Graduation: Connor Dale
WHL Tri-City Americans

Graduation: Connor Dale

Published on April 7, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Connor Dale's family doesn't have a history in hockey. Unlike a lot of young Canadians whose love for the game is carefully crafted by their parents from the time their children can walk, Dale's introduction to the sport came through his friends at school.

"No one in my family played hockey," he said. "I was in school and some of my friends played and I thought I had to give it a try. I loved it as soon as I stepped on the ice."

He says in the early days he was drawn more to the skating aspect than the actual hockey but quickly became driven to be the best he could be.

Before he was 10-years-old Dale was already putting in extra work to improve his game, shooting pucks in his family's garage and working out to get stronger.

"I put in a lot of hours at a young age," he said. "I took it very seriously; I had a trainer and everything. It quickly became very serious for me."

Born and raised in St. Albert, just outside of Edmonton, Dale says the Edmonton Oil King were a team he looked up to as a young kid.

Not only did he attend their games, but Oil Kings players also joined his minor hockey teams for practice from time to time.

"When you're a young kid you look at those players and just think they're so cool," he said. "They feel like superstars. It makes you want to be in that position and definitely spiked my interest in the WHL."

He says Curtis Lazar was his favorite Oil King.

After playing his first year of U15 at home for the St. Albert Raiders, Dale elected to head to the CSSHL ranks for his WHL Draft year in 2019-20.

He says the decision was largely based on the exposure to the WHL.

"I felt like there was more exposure to the WHL playing in the CSSHL," he said. "I think at that time the academies were still a little bit new, and a lot of guys were going to them and getting drafted. It was a really good experience and a lot of fun."

A bonus was that Dale was still able to live at home while playing at Okanagan Hockey Academy's Edmonton program.

After 22 points (8-14-22) in 29 games during the regular season, Dale was only able to play one playoff game before the CSSHL Championships were cancelled due to the pandemic.

"I actually forgot about that," he laughed when reminded of his four-point performance in the lone playoff game. "That was definitely a good way to go out in my last game. It was really weird, obviously it sucked being told we couldn't play. I remember we drove home, and the roads were so bad."

While he couldn't finish out his playoffs that year, his attention could now turn to the WHL Draft in the coming weeks.

Dale says he had mixed feelings about what would happen when the day came.

"I thought it was a possibility," he said. "I wasn't really sure about it. As it got later in the draft I started to lose faith, but then I saw my name get picked and I was so excited."

Dale was drafted in the ninth round, 190th overall, by the now-defunct Winnipeg ICE, who relocated to Wenatchee for the 2023-24 season.

With minor hockey essentially shut down for the entirety of the 2020-21 season, Dale had to wait until the Fall of 2021 to get back into competitive game action. This time in British Columbia as he went to Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford.

"It was a really good experience, that was my first year living away from home," he said. "I was able to kind of get that under my belt before playing in the WHL. The program there is great, there's so much development and the school was great."

Dale had a fine 2021-22 season with Yale's U18 team, posting 27 points (13-14-27) in 36 games.

Once his season was over, Winnipeg came calling.

"I had some good conversations with (Winnipeg general manager) Jake Heisinger," he said. "He liked me as a player and it was my dream to play in the WHL, so I was happy to sign with them. There was never a thought or yes or no, it was always yes."

As he made his way to Winnipeg for training camp in the Fall of 2022, Dale wasn't sure about his chances of making the team.

The ICE were coming off a 2021-22 season in which they posted a 53-10-3-2 record and were littered with NHL talent.

Unbeknownst to Dale, his spot on the team was already locked up.

"I remember Heisinger telling my family that I was already going to be on the team," he recalled. "They just kind of expected me to be on the team. I was so confused thinking 'wait, I'm already on the team?' I really did have a great camp though. I was playing on a line with Conor Geekie and Connor McClennon, so they made it pretty easy for me to show my skill."

Geekie had just been drafted 11th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft a few months earlier while McClennon finished his WHL career with 284 points (138-146-284) in 243 games.

The 2022-23 Winnipeg ICE roster had four players on the roster who were, or eventually became, first-round NHL picks with Geekie, Matthew Savoie, Carson Lambos and Zach Benson.

Dale said it was the first time he had been around players of that caliber regularly, and there were times he questioned his ability to keep up with them.

"I just remember thinking to myself 'how are these guys so confident?'," he said. "How do they show up every single night and do the same thing? They had so much poise with the puck. There were times where I thought 'Am I supposed to be here?' But I learned quickly from those guys, they all carried themselves like professionals."

September 24, 2022 Dale made his WHL debut on the road against the Brandon Wheat Kings, a memorable night for every player who reaches the major junior ranks.

Unfortunately there were two not-so-memorable moments that really come to mind when he thinks of that game.

"I actually didn't get a rookie lap, I think they forgot," he laughed. "I was definitely nervous going into that game. The only thing I really remember from that game was there was a rebound right in front of the net, and I had a wide-open net, and ripped the puck off the post. I was so embarrassed."

