Sam Salter felt like the snow was following him.
As he arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden just a few months after the famous CPL Final, where his former club Atlético Ottawa defeated Cavalry FC on a snow-covered TD Place Pitch, he was greeted with similar conditions.
"They said it was the worst winter in 10 years here," Salter told CPLSoccer.com this week. "So it kind of felt like back home."
Training outdoors in the weather added another layer to his adjustment to a new country, new team and new league as he joined Swedish club GAIS in the Allsvenkan — the country's top division. There he reunited with former Atlético Ottawa teammate Matteo de Brienne, although not immediately, as the full-back spent the first few weeks of preseason with the Canadian men's national team.
The months since have been a whirlwind, but it's fair to say it didn't take Salter, the reigning CPL Player of the Year, long to heat up in his new environment.
In fact, after setting a CPL single-season record with 19 goals in 2025, he scored on his competitive debut for GAIS in a 3-0 Swedish Cup victory over Landskrona back in February.
"People don't know you, so you want to prove yourself, you want to establish yourself," said Salter of the goal. "It was definitely a nice boost."
The 25-year-old from Laval, Que. has since scored three more in league action, adding a pair of assists, in 12 appearances.
Living out the dream of playing top-flight football in Europe, Salter now gets to experience another dream on Thursday: playing continental football. GAIS host Danish club Nordsjælland in the second round of qualifying for the 2026-27 UEFA Conference League.
It is a major moment for the club, which last played in Europe in 1990, and was in the Ettan Södra, the Swedish third division, as recently as 2022.
"They kept a lot of the guys from when they were in the third division," said Salter. "So for them, they don't take it for granted. They know what got them there is hard work, and you know there's culture about the club that you need to work hard every day.
"It's really nice because for them it's been a crazy journey, and I'm just lucky to be a part of it with them."
Salter has already enjoyed some big moments himself in Gothenburg, with a particular highlight being back-to-back city derby matches in late April and early May. GAIS and rivals IFK Gotëborg and Örgryte IS all play their home matches at the same ground, Gamla Ullevi, adding an extra edge anytime they play each other.
"It's big games around the city, big crowds at the stadium, the fans go crazy," said Salter. "My parents came to the game so it was nice."
Playing against IFK Gotëborg was something of a unique reunion for Salter, as it meant facing former CPL striker Tiago Coimbra, who won the league's Best U-21 Canadian Player of the Year award in 2025 while playing for the Halifax Wanderers. In the second match, against Örgryte, Salter scored in a 4-0 victory.
Off the pitch, this year also saw Salter launch a new endeavour with SALT VISIONZ, a premium digital marketing agency created by athletes, for athletes to help build and cultivate their respective personal brands.
"The purpose is to help young players, and players in general, who need help with marketing and want to do stuff off the field," said Salter. "There's a lot of cliches about how players need to just focus on football, but we want to show that you can do stuff off the field and still perform at the highest level."
Some of the players involved are Salter's former Atlético Ottawa teammates, like Gabriel Antinoro. Salter still keeps a close eye on the Canadian Premier League, particularly his former club.
"They have had a young, young squad, so it's nice to see some young players step up," said Salter. "Sergei [Kozlovskiy], Joaquim [Coulanges], a lot of players came through last year, and now they are getting a chance to show that week in and week out. So I'm really happy for them and hopefully they can finish the season strong."
That is the goal for himself and his GAIS side as well. Currently sitting in seventh in the Allsvenskan, they want to push up the table and fight for a spot in Europe once again.
"I think we have the squad to do that," said Salter, "and also go as far as we can in the Conference League. It's going to be a great opportunity to show ourselves."
For Salter, it will be yet another significant step on his incredible recent journey.
