The Salmon Arm Silverbacks organization now has 12 of its players committed to playing the highest level of college hockey in the United States.
Advancing to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 hockey from Junior A hockey is seen as a next step in a player’s career.
For the Silverbacks’ Ethan Ullrick, it’s a “dream come true.”
According to a Jan. 19 Silverbacks media release, Ullrick has committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey with the Air Force Falcons in Colorado.
Ullrick is in his first season with the ‘Backs and has become an important factor in the British Columbia Hockey League team’s penalty kill, which as of Jan. 19 was the league’s second-best.
So far, the Illinois-born Ullrick has five goals and four assists in the 2021-22 season.
“Committing to play Division 1 hockey has been a dream of mine since childhood, so I couldn’t be more excited to have it finally come true,”said Ullrick.
He said his visit to the United States Air Force Academy was an incredible experience, and deciding to play there was a “no-brainer.”
“…The main things I was looking for in my college search were a great education and a coaching staff that believed in me,” said Ullrick. “The education is one of the best in the entire country and the coaching staff there really believes that I will be a big part of their team in the future.”
The Silverbacks head coach, Tyler Shattock, spoke on behalf of the organization and expressed how happy it is for Ullrick.
“Ricky is a high character kid, a great teammate, and has come in and done everything the right way,” said Shattock.
Ullrick said playing in Salmon Arm has helped his development immensely.
“Obviously, a lot of that is due to the coaches we have here, but I owe a bunch of credit to my teammates as well,” said Ullrick. The guys here are always looking to learn from each other, and when you have a team like ours that’s full of great players, it’s very easy to improve.”
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Do you have something else we should report on? Email: zachary.roman@saobserver.net
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