[{"id":39877,"date":"2026-04-17T12:56:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39877"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:56:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:56:33","slug":"americans-acquire-draft-picks-from-seattle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/americans-acquire-draft-picks-from-seattle","title":{"rendered":"Americans acquire draft picks from Seattle"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has acquired two 2029 draft picks, a seventh (Vancouver) and a conditional third, from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 2008-born defenseman Jonas Kemps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith five defensemen returning from last season, and a pair of prospects looking to make our team, we felt it made sense to allow Seattle the opportunity to recruit Kemps to the Western Hockey League,\u201d said Tory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kemps, from Sebastopol, California, was on the Americans 50-man protected list and spent the 2025-26 season playing for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 57 games Kemps recorded nine points (2-7-9). He has an NCAA commitment to Michigan State University.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has acquired two 2029 draft picks, a seventh (Vancouver) and a conditional third, from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 2008-born defenseman Jonas Kemps. \u201cWith five defensemen returning from last season, and a pair of prospects looking to make our team, we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/16152840\/Artboard-1TRADE-1.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39883,"date":"2026-04-16T12:29:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39883"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:29:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:29:41","slug":"vanecek-pavao-and-wendt-listed-in-nhl-central-scoutings-final-rankings-for-2026-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/vanecek-pavao-and-wendt-listed-in-nhl-central-scoutings-final-rankings-for-2026-nhl-draft","title":{"rendered":"Vanecek, Pavao and Wendt listed in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings for 2026 NHL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>NHL Central Scouting released their final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft on Thursday with three Tri-City Americans making the list. Defenseman Jakub Vanecek ranked 31st<\/sup> among North American skaters, forward Cruz Pavao was 165th<\/sup> among North American skaters while goaltender Xavier Wendt was 29th<\/sup> among North American goalies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanecek, from Humpolec, Czechia, joined the Americans after being drafted 25th<\/sup> overall in the 2025 CHL Import Draft. Tri-City selected Vanecek after a 2024-25 season in which he split time between Bili Tygri Liberec\u2019s U17 and U20 teams in Czechia. In 21 games with the U17 team he scored 12 points (1-11-12) and added four assists in 31 games with the U20 team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to the 2025-26 WHL season Vanecek represented Czechia at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, posting two assists in four games.<\/span><\/p>\n

The six-foot-one defender had an outstanding rookie campaign with the Americans with 35 points (14-21-35) in 59 games. His 14 goals led all rookie defenseman in the Western Hockey League during the 2025-26 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

While he didn\u2019t get into game action, Vanecek joined Team Czechia at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota, returning to Tri-City with a silver medal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pavao, from Calgary, Alberta, wrapped up his second season with the Americans by more than doubling his goal total from his rookie campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 64 games Pavao posted 43 points (21-22-43), up from 25 points (10-15-25) in 2024-25. Through 135 career WHL games Pavao has recorded 73 points (36-37-73) after being drafted 13th<\/sup> overall in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wendt, from Plymouth, Minnesota, had a strong rookie season in the WHL with an 18-20-2-1 record, .905 save percentage and 3.25 goals against average. He also recorded one shutout and one goal, becoming just the 11th<\/sup> goalie in WHL history to record a goal when he found the empty net on December 5 against the Swift Current Broncos.<\/span><\/p>\n

His .905 save percentage ranked him ninth among goalies in the WHL.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Americans have had 69 players drafted into the NHL since the franchise relocated to Kennewick in 1988, most recently being Jackson Smith who was taken 14th<\/sup> overall by Columbus in 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 2026 NHL Draft is slated for June 26 and 27 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0NHL Central Scouting released their final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft on Thursday with three Tri-City Americans making the list. Defenseman Jakub Vanecek ranked 31st among North American skaters, forward Cruz Pavao was 165th among North American skaters while goaltender Xavier Wendt was 29th among North American goalies. Vanecek, from Humpolec,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/16122930\/WEBSITE-more-than-2-players.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39879,"date":"2026-04-15T18:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39879"},"modified":"2026-04-15T18:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:37:06","slug":"prospect-profile-seth-garofalo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/prospect-profile-seth-garofalo","title":{"rendered":"Prospect Profile: Seth Garofalo"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Some of Seth Garofalo\u2019s fondest memories of hockey come from his early days in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think playing all those tournaments when you\u2019re in Novice and Atom,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re hanging out with your friends all the time and just playing hockey, which is so fun. You get to make friends for life during times like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safe to say Garofalo never needed much encouragement to play the game. Having two older brothers, Nate and Reid, who also played hockey, pushed Garofalo even further into wanting to be a player himself.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Calgary, Garofalo had the WHL right in his backyard while growing up, and says watching the Hitmen was a regular occurrence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would always go to Hitmen games as part of a team bonding thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a kid you think those guys are professionals. You look up to them when you\u2019re a young kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Garofalo advanced in his own hockey career, he arrived at the 2023-24 season which was the year he was eligible for the WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

