Skyhawks tryout an NHL 2nd round pick

There may have been some disappointment for Zac Dalpe as he slid out of the first round and finally saw his name pop up 45th overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa.

But that’s nothing like being completely overlooked by every OHL team in the OHL draft in 2005. At the time the tiny skilled forward was only 5’5” and was an invite to the North Bay Skyhawks spring tryout camp.

Dalpe was a close friend of current Temiscaming Royals head coach Steve McCharles who connected him with Skyhawks head coach Randy Edmonds. The slick forward from Steve’s former home in Paris, Ontario was having a barbeque at the McCharles household on Aberdeen avenue in North Bay after an on-ice session with the Skyhawks. Dalpe was keeping a close eye on the OHL draft which was taking place that same weekend.

“It devastated him,” said McCharles about Dalpe after he found out the draft ended without his name being called.

“He proceeded to go out for his last session the next day and had 5 points in the next scrimmage session with the Skyhawks.”

Randy Edmonds remembers Dalpe and knows his father well. Edmonds ran that spring camp but left to coach professionally Germany in the fall.

“We brought him up for 2 or 3 days,” Edmonds said.

“He was really small at that time and Guy said he was small and not a great skater at the time, but you could see that he was smart.”

Bringing Dalpe back in August was a tough call for G.M. Guy Blanchard. Traditionally, he has always brought in 16-year-olds from the North such as Chris Pontes, Yves Bastien and Jordan Carroll all close to their Sudbury area homes. He fears younger players from outside the region will get home sick.

“We are only allowed two 16-year olds,” said Blanchard.

“It was better off for him to play at home, he was a tiny kid and back then he wasn’t a top notch player.”

Late Bloomer

But after that season, Dalpe continued to develop and grow physically, as he played half the year in with his Midget ‘AAA’ team and then was called up by the Stratford Jr. ‘B’ club.

The following year he was offered a full ride at Ohio State University after putting up 66 points in 48 games in Stratford. In 2007-2008, Dalpe went west to play Junior ‘A’ in Penticton where he had 27 goals and 36 assists for 63 points in 46 games.

Many scouts claim no other players stock rose faster and higher than Dalpe’s did over this past season.

McCharles is proud to see a family friend drafted in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes.

“Having watched him play Midget ‘AAA’ in Brantford I knew he was small but very skilled and very intelligent on the ice,” said McCharles.

“He had real good vision and sometimes reminded me of Gretzky because of some of the things he did on the ice.”

Tedenby connection

Randy Edmonds was thrilled to see another player drafted early. Matthias Tedenby was taken in the first round by the New Jersey Devils. His father Robert Tedenby was Edmonds roommate when both played hockey with HV 71 in Sweden from 1988 to 1991.