Of the four B.C. Hockey League franchises based in the Okanagan, only team that hasn’t won a league championship: the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
As a Salmon Arm local, Silverbacks head coach Tyler Shattock would dearly love to change that.
“I’d love to be the first one to take a team to the (league final), obviously,” Tyler Shattock told Global News.
“We’ve had some older guys here for a couple of years now, so it would be a great experience for those guys going off to college.”
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If contract talks are any indication, Silverbacks brass are confident Shattock has the team headed in the right direction, as they handed him a two-year extension this summer.
“I think our older guys have done a good example of coming back in shape, ready to go and setting a good example for our younger guys,” Shattock said of this season’s squad.
Salmon Arm was .500 in pre-season play, at 3-3, while also learning some valuable lessons in the process.
“We just need to be good in all three zones. It starts in the defensive zone, lock it down there,” said veteran Silverbacks forward Noah Serdachny.
“Then go have fun in the offensive zone; we’re a pretty talented team.”
One of those talents is Simon Tassy, who had one heck of hub season last year with the Silverbacks, scoring 18 goals in 20 games.
The 20-year-old Quebec product is working hard to ensure his offensive production stays on pace this season.
But more importantly, like Shattock and the rest of the Silverbacks, Tassy wants to win a BCHL championship.
“I just want to win the final game; it’s my last season in junior, so it’s really important,” said Tassy.
Salmon Arm will hit the road to start the season on October 9, when they head to Merritt to take on the Centennials, before holding their home opener on October 15, when they host the Vernon Vipers.