Now on the precipice of reaching the league he had watched so much, Garofalo says he enjoyed every moment of that season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a fun year for sure, knowing the draft was coming up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was really cool to be able to talk to all these teams and experience what it was like to be drafted.\u201d<\/p>\n

With scouts paying attention to every game, he says that only added motivation to want to perform his best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a reminder that I needed to focus before games,\u201d he said. \u201cKnowing they\u2019re watching I can\u2019t have any off shifts. I used it as motivation and never really felt many nerves with them watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Playing for the U15 Calgary Buffaloes, Garofalo had a strong season with 39 points (19-20-39) in 34 games, leading his team in scoring by 10 points. He added a goal and three assists in two playoff games.<\/p>\n

When it came to draft day, Garofalo said he had a lot of friends who were being drafted so he tuned in to the first round on the WHL\u2019s live stream.<\/p>\n

As the rounds went on, he says he tried to distract himself from the draft, not knowing whether he was going to get picked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no clue, so I tried not to think about it too much,\u201d he said. \u201cI kind of went on with my day and later a friend of mine texted me saying congratulations on being drafted by Tri-City. I thought it was cool to be able to go to the United States. It\u2019s different weather, different experience, and the jerseys are super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Americans drafted Garofalo in the seventh round, 135th<\/sup> overall.<\/p>\n

Even a few months of training and preparation couldn\u2019t fully get Garofalo ready for the feeling of stepping onto the ice with established WHL veterans during his first training camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it was crazy because these guys are so massive,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAll of them are so good, they\u2019re all there for a reason. There was a bit of nervousness going into that first day, but everyone made me feel so welcome. It was fun to get to know people from all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

After soaking in his first WHL training camp Garofalo returned to Calgary and made the jump to the U18 level with the Calgary Buffaloes.<\/p>\n

Much like his camp experience, he says the jump to U18 was also quite steep.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big jump. Teams are faster, teams are bigger and there\u2019s a lot more hitting,\u201d he said. \u201cThe competition is great though, every team is close and tight, which helps create some rivalries.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 22 games Garofalo scored five goals and added seven assists.<\/p>\n

The Buffaloes had an excellent playoff run that season, getting all the way to the South Division Final. In nine post season games Garofalo scored once and picked up four assists.<\/p>\n

Looking back, he says it was eye opening to see how far his team\u2019s game had come from those playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember we got off to a slow start that year, and back in October we were watching one of our playoff games from last year,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was crazy to see the difference in our play. We were making passes in those playoff games that we never would have thought to do at the start of the season. It was great to see how far we had come.\u201d<\/p>\n

That experience not only helped Garofalo feel more comfortable during his second WHL training camp last Fall, but also up his production significantly during his second season with the Buffaloes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of veterans player on the team this year, including me, so you kind of feel like a leader on the team,\u201d he said. \u201cWe went so far the year before so everyone knew what it took to win. I definitely had a lot more confidence coming into this season compared to last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garofalo recorded 21 points (13-8-21) in 30 games this year, battling through a fractured tailbone that cost him the final few weeks of the regular season.<\/p>\n

That injury also caused him to miss the Buffaloes first playoff game, but when he was cleared to return to game action, Garofalo says he couldn\u2019t contain his excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayoff hockey is so much fun to play in,\u201d he said. \u201cI was so excited to get back playing and I think that\u2019s what helped me have a good performance in the playoffs. Even though we didn\u2019t go as far this year, those two overtime games against the Calgary Northstars were so close. They were our biggest rival over the course of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garofalo\u2019s Buffaloes bowed out of the playoffs with a Division Semifinal loss to fellow Americans prospect Ben Oliverio. Despite only dressing for three games, Garofalo made a major impact with three goals and three assists.<\/p>\n

