Finding threats at both ends of the court has been key in roster construction for this year’s version of the Saskatchewan Rattlers, who have added three Canada West stars to their fabric ahead of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League season.
On Thursday, the Rattlers unveiled their three picks from the 2025 CEBL Draft, with the team loading up on western talent by selecting University of Calgary Dinos centre Declan Peterson, returning University of Alberta guard Isaac Simon and hometown University of Saskatchewan Huskies forward Easton Thimm.
“They’re all very excited to come to Saskatoon,” Rattlers general manager and vice-president of basketball operations Barry Rawlyk said. “Easton is here already, Declan is very excited to come. As you know, Isaac has been here in the past, so he’s very eager to return.”
Peterson, who was selected third overall in the draft by Saskatchewan, is coming off his first season with the program after playing two years for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Averaging 7.2 rebounds per game and a 67.5 field goal percentage, Peterson led the Dinos in both categories and added 8.0 points per game to help Calgary capture a Canada West banner and finish with a silver medal at U Sports nationals.
“They were obviously the national finalists this year and Declan was a big part of that,” Rawlyk said. “We’re looking forward to adding a big man to our lineup at that position with Declan.
“He’s a tremendous talent, he’s got a huge upside to him and we just think he’s going to continue to develop as a player.”
In the second round at 18th overall, the Rattlers selected Simon for the third year in a row out of the Alberta Golden Bears program.
Simon was named a Canada West second-team all-star after averaging 19.0 points and 4.2 assists per game with the school, plus will come into the Rattlers locker room with CEBL experience baked in.
Suiting up in 14 games with the Rattlers over the past two seasons, the Regina product is expected to see a big jump in usage in 2025, according to Rawlyk.
“Seeing his development as a player over the last couple of seasons and then what he’s done … he’s taken further steps forward with the University of Alberta this year,” Rawlyk said. “He’s obviously a significant force in the Canada West, so we’re expecting him to come step in and play a larger role.”
Closing out the draft at 23rd overall, Saskatchewan decided to go with the hometown star in Huskies forward Thimm, who led the conference with 70 offensive rebounds and the team with 13.4 points per game.
The Saskatoon product is still quite raw, according to the Rattlers general manager, however.
“Easton is a bit more of a project,” Rawlyk said. “He certainly plays with the energy level that’s necessary to compete in this league. It’s a question of his skill set and how prepared he is to step up and play at this level. But as a developmental experience, I think it’s going be very, very good for him.”
In Peterson and Thimm, the Rattlers are adding two players with some major size, standing six-foot-11 and six-foot-nine, respectively.
While that height in the paint made them key targets for the Rattlers, it’s what they’ll provide both offensively and defensively that will determine playing time this summer.
“We’ve added two players that are bigs and have some size to them,” Rawlyk said. “That was kind of a focal point for us, that we were going to add some players with some size. We’re trying to get bigger position by position, but we won’t necessarily default that and sacrifice talent, hustle, a number of those other things, the character that we need in our players.”
The trio join Anthony Tsegakele, Jaden Bediako, Cody John, Nate Pierre-Louis and Deon Ejim as announced players for the 2025 roster.
The training camp schedule for the Rattlers is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks, leading up to their first game of the 2025 CEBL season on May 15 hosting the Vancouver Bandits.