Sam Salter - 2025 Golden Scarf Nominee

Patience is a virtue that is all too lacking in the wider world, but it’s hard to think of another industry that lacks it quite so openly than professional sports: a manager can win a championship, be feted, and then follow it up with a losing season and be on the job market in the blink of an eye. For those plying their trade on the pitch, nobody is judged quite so matter-of-factly with black and white stats as strikers. 

Despite the onset of the analytics age where we’ll debate all manner of impacts made by defenders and midfielders per 90 that don’t appear on the score sheet, many often still fall into the habit of “Did the striker score? No? Well, poor performance then.” The pressure on those that lead the line is immense as is, but in a league like the CPL that largely focuses on free agents and loans for roster building, adding a transfer fee on top is an extra weight. So, in February 2023 when it was announced that Sam Salter was joining Atleti from HFX for the first-ever intra-league transfer, and that Ottawa had paid a fee, the expectations were high. 

In his first two seasons, those sky-high expectations were not reached, though he showed flashes of the player he is today, finding the net 12 times, but he hadn’t yet fulfilled the promise of the player that moved former CEO Fernando Lopez to pay the fee to lure his services away from the Maritimes. In spite of this, Salter still displayed his worth in a number of ways; his strong hold-up play, an ability to maintain possession and strong distribution allowed him to find a place in the squad, as well as being a solid option off the bench. He even had a brief but successful spell as a winger. Anything to help the team.

With the departure of Ruben Del Campo, who had managed to become just the second striker in club history to reach double digits in the goals column while setting the club record for goals in a season with 12, it was fair to wonder who would replace that contribution up front, or would the club’s talented midfield score by committee as has often been the Atleti formula? Or, if someone did step up, could this be Sam Salter’s time? That was his question to answer, and it’s safe to say he wrote his reply in big bold underlined lettering.

Emboldened by the more free-flowing attacking style of new Manager Diego Mejia, and with fruitful chemistry betwixt him and newcomer David Rodriguez and the rest of the ATO midfield, Salter has put together all of the pieces of the puzzle that he had long possessed. Sometimes in sports, it just hits, and well, he has hit. It became clear early on, in particular having slotted home four times in an early-season May afternoon against Valour, that the limit for Sam Salter in 2025 might not be measured against the achievements of those in red and white, but against all those who have come before who have worn the CPL patch on their sleeves. 

At the time of writing, Sam has scored an absolutely astonishing 19 league goals this season (23 in all competitions), obliterating the single-season goals record of 14 that had been held by his former teammate Joao Morelli. Unlike Morelli however, not a single one of Salter’s goals have come from the penalty spot - he has worked for every single one of them. He has used his tall frame to score in just about every way imaginable, often finding the target at full stretch while making something out of absolutely nothing. Who can forget his goal against Halifax that saw him clinically strike the ball into the back of the net while practically facing in the opposite direction. 

Another aspect of his game that has taken a giant leap and really stands out this year has been his keen ability to sense the flow of the game and place himself in high-danger positions, and this awareness has allowed him to be at the right place at the right time to put the ball in the net. To illustrate this, just have a look back at his goal that started the comeback against Cavalry back in August. It’s late in the match, approaching the final 20 minutes, and Atleti find themselves trailing the Cavs by 2 goals to nil at home. Manny Aparicio holds up the ball from about 35 yards out, he makes a small stutter step and, despite being alone in front of a tight Cavalry back four, Salter immediately recognizes where this ball is going, and, before the multitude of defenders can react, is already at full sprint towards the goal having left them behind. When the ball cannons off the post he is unmarked and ready for the rebound - when the ball instead takes a freak deflection off of the prone goalkeeper, he immediately closes the distance and simply outwills Carducci with a slide to bundle the ball home that would make Ty Cobb proud.  

In the Canadian Premier League this season, he is averaging close to a goal per game, and is in the 89th percentile in possession won in the final third and recoveries. A combination of skills he illustrated so perfectly against Cavalry (once again) by chasing down a long ball that (insert name of Cavs defender) struggled to control, using his strength and speed Salter dispossessed the lone defender, nicked the ball at full sprint before rounding the keeper and firing his side into an early lead that they would never relinquish as his side romped to victory.

 This combination of size, speed, determination, teamwork, offensive awareness, and clinical finishing, as well as the freedom that comes from the support of a coach that isn’t afraid of a player making a mistake if they are given licence to play their game, has made Sam Salter the most feared striker in the league and an indispensable key piece of Ottawa’s dual title charge. It has allowed him to seize history.

There are a lot of very deserving players that have shown more than enough to warrant consideration for the Golden Scarf, but the formula is simple: when Sam Salter gets on the scoresheet, Atlético Ottawa walks off the pitch at full-time with points. Ottleti’s record in league play this season when number 9 has a goal involvement reads as follows; 10 wins, 6 draws, 0 losses for 36 points. When he is held off the scoresheet; four wins, four draws, two losses for 16 points. Sam has scored the goal that clinched three points in six of his club’s 14 wins. He also scored the equalizer in three matches. To put that in perspective, a Sam Salter goal has been the deciding factor in securing 21 of Ottawa’s 52 points so far. 

As the 2025 season comes to a climax, we now know that after three years building to this, we will not get to see Sam in red and white next year. Rather, he will be linking up with hometown hero Matteo de Brienne at GAIS in Sweden, fighting for European football. The end of his time with us is still to be written, but here’s what we know right now. He is in the midst of the most prolific season in the history of our club (and it’s not particularly close), and he stands alone at the summit of the history of the Canadian Premier League, the all-time single-season goalscoring King, the most prolific scorer of all-time in league history, one of our own. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I hope there are still more goals to come for our number 9, and more than one celebration to be had. What better way to send him off to Sweden in January than with a nice warm golden scarf, and a trophy in each hand. Money well spent? Oh yes!