Building Relationships, One Prospect at a Time

Like any active young boy, Kraken player development consultant Zac Dalpe routinely scoped the contents inside the family refrigerator growing up in Ontario. But what was posted outside the fridge is what Dalpe credits for embracing the ups and downs across 15 seasons of pro hockey. He played in 184 games for six NHL teams and appeared in 621 more games for a half-dozen American Hockey League franchises, including his last stop in Charlotte as an AHL team captain before retiring this past summer at age 35.

“I was molded from my parents on how to deal with it,” said Dalpe, who played for NCAA Division I Ohio State and was selected and drafted by Carolina at No. 45 overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. “We had a sign on our fridge growing up that said, ‘Life is made up of 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react.’ That was engraved on my mindset since I could read. It was the only thing on the outside of our fridge.”

Let’s agree, Dalpe reacted in the spirit of that message typed up and laminated by his father. He persevered through roster cuts, call-ups, AHL reassignments, and a long list of injuries to play meaningful NHL games, such as the 13 appearances in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Florida. It all adds up to an ideal player development candidate who played on the biggest hockey stage, along with exemplifying a role-model AHL teammate for the likes of current Kraken players Cale Fleury and