With his U18 season over, Garofalo was then told he would be heading South and joining the Americans for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

He says he was able to immediately share the news with family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really exciting getting that text from Bob Tory,\u201d he said. \u201cI was with my grandparents and my parents, so I told them and they were all so happy. It\u2019s really cool to hear that they want you to come down and join them.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Americans hosting their training camps next door at the Toyota Arena, Garofalo had never actually set foot on the ice at the Toyota Center.<\/p>\n

Being able to get onto that ice surface for the first time and join the team for practice was a huge thrill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe practices were really fun and high energy, even though the season wasn\u2019t going as planned,\u201d he said. \u201cThe atmosphere in Tri-City was awesome and every practice they knew what they were doing and how to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"After practicing with the team for a few days, Garofalo found out he was going to make his WHL debut March 14 against the Spokane Chiefs.<\/p>\n

Standing in the tunnel ahead of his solo lap, he admits there were a lot of nerves running through his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I got out there and started warming up with everyone it was really fun,\u201d he said. \u201cThe crowd that night was crazy so that\u2019s something I\u2019ll never forget. I was playing on right wing which wasn\u2019t a position I had played all season. You can tell there\u2019s a big rivalry between Spokane and Tri-City, so getting into that atmosphere was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The highlight from his debut was an open-ice hit against Spokane forward Asanali Sarkenov in the neutral zone.<\/p>\n

Garofalo says he say the play developing and knew what he had to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to hit him, honestly, but it was like hitting a brick wall,\u201d he laughed. \u201cHe was massive I remember the puck was on the wall and he was looking back, so I knew I had to take the body. It kind of hurt, but it was worth it. That\u2019s the kind of energy I\u2019d like to bring next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the season came to an end Garofalo was told he would be getting signed by the Americans.<\/p>\n

His long journey from a seventh-round pick to being signed by the team had finally come to an end, but he knows that\u2019s only the next step in the process of becoming a WHL regular. Getting into a pair of games this year gives him a huge leg up heading into training camp next season he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was the best thing for me,\u201d Garofalo said. \u201cIt let me know what the competition was like and what I need to work toward. Now I know how hard I need to work and that\u2019s the level that\u2019s expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being signed, Garofalo knows he still has to show up to training camp in August with a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to show them that I know what my role is, and that I can do that role really well,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they need my role, so I can show them that I can do that and show them that I can be part of this team.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Some of Seth Garofalo\u2019s fondest memories of hockey come from his early days in the sport. \u201cI think playing all those tournaments when you\u2019re in Novice and Atom,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re hanging out with your friends all the time and just playing hockey, which is so fun. You get to make friends for life…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":624,"name":"seth garofalo","slug":"seth-garofalo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":624,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"}],"class_list":["post-39879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-seth-garofalo","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/15183446\/0Z88284.jpg",2000,1333,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39860,"date":"2026-04-07T19:07:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T23:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39860"},"modified":"2026-04-07T19:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T23:07:44","slug":"graduation-connor-dale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/graduation-connor-dale","title":{"rendered":"Graduation: Connor Dale"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Connor Dale\u2019s family doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s introduction to the sport came through his friends at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one in my family played hockey,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Before he was 10-years-old Dale was already putting in extra work to improve his game, shooting pucks in his family\u2019s garage and working out to get stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put in a lot of hours at a young age,\u201d he said. \u201cI took it very seriously; I had a trainer and everything. It quickly became very serious for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a young kid you look at those players and just think they\u2019re so cool,\u201d he said. \u201cThey feel like superstars. It makes you want to be in that position and definitely spiked my interest in the WHL.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says Curtis Lazar was his favorite Oil King.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He says the decision was largely based on the exposure to the WHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like there was more exposure to the WHL playing in the CSSHL,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bonus was that Dale was still able to live at home while playing at Okanagan Hockey Academy\u2019s Edmonton program.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually forgot about that,\u201d he laughed when reminded of his four-point performance in the lone playoff game. \u201cThat was definitely a good way to go out in my last game. It was really weird, obviously it sucked being told we couldn\u2019t play. I remember we drove home, and the roads were so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he couldn\u2019t finish out his playoffs that year, his attention could now turn to the WHL Draft in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Dale says he had mixed feelings about what would happen when the day came.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a possibility,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dale was drafted in the ninth round, 190th<\/sup> overall, by the now-defunct Winnipeg ICE, who relocated to Wenatchee for the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"“It was a really good experience, that was my first year living away from home,\u201d he said. \u201cI was able to kind of get that under my belt before playing in the WHL. The program there is great, there\u2019s so much development and the school was great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dale had a fine 2021-22 season with Yale\u2019s U18 team, posting 27 points (13-14-27) in 36 games.<\/p>\n

