep or upper arm muscle, suffers a traumatic injury and calcium is deposited into the bruise. As a result, bone tissue develops, limiting mobility.

“I couldn’t even bend my leg for a little bit,” Salame said. “I was out for six months. It was crazy.”

It was ultimately one of those injuries that simply needed time to heal. He wasn’t able to do much other than rest and ice it a lot.

“It was still swollen months and months after,” Salame said. “There were no workouts I could do for it. You have to let the body do what it needs to do. The bone tissue (in the muscle) dissolved away and I started to get my range of motion back on its own. When I was able to start skating, that also helped loosen it up a bit.”

While all this was happening, Salame stayed in touch with Wheat Kings general manager Doug Gasper. A frequent topic of conversation was Salame’s hockey future.

“He’s great,” Salame said. “I love Doug. He’s been nothing but great to me. We kept chatting and he was asking me what I wanted. He’s been great through the whole thing.”

The six-foot-one, 185-pound Salame, who was a much-loved member of the Brandon dressing room during his three full seasons with the Wheat Kings, kept in contact with his former teammates as well.

“Those will always be some of my best buddies and the best guys I’ve ever met in my whole life,” Salame said. “I’ll keep those relationships for the rest of my life.”

It was a similar sentiment in the dressing room.

“Obviously we all miss him,” Nychuk said of Salame. “He’s my best friend here in Brandon. We kind of grew up together going through everything at the same time. I’ve gotten really close to his family, his dad (Mason) is probably one of the nicest humans you’re ever going to meet.

“Just from that point, we were incredibly lucky to have them in our organization. I miss him.”

When Salame was able to return, Brandon had to make another decision on its overagers and decided to stand pat. Salame was put on waivers, and happily for him, he finally received some good news when Pats head coach, general manager and vice president of hockey operations John Paddock called on Jan. 10 to say Regina had claimed him.

“I’ve been super happy,” Salame said. “I love it here in Regina. It’s been awesome. The guys are great and the coaching staff.”

Along with Paddock, who is originally from Oak River, Salame is working with Brandonite Ken Schneider, who is an assistant coach with the club. He’s enjoying both of them.

“John has been in the game for a long time, and so has Kenny,” Salame said. “They’re very smart people, I’m happy to be a player under their staff. They’re not only great hockey minds, they’re great people and easy people to talk to.”

Ironically, Salame actually spent his last two WHL seasons in Regina after the shortened 2020-21 campaign was played at the Brandt Centre in the East Division hub. Salame said he likes to tease his new Pats teammates that the Wheat Kings won the banner in their rink.

Salame faced his old teammates for the first time on Jan. 28 in a 6-4 Brandon win, but scored his first goal of the season that night and added an assist.

The bigger test came on March 2 when Salame came back to Westoba Place for the first time in what proved to be a wild 7-6 Pats win.

“I was getting goosebumps pulling into the Westoba,” Salame said. “You’re used to that arena but not used to being on the other side of everything. It was definitely different being in the visitors room. I used to watch team buses stroll into the rink on game day. It was different being on that side of it but it was fun playing there.”

He was part of Brandon’s organization since they took him in the seventh round with the 153rd overall pick in the 2016 WHL draft, which proved to be a steal. His defence-first mindset, which was reflected in his numbers, turned into a reliable partner to Braden Schneider.

In 149 career regular season WHL games with Brandon, the Edmonton product posted 32 points and 86 penalty minutes with a plus-minus of 37. With Regina, he has two goals, six assists and 18 penalty minutes in 21 games.

The Wheat Kings paid tribute to Salame on the scoreboard during the game, something the defenceman admitted made him a little emotional.

During warmup and the game, Salame couldn’t help but smile at times, which is entirely in character for him.

“You get drafted by Brandon at 14 or 15 so that’s half a decade of your life with one organization so you get to build a lot of special relationships, with not only the guys but you see Scooter (equipment manager Scott Hlady), Donny (head coach Don MacGillivray), Billy (assistant coach Mark Derlago), all those guys,” Salame said. “It’s different but it’s fun to compete against them.”

Things got a lot more serious late in the third period when Brandon forward Nate Danielson crashed heavily into the end boards and was wheeled off the ice on a spine board. Salame made the extremely rare gesture — for an opponent — of going over and wishing Danielson well.

“That was a very scary collision,” Salame said. “I was on the ice for it and he went in very hard. I love Nate. We’re close buddies and still keep in contact a lot. That’s something you never want to see, no matter what, especially when he’s one of your closest buddies.

“He’s younger than me but we’ve developed a good relationship with each other. Seeing him get carted off kind of sucked the life out of the game, even for us. It’s hard to keep playing after you see a guy like that getting carted off. You just give him your best wishes and pray, pray, pray he’s going to be OK.”

Salame isn’t sure what lies ahead. He’ll have four years of scholarship money he can use to go to university, or there’s the traditional siren song of pro hockey that beckons to young players.

“You’re playing this game and working for that pro deal in the (American Hockey League) as a 20 year old,” Salame said. “I think that’s what everyone is doing, but if not, a good (U Sports) school would be a great option and take advantage of the scholarship money that I’ve played for and earned. I’d be happy doing that but I want to continue playing at the highest level.”

After four seasons in the league — and a three-game debut with Brandon during the 2017-18 season — Salame knows the end is near. He said his chance to play major junior had an impact on him that transcended what came on the ice.

“It’s definitely matured me,” Salame said. “I was like any other kid, and my teammates and coaches helped mature me and make me the man I am now. It’s been a special journey with some special guys and special relationships that I’ll hold forever. They’ve helped me grow not only as a player but as a person, and I can’t be more grateful for my whole career and the people I’ve met.”

Some players would have reacted with bitterness to the trade and the injury in his star-crossed final season, but not Salame, Instead of wallowing in self-pity for what didn’t happen, he’s filled with gratitude for a second chance he wasn’t sure he would receive.

“I learned from the bubble that you don’t take anything for granted,” Salame said. “When the trade was reversed from Victoria, I knew I wasn’t healthy and didn’t know if I was going to be playing again this year. That injury was so scary.

“I’m just so happy to be back playing with a great team like Regina and great teammates. I’m just here enjoying my last WHL season.”