The Vernon Vipers are gearing up for this season but also planning for the future. With the recent announcement of the BCHL going ahead with a shortened season and the announcement of Vernon being named a pod city, the Vipers are ready to be competitive.
Here are some of the new recruits to the snake pit for the upcoming 2020-21 season and the 2021-22 season starting this fall.
Luke Ashton
Ashton has been recruited to the Snakes for the 2021-22 season. The 16-year-old from North Vancouver, BC has been a part of the Burnaby Winter Club organization since 2019.
He’s played for three different BWC teams over the last two seasons before joining the Burnaby Winter Club Prep team of the Canadian Sports School Hockey League this season, where he has no points in four games.
Ashton was also selected by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.
Seth Bafaro from the point puts the @WHLGiants up after 20 minutes in Prince George! #WHLOpeningWeek pic.twitter.com/NEVIFyFGdy
— The WHL (@TheWHL) September 21, 2019
Seth Bafaro
The Vipers have added 20-year-old Seth Bafaro from the Vancouver Giants of the WHL for the 2020-21 season. The Revelstoke, BC native played 90 games with the Giants since midway through the 2018-19 season and had 27 points. He also had eight points in 22 career postseason games with the G-Men.
Before joining Vancouver via trade, Bafaro played for the Saskatoon Blades and had 17 points in 85 games over the course of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Bafaro played for one more WHL team during his junior hockey career, the Tri-City Americans, who picked him in the 2015 Bantam Draft. He played in 31 games for the Ams and put up a single point. Bafaro also played in both of the CSSHL U15 and U18 leagues before making the jump to the WHL.
David Adaszynski
Adaszynski joins Burnaby Winter Club teammate Ashton on the Vipers squad for the 2021-22 season. The 15-year-old from Burnaby has played with his hometown club since 2019, skating for the U15 Varsity, Prep, and Elite teams.
This season, he’s playing on the BWC prep team and had three points in four games. He was also selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.
We're very excited to announce Ethan David's commitment to join the team for the 2021-22 season!https://t.co/IbL4LIxqdh
— VernonVipers (@VernonVipers) February 12, 2021
Ethan David
The goaltender from Vancouver has been recruited to the Snakes for the 2021-22 season. David has played in the Shawnigan Lake School system since 2018, most recently with the U18 Prep team.
He had a 1.45 goals-against-average and a .943 save percentage in 17 games during the 2019-20 season. The 17-year-old also played with the St. George’s School U15 Varsity team in 2017-18. After going a perfect 30-0 in the regular season, David and his team won a U15 title as the top varsity team at that level of the CSSHL.
Jason Siedem
The 18-year-old from Madison, New Jersey is making the journey across the continent to play for the Vernon Vipers in the 2021-22 season. Siedem most recently played with the Avon Old Farms School of the United States High School Prep League.
He played in nine games with the Winged Beavers and had five points. Siedem, who’s recruited to play NCAA hockey with Boston College in 2022-23, has also played in many other leagues around New Jersey.
Seiya Tanaka-Campbell
The reputation of the Tanaka-Campbell name continues in Vernon as Seiya joins older brother JoJo on the Vipers for the 2021-22 season.
Unlike all the other new players mentioned in this article, Tanaka-Campbell has played with the Vipers as an affiliate player before. He got into four games last season and had a goal and an assist.
The Mill Bay, BC native has spent the last four years split between the Shawnigan Lake School U15 and U18 teams. Last season with the U18 squad, he had 59 points in 35 games.
Tanaka-Campbell is committed to playing NCAA hockey with Yale University starting in the 2022-23 season.