Once his season was over, Winnipeg came calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some good conversations with (Winnipeg general manager) Jake Heisinger,\u201d he said. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he made his way to Winnipeg for training camp in the Fall of 2022, Dale wasn\u2019t sure about his chances of making the team.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to Dale, his spot on the team was already locked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Heisinger telling my family that I was already going to be on the team,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThey just kind of expected me to be on the team. I was so confused thinking \u2018wait, I\u2019m already on the team?\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geekie had just been drafted 11th<\/sup> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI just remember thinking to myself \u2018how are these guys so confident?\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cHow 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 \u2018Am I supposed to be here?\u2019 But I learned quickly from those guys, they all carried themselves like professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately there were two not-so-memorable moments that really come to mind when he thinks of that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually didn\u2019t get a rookie lap, I think they forgot,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

In and out of the lineup through the first half of the season, Dale\u2019s tenure in Winnipeg didn\u2019t last long as he was moved at the trade deadline to the Vancouver Giants.<\/p>\n

He says it didn\u2019t take much for him to clue in about what was happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey called me and Skyler Bruce in, and he was already in there talking to the GM,\u201d he said. \u201cI was sitting in the parking lot thinking \u2018Am I about to get traded? Are you serious?\u2019 They had a lot of nice things to say though, and I was excited to go to Vancouver.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

While he enjoyed his time with the Giants, Dale says he was hoping for more playing time there, which didn\u2019t materialize. He ended his rookie WHL season with 13 points (6-7-13) in 49 games between the ICE and Giants.<\/p>\n

\"\"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).<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat trade caught me by surprise,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was still kind of the same thing though, not a lot of playing time in Swift Current.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Now entering his final season in the WHL, Dale was determined to become the impact player he always thought he could be.<\/p>\n

He got off to a strong start with five points in five games with the Broncos, before being put on waivers by the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was caught by surprise for sure,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"It was announced on October 11 the Americans claimed Dale off waivers from the Broncos.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The production was a relief for Dale, who admits he put pressure on himself to perform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really excited, but also nervous,\u201d he said. \u201cI put a lot of pressure on myself. I thought \u2018this is it; I have to do well.\u2019 I always wanted to play for a team in the U.S. Division.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strong start to his Americans tenure did wonders for Dale\u2019s confidence, something he had been missing for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of just learned to be consistent,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Dale believes injuries were a key contributor to the slide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey start taking a toll on everybody and it completely messes up the lines,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re playing with new guys, which isn\u2019t a bad thing, but it changes up the flow and the chemistry. It was really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He said there was a clear desire from Merrimack to have him join their program.<\/p>\n

\"\"

KENNEWICK, Washington – March
20: Tri-City Americans
Photo credit: Tyler Adams\/Rattlesnake Mountain Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI had a lot of good talks with them,\u201d he said. \u201cThey said a lot of good things, and they have the right people over there to help develop my game. It wasn\u2019t a very hard decision to go with them; they made it pretty straight forward for me and easy to make that decision. I\u2019m really excited to get going with them next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to soak it all in and enjoy the moment,\u201d he said. \u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the buzzer sounded and the season was officially over, Dale says he couldn\u2019t help but wonder how the team might have looked had injuries not ravaged the roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely upsetting after that game, more so thinking about what could have been,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were so good earlier in the season, what if we didn\u2019t 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 \u2018what if?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a disappointing end to his WHL career, Dale says playing in front of the Tri-City Americans fans is something he won\u2019t soon forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven during our losing streak, they were so supportive of us,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as he won\u2019t forget them, Americans fans won\u2019t forget Dale\u2019s breakaway speed on the Toyota Center ice anytime soon.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Connor Dale\u2019s family doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s introduction to the sport came through his friends at school. \u201cNo one in my family played hockey,\u201d he said. \u201cI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":623,"name":"connor dale","slug":"connor-dale","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":623,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"}],"class_list":["post-39860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-connor-dale","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/07190629\/D75_9560-scaled.jpg",2560,1709,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39856,"date":"2026-04-06T19:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39856"},"modified":"2026-04-07T07:52:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:52:24","slug":"prospect-profile-ben-oliverio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/prospect-profile-ben-oliverio","title":{"rendered":"Prospect Profile: Ben Oliverio"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Ben Oliverio never had to look far from home to grow his love of hockey.<\/p>\n

Buoyed by his father\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he laughed. \u201cIt 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\u2019t live without it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Having the WHL in his backyard was always an inspiration for what Oliverio wanted to achieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone always wants to play professional hockey,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the WHL is one of the biggest steps to getting there, so that was always the goal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He says it was a decision that couldn\u2019t have gone better.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely more of a family decision,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliverio\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

He says he tries to impact the game in a multitude of ways each night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m a player that\u2019s really annoying to play against,\u201d he stated. \u201cI like to be a guy who\u2019s not afraid of anyone on the ice. Someone who\u2019s a competitor and is willing to go to the dirty areas, but also someone who can produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Despite the offensive explosion, the Northstars fell short in the provincial final to the Red Deer Rebels.<\/p>\n

With his incredible draft year behind him, Oliverio\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI went to school and you\u2019re trying not to think about it, which was very hard,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considered a top prospect for the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, there was an assumption Oliverio wouldn\u2019t have to wait long once the draft began to hear his name called.<\/p>\n

As the old saying goes, you know what happens when you assume.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no clue where I was going to end up,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI 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.”<\/p>\n

The Americans selected Oliverio with the ninth overall pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really special because I\u2019ve known a lot of people who have played for that organization,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt was amazing to know that a goal of mine, getting drafted into the WHL, was accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Once camp got underway, Oliverio quickly had to adjust to playing against older, stronger competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he laughed. \u201cIt gives you a sense of who you\u2019re around and a bit of a reality check that you\u2019re on the ice with some big boys. It was a wakeup call for me for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI loved putting on all that stuff, it was so cool to me to be able to wear all of that equipment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Once again, he also didn\u2019t shy away from confrontation by racking up 114 penalty minutes, second in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to pick fights with the wrong guys at the wrong times,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you want to be fearless out there. I feel like that\u2019s the kind of player I am. I\u2019m a bit of an agitator, whatever puts guys off their game puts me on mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Round two didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

With their margin for error gone, Oliverio says his team was able to refocus and begin a comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a little bit of doubt that starts to creep in after game two,\u201d he admitted. \u201cBut 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 \u2018we can do this\u2019 and we just kept winning from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It was the same story in the final against the Edmonton Oilers Blue team as Oliverio\u2019s squad found themselves down 2-0 after the first two games.<\/p>\n

Once again, they battled back to force a deciding game five, with Oliverio recording five points in the two wins.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t complete the comeback this time, falling 2-1 in the final game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that game five didn\u2019t go our way, but I was really proud of that group,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was obviously tough watching them hoist the trophy, but I think you just have to use that as motivation. Someday it\u2019s going to be my turn is how I look at it. You hang up that second-place medal and use it as motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to stick to what I\u2019ve done over the last couple summers,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to get stronger every day; that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being just 16 years old, Oliverio believes he can be an impact player for the Americans in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m someone can be relied on at both ends of the ice,\u201d 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.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Ben Oliverio never had to look far from home to grow his love of hockey. Buoyed by his father\u2019s 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. \u201cI have a story where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":619,"name":"ben oliverio","slug":"ben-oliverio","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":619,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"6"}],"class_list":["post-39856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-ben-oliverio","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/06193809\/540463455_1409845743938134_2702965850826643297_n.jpg",2000,1333,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39831,"date":"2026-04-02T14:00:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39831"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:00:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:00:36","slug":"americans-sign-goaltender-karter-gibson-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/americans-sign-goaltender-karter-gibson-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Americans sign goaltender Karter Gibson to Scholarship and Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA. \u2013<\/strong> Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2010-born goaltender Karter Gibson to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. He was drafted by the Americans with the 65th<\/sup> overall pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re excited to welcome Karter and his family to our organization as he begins preparing for his WHL career,” said Americans general manager Bob Tory.<\/p>\n

Gibson, from Airdrie, Alberta, was drafted by the Americans after a sensational 2024-25 season in which he posted a 17-1 record with a 1.30 goals against average, .936 save percentage and six shutouts with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 team.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4 goaltender joined NAX\u2019s U18 team this past season, going 8-5 with an .883 save percentage and 3.25 goals against average. He helped NAX U18 reach the championship game of the U18 division at the CSSHL Championships, ultimately falling 6-3 to Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna.<\/p>\n

While he didn\u2019t get into game action Gibson joined the Americans for the final week of the regular season, serving as Xavier Wendt\u2019s back up for the last two games of the season.<\/p>\n

Gibson is the second member of the Americans 2025 draft class to sign with the team, joining first-round pick Ben Oliverio.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA. \u2013 Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2010-born goaltender Karter Gibson to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. He was drafted by the Americans with the 65th overall pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. \u201cWe’re excited to welcome Karter and his family to our organization as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-39831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/23153427\/Artboard-1Gibson.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39846,"date":"2026-04-01T16:58:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39846"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:58:37","slug":"gavin-garland-commits-to-ferris-state-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/gavin-garland-commits-to-ferris-state-university","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Garland commits to Ferris State University"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The Tri-City Americans are proud to announce that 2006-born forward Gavin Garland has committed to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey at Ferris State University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Garland, from Calgary, Alberta, played the past two seasons with the Americans after originally being drafted by the team in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 122 games with the Americans Garland posted 89 points (37-52-89). He, along with Dylan LeBret, were the only two players to dress for all 68 games during the 2025-26 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to joining the Americans, Garland won an Alberta Junior Hockey League championship with the Calgary Canucks in the 2023-24 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

He becomes the fourth Americans player to secure an NCAA commitment this season, joining Jake Gudelj (Princeton), Cash Koch (New Hampshire) and Connor Dale (Merrimack).<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA \u2013\u00a0The Tri-City Americans are proud to announce that 2006-born forward Gavin Garland has committed to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey at Ferris State University. Garland, from Calgary, Alberta, played the past two seasons with the Americans after originally being drafted by the team in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. In 122 games…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/04\/01165819\/horozontalNCAA.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39837,"date":"2026-03-31T14:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39837"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:57:36","slug":"americans-sign-forward-seth-garofalo-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/americans-sign-forward-seth-garofalo-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Americans sign forward Seth Garofalo to Scholarship and Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA –\u00a0<\/strong>Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2009-born forward Seth Garofalo to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. He was drafted by the Americans in the seventh round, 135th overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n

“Seth had an excellent season and joined the Americans at the end of our season,” said Americans general manager Bob Tory. “He earned this through hard work and dedication. We welcome Seth and his family to our organization.”<\/p>\n

Garofalo, from Calgary, Alberta, has spent the past two seasons with the Calgary Buffaloes of the Alberta Elite U18 Hockey League. In 2024-25 he played in 22 games recording 12 points (5-7-12), before adding five points (1-4-5) in nine playoff games.<\/p>\n

This past season Garofalo was able to get into 30 games with the Buffaloes, nearly tripling his goal total while posting 21 points (13-8-21). Limited to just three playoff games, Garofalo saved his best for the post season by scoring three goals and adding three assists in those three games.<\/p>\n

Once his U18 season was over, Garofalo joined the Americans and made his WHL debut March 14 against the Spokane Chiefs.<\/p>\n

He becomes the seventh member of the Americans 2024 draft class to sign with the team, joining Aden Bouchard, Crew Martinson, Lukasz McIsaac, Trae Peterson, Carter Bylycia and Alexander Laing.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA –\u00a0Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2009-born forward Seth Garofalo to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. He was drafted by the Americans in the seventh round, 135th overall, in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. “Seth had an excellent season and joined the Americans at the end…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/24130225\/Artboard-1Garofalo.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39833,"date":"2026-03-27T12:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39833"},"modified":"2026-03-27T12:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:29:36","slug":"americans-sign-forward-ryan-sadovia-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/americans-sign-forward-ryan-sadovia-to-scholarship-and-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Americans sign forward Ryan Sadovia to Scholarship and Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA. \u2013<\/strong> Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2009-born forward Ryan Sadovia to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Sadovia was dropped from Edmonton’s protected list and added by the Americans on January 2.<\/p>\n

“Ryan had a great season with RHA Kelowna’s U18 team this season and then joined the Americans for our final two games,” said Tory. “We welcome Ryan and his family to our team.”<\/p>\n

Sadovia, from Kelowna, British Columbia, spent the 2025-26 season playing at home with Kelowna’s Rink Hockey Academy U18 program. Playing in 29 games Sadovia recorded 33 points (14-19-33) during the regular season before adding seven points (3-4-7) in six playoff games, helping RHA Kelowna win the CSSHL U18 Championship.<\/p>\n

He also had a strong showing at the Circle K Classic, posting 10 points (3-7-10) in six games.<\/p>\n

Sadovia joined the Americans for the final week of the regular season, making his WHL debut March 20 against the Portland Winterhawks and making an excellent first impression, generating multiple high-quality scoring chances throughout the game.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA. \u2013 Tri-City Americans general manager Bob Tory today announced the team has signed 2009-born forward Ryan Sadovia to a Scholarship and Development Agreement. Originally drafted by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Sadovia was dropped from Edmonton’s protected list and added by the Americans on January 2. “Ryan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/23190507\/Artboard-1Sadovia.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":39830,"date":"2026-03-26T21:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/?p=39830"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T01:50:08","slug":"americans-to-select-sixth-overall-in-2026-whl-prospects-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/article\/americans-to-select-sixth-overall-in-2026-whl-prospects-draft","title":{"rendered":"Americans to select sixth overall in 2026 WHL Prospects Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA –\u00a0<\/strong>The Western Hockey League unveiled the results of the 2026 WHL Draft Lottery Thursday evening, and the Tri-City Americans will select sixth overall in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. The Draft is set for May 6 and 7, with the first round taking place on May 6 and the rest the following day.<\/p>\n

The Wenatchee Wild won the lottery, with their pick being held by the Vancouver Giants. As such, the top seven of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft is as follows:<\/p>\n

1 – Kelowna Rockets (Via Lethbridge)
\n2 – Vancouver Giants (Via Wenatchee)
\n3 – Wenatchee Wild (Via Swift Current)
\n4 – Vancouver Giants
\n5 – Victoria Royals (Via Moose Jaw)
\n6 – Tri-City Americans
\n7 – Victoria Royals<\/p>\n

Players born in the United States will be eligible for the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. Previously, U.S. born players have been selected by WHL Clubs primarily through the WHL U.S. Priority Draft. The WHL will only host the WHL Prospects Draft in 2026.<\/p>\n

The Americans also hold Edmonton’s 2026 first-round pick, acquired last offseason in the trade that saw Max Curran moved to the Oil Kings, which will be 19th overall.<\/p>\n

The last time the Americans selected sixth overall was 10 years ago when they drafted Sasha Mutala, who went on to play five full seasons with the Americans from 2017-2022, skating in 266 games and recording 196 points (84-112-196). He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft and recently wrapped up a four-year stint at the University of British Columbia.<\/p>\n

It has been 25 years since the Americans had multiple first-round picks in the same draft, dating back to 2001 when the team selected Brett Festerling and Logan Stephenson with back-to-back picks at fifth and sixth overall.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Kennewick, WA –\u00a0The Western Hockey League unveiled the results of the 2026 WHL Draft Lottery Thursday evening, and the Tri-City Americans will select sixth overall in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft. The Draft is set for May 6 and 7, with the first round taking place on May 6 and the rest the following…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":39842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[{"term_id":12,"name":"press releases","slug":"press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":557,"filter":"raw","term_order":"423"}],"class_list":["post-39830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-press-releases","category-409","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/26171708\/Horizontal.jpg",2200,1256,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-americans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]