Game two went much better for Dale as he recorded three primary assists in a 6-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders.

In and out of the lineup through the first half of the season, Dale's tenure in Winnipeg didn't last long as he was moved at the trade deadline to the Vancouver Giants.

He says it didn't take much for him to clue in about what was happening.

"They called me and Skyler Bruce in, and he was already in there talking to the GM," he said. "I was sitting in the parking lot thinking 'Am I about to get traded? Are you serious?' They had a lot of nice things to say though, and I was excited to go to Vancouver."

Dale, Bruce, two prospects and three first-round picks (2024, 2025, 2026) were sent to the Giants in exchange for Zack Ostapchuk.

While he enjoyed his time with the Giants, Dale says he was hoping for more playing time there, which didn't materialize. He ended his rookie WHL season with 13 points (6-7-13) in 49 games between the ICE and Giants.

The following year was more of the same, so Dale asked to be traded and was moved to the Calgary Hitmen. In 64 games with the Giants and Hitmen he recorded 16 points (5-11-16).

Hoping for a bigger role as a 19-year-old, Dale was on the move again ahead of the 2024-25 season, though this time unexpectedly.

"That trade caught me by surprise," he said. "It was still kind of the same thing though, not a lot of playing time in Swift Current."

Just before the regular season began Dale was trade to the Swift Current Broncos where he scored 17 points (4-13-17) in 49 games.

Now entering his final season in the WHL, Dale was determined to become the impact player he always thought he could be.

He got off to a strong start with five points in five games with the Broncos, before being put on waivers by the team.

"I was caught by surprise for sure," he said. "I was very frustrated and sad. I think there was only an hour left before the deadline was coming. I had heard Tri-City was looking for a 20, and sure enough Bob called me and picked me up. I figured I had some life left in my career, so it was time to do something with it."

It was announced on October 11 the Americans claimed Dale off waivers from the Broncos.

At long last given consistent playing time in a top 6 role, Dale flourished with the Americans by posting 10 points in his first nine games.

The production was a relief for Dale, who admits he put pressure on himself to perform.

"I was really excited, but also nervous," he said. "I put a lot of pressure on myself. I thought 'this is it; I have to do well.' I always wanted to play for a team in the U.S. Division."

The strong start to his Americans tenure did wonders for Dale's confidence, something he had been missing for a long time.

"I kind of just learned to be consistent," he said. "And it kind of just happened. I was playing with Garland and Virk, and we were really doing well together for a while. It did a ton for my confidence going through the rest of the season."

That confidence carried throughout the lineup for the next few months as the Americans were sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference on January 23.

As Americans fans well know, things went south from there as the team dropped 20 of their final 21 games of the season, ultimately missing the playoffs.

Dale believes injuries were a key contributor to the slide.

"They start taking a toll on everybody and it completely messes up the lines," he said. "You're playing with new guys, which isn't a bad thing, but it changes up the flow and the chemistry. It was really tough."

In the middle of the slide, Dale had a nice moment as he announced his commitment to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey at Merrimack College for the 2026-27 season.

He said there was a clear desire from Merrimack to have him join their program.

KENNEWICK, Washington - March

20: Tri-City Americans

Photo credit: Tyler Adams/Rattlesnake Mountain Photography

"I had a lot of good talks with them," he said. "They said a lot of good things, and they have the right people over there to help develop my game. It wasn't a very hard decision to go with them; they made it pretty straight forward for me and easy to make that decision. I'm really excited to get going with them next year."

March 21 Dale suited up for his final WHL game in Spokane. With the past four years and previous 226 games having flown by, Dale tried his past to enjoy his last time on the ice as a WHL player.

"I was just trying to soak it all in and enjoy the moment," he said. "My parents were in the crowd, just like they were for my first game. I was just enjoying being the guys. It was nice to connect with Virky and Gar for one last goal."

When the buzzer sounded and the season was officially over, Dale says he couldn't help but wonder how the team might have looked had injuries not ravaged the roster.

"It was definitely upsetting after that game, more so thinking about what could have been," he said. "We were so good earlier in the season, what if we didn't have those injuries. Maybe we end up as the fourth seed and play Kamloops in the first round, who knows what we could have done. It was sad it was my last game, but the hardest part was just wondering 'what if?'."

Despite a disappointing end to his WHL career, Dale says playing in front of the Tri-City Americans fans is something he won't soon forget.

"Even during our losing streak, they were so supportive of us," he said. "I remember we lost a game and I saw a few fans afterwards and they just told me to keep my head up, that really stuck with me. Those Tri-City fans are definitely the loudest group of fans and definitely the most involved. I hope they keep doing that next year."

Just as he won't forget them, Americans fans won't forget Dale's breakaway speed on the Toyota Center ice anytime soon.

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from April 7, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central