Zac Dalpe (born November 1, 1989) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who currently plays for the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Drafted 45th overall by the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Dalpe played in the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Ca ...

and

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curre ...

before turning professional.

Playing career

Minor Hockey

Dalpe grew up playing

minor hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

in his hometown of

Paris, Ontario Paris (2021 population, 14,956) is a community located in the County of Brant, Ontario, Canada. It lies just northwest from the city of Brantford at the spot where the Nith River empties into the Grand River. Paris was voted "the Prettiest Littl ...

for the Paris Wolfpack of the

Ontario Minor Hockey Association The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) is a minor ice hockey governing body in Ontario. The OMHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. History The OMHA was founded on November 30, 1940, after a merger of the Ontari ...

(OMHA)'s Southern Counties League. He later played for the Brantford 99'ers AAA club in Western Ontario's Pavilion League. In 2004-05, Dalpe advanced to the AAA Minor Midget level for the 99'ers. Listed in his

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) draft year at just 5'5" and 115 lbs., Dalpe went unselected in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection and returned to play AAA Major Midget in 2005-06.

Junior and College

After playing Major Midget, Dalpe signed with the Stratford Cullitons Junior B club of the Midwestern Ontario Hockey League for 2006-07. The following year, Dalpe headed to Western Canada and signed with the

's Penticton Vees Junior A club in 2007-08. After that season, Dalpe was drafted in the 2nd round (26th overall) of the 2008 OHL Priority Draft by the Plymouth Whalers. That same year, he was selected by the

(2nd round, 45th overall) in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

. Dalpe did not play for Plymouth or Carolina (Hurricanes/River Rats/Checkers) that year. Instead, he chose to accept an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

scholarship at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

for the 2008-09 campaign. He played for the Buckeyes for two seasons before making the jump to professional hockey.

Professional

Dalpe played in his first NHL game on October 7, 2010, after impressing the Hurricanes during training camp and surviving several rounds of cuts. Dalpe recorded an assist in the game for his first NHL point. He scored his first NHL goal on January 1, 2011 against Johan Hedberg of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. Prior to the start of the 2013–14 season Dalpe, along with

Jeremy Welsh Jeremy Welsh (born April 30, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre currently playing under contract with UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) side Nottingham Panthers. Welsh was most recently with KS Cracovia (ice ho ...

, was traded to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

in exchange for Kellan Tochkin and a fourth round selection in the

2014 NHL Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl, going to the F ...

. On July 13, 2014, Dalpe signed a one-year free agent contract with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. Dalpe was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Sabres, and on the first day of free agency signed a one-year, two way contract with the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

on July 1, 2015. He scored his first goal for the Wild as their only goal on April 9, 2016 against Niklas Backstrom of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. Dalpe made the Wild's opening night roster for the 2016–17 season, appearing in 9 games for 3 points before suffering a knee injury, requiring surgery, against the Dallas Stars on October 30, 2016. Upon his return to health, Dalpe was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

, before suffering a second knee injury. On February 27, 2017, Dalpe was placed on waivers; he was claimed by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. He was immediately reassigned to the AHL to play with the Jackets' affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. On June 9, 2017, the Blue Jackets re-signed Dalpe to a two-year, two-way contract extension. Dalpe started the 2017–18 season on the Blue Jackets' NHL roster before he was later returned to the Monsters after 12 games. During the 2018–19 season, while leading the Cleveland Monsters in goals and points, Dalpe was signed to a two-year, two-way extension to remain with the Blue Jackets on February 27, 2019. After five seasons within the Blue Jackets organization, on July 30, 2021, Dalpe left the club as a free agent and signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Florida Panthers, marking a return to play with affiliate and former AHL club, the Charlotte Checkers.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalpe, Zac 1989 births Albany River Rats players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey centres Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from Ontario Iowa Wild players Living people Minnesota Wild players Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players Penticton Vees players Rochester Americans players Sportspeople from the County of Brant Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans