Prospect Profile: Ben Oliverio
Ben Oliverio never had to look far from home to grow his love of hockey.
Buoyed by his father’s coaching and the Calgary Flames, Oliverio quickly discovered his passion in life at a young age. Although, there are rumors of his first experience at an outdoor rink going sour.
“I have a story where I went to the outdoor rink for the first time ever when I was a kid and I refused to get on the ice,” he laughed. “It sounds crazy because I always thought I loved hockey right from day one, but I guess it took a little bit of time. I couldn’t live without it now.”
He recalls being at the Scotiabank Saddledome with his mom during Game Seven of the Calgary Flames opening-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars on May 15, 2022 when Johnny Gaudreau scored the overtime winner, sending the Flames to round two.
While citing current Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan as his favorite player, he says watching Ben Kindel with the Calgary Hitmen last season was a highlight for him.
Having the WHL in his backyard was always an inspiration for what Oliverio wanted to achieve.
“Everyone always wants to play professional hockey,” he said. “But the WHL is one of the biggest steps to getting there, so that was always the goal for me.”
After two seasons of U15 at the Edge Academy in Calgary, Oliverio and his family decided it would be better for him to switch to the Alberta-based U15 league for the 2024-25 season.
He says it was a decision that couldn’t have gone better.
“It was definitely more of a family decision,” he said. “It was quite a drive playing at Edge Academy every day, so playing for the Northstars just made it a lot easier for my family. Everything was closer to home, and I think it turned out to be one of the best decisions my family has ever made for my hockey career.”
Oliverio’s game went to new heights during that season, piling up 77 points (37-40-77) in just 28 games, good for third in the Alberta U15 League in scoring. Not only that, but he also tied for the league lead with 88 penalty minutes.
He says he tries to impact the game in a multitude of ways each night.
“I feel like I’m a player that’s really annoying to play against,” he stated. “I like to be a guy who’s not afraid of anyone on the ice. Someone who’s a competitor and is willing to go to the dirty areas, but also someone who can produce.”
Produce he did, especially come playoff time as he racked up 31 points (11-20-31) in just 10 post season games, leading the league by a 10-point margin.
Despite the offensive explosion, the Northstars fell short in the provincial final to the Red Deer Rebels.
With his incredible draft year behind him, Oliverio’s attention could now turn to the WHL Prospects Draft. When the day finally arrived, he did everything he could to take his mind off the Draft until it finally started.
“I went to school and you’re trying not to think about it, which was very hard,” he said. “I came home and the draft was a little bit later, so I went outside and shot some pucks to try and calm myself down. My family was there watching with me, so it was a pretty cool experience.”
Considered a top prospect for the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, there was an assumption Oliverio wouldn’t have to wait long once the draft began to hear his name called.
As the old saying goes, you know what happens when you assume.
“I had no clue where I was going to end up,” he admitted. “I was just excited to go anywhere at that point, and it was just a big weight-off-your-shoulders moment when Tri-City called my name.”
The Americans selected Oliverio with the ninth overall pick.
“It was really special because I’ve known a lot of people who have played for that organization,” he continued. “It was amazing to know that a goal of mine, getting drafted into the WHL, was accomplished.”
One of those people is Cruz Pavao, who Oliverio says reached out to him immediately after the draft and has kept in close contact ever since.
Heading to his first WHL training camp last fall, Oliverio says he and his family made their way South early, catching a Seattle Mariners game on their way to the Tri-Cities.
Once camp got underway, Oliverio quickly had to adjust to playing against older, stronger competition.
“I think it was the last week I was there we were doing a battle drill in the corner, and I just got absolutely killed by Carter Savage,” he laughed. “It gives you a sense of who you’re around and a bit of a reality check that you’re on the ice with some big boys. It was a wakeup call for me for sure.”
Before returning to Calgary, Oliverio skated in three pre-season games with the Americans. A self-described gear nerd, he says being able to put on the full Americans equipment was a highlight for him.
“I loved putting on all that stuff, it was so cool to me to be able to wear all of that equipment,” he said. “It was a big step up, going from the U15 playoffs to pre-season WHL games in a matter of months, but I thought I fit in pretty well out there. It was another wakeup call just seeing what it takes to play in that league.”
Although he says his U18 season started off a bit slow, Oliverio showed no signs of struggling against older competition in 2025-26. With the U18 Northstars he scored 47 points (23-24-47) in 36 games, the most among all 2010-born players in the league.
Once again, he also didn’t shy away from confrontation by racking up 114 penalty minutes, second in the league.
“You don’t want to pick fights with the wrong guys at the wrong times,” he said. “But you want to be fearless out there. I feel like that’s the kind of player I am. I’m a bit of an agitator, whatever puts guys off their game puts me on mine.”
The Northstars finished with a 25-10-2-1 record and swept their opening round playoff series in two games to advance to the semifinals.
Round two didn’t start off well as the Northstars dropped games one and two by 6-4 and 6-3 scores, getting put on the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series against the Calgary Flames.
With their margin for error gone, Oliverio says his team was able to refocus and begin a comeback.
“There was a little bit of doubt that starts to creep in after game two,” he admitted. “But the boys went out in game three and left nothing in the tank. When we got that win in game three, it was a belief that ‘we can do this’ and we just kept winning from there.”
The Northstars won game three in overtime 5-4, with Oliverio assisting on the game winner, before 2-1 and 5-2 wins in games four and five to advance to the league final.
It was the same story in the final against the Edmonton Oilers Blue team as Oliverio’s squad found themselves down 2-0 after the first two games.
Once again, they battled back to force a deciding game five, with Oliverio recording five points in the two wins.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t complete the comeback this time, falling 2-1 in the final game.
“It’s unfortunate that game five didn’t go our way, but I was really proud of that group,” he said. “It was obviously tough watching them hoist the trophy, but I think you just have to use that as motivation. Someday it’s going to be my turn is how I look at it. You hang up that second-place medal and use it as motivation.”
Hungry to improve after coming up one game short, Oliverio is already preparing for making the jump to the WHL as a full-time player.
“I’m going to stick to what I’ve done over the last couple summers,” he said. “I’m just trying to get stronger every day; that’s basically the goal. That way if I do play in Tri-City next year I can hang with the bigger guys and not get pushed around.”
Despite being just 16 years old, Oliverio believes he can be an impact player for the Americans in 2026-27.
“I think I’m someone can be relied on at both ends of the ice,” he said. “I think I could produce and be someone who can play special teams, which is a lot for a rookie, but I think my game can go into those areas.”
