The Senior A Salmonbellies didn’t go far to find their picks in this year’s junior draft.
Prior to the 2025 Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) Junior draft on Jan. 28, the Senior A Salmonbellies announced they had exercised both of their “territorial protection picks” in the draft, selecting Ben Soenen and Tysen Nielsen from the Junior A Salmonbellies.
“Ben Soenen’s potential is really unlimited given his size, athleticism, and compete level, so we are confident that he will develop into an everyday player for us,” Salmonbellies GM Ray Porcellato said in a news release. “Tysen is an extremely hard worker with a high lacrosse IQ, and we believe that both of those qualities will serve him well at the next level.”
This year marks the third season where the Western Lacrosse Association allows territorial protections as a mechanism to ensure that Junior graduates have an opportunity to stay in their home community. Teams may protect up to two players from their local Junior clubs.
Because the Salmonbellies didn’t have a draft pick in the first round of this year’s WLA Junior draft, as a result of past trades, Porcellato said these two additions are “vital” to the club.
“Both players were standout defenders for the Junior Bellies in 2025,” said a news release from the Senior A Salmonbellies.
Soenen, who was the Junior team’s assistant captain, was named the squad’s John Van Os Defensive Player of the Year. In 17 games with the Junior team, he had five goals, eight assists, and 23 penalty minutes.
The New West resident and longtime Salmonbellie is a third-year defender for Young Harris College in Georgia in NCAA Division 2.
Nielsen was the captain of the 2024 Junior Bellies and is a member of the Arena Lacrosse League’s Shooting Eagles. He played 18 games with the Junior Bellies last year, earning nine goals and two assist, and acquiring 23 minutes in penalties.
In addition to playing for the Junior squad, both players joined the Senior Bellies as call-ups in 2024. Soenen played three games for the Senior A team, earning one assist and four penalty minutes, and Nielsen joined the team for one game.
Draft-day picks
A week after announcing they were protecting Soenen and Nielsen via territorial protection, the Senior A Salmonbellies selected two new players in this year’s WLA entry draft.
The Bellies had no pick in the first round, after trading it to Nanaimo last season for goaltender Justin Geddie. The team’s first pick of the night came in the third round, when the Bellies selected Chase Miller from the Junior Salmonbellies.
Porcellato described Miller, 6’5” and 225 pounds, as being a “beast of a defender.” He was the 19th overall pick in the draft.
According to the Salmonbellies, Miller played his minor lacrosse in Maple Ridge, before being added to the Delta Islanders roster in 2021.
“Miller was a late addition to the Junior Bellies in 2024, and he managed just two games last season in red, blue and white,” said the news release. “But he was a regular with the Islanders in the three previous seasons, where he played 42 games. He notched 13 points and 14 penalty minutes over his Junior A career.”
With their next pick in the fifth and final round, the Bellies picked another player from the Junior Bellies, selecting Carson Eggebraten. He was the 33rd overall pick in the draft.
“Eggebraten was a rare example of an American player joining the Canadian box ranks last summer, but the 6’1” 220 (pound) Illinois defender performed extremely well for the Royal City, earning 11 points in 16 games,” said the news release. “Eggebraten is also a long-stick midfielder at the University of Vermont.”
The Senior A Salmonbellies will return to Queen’s Park Arena for their 137th season starting in May.
The Western Lacrosse Association has not yet released its regular season schedule.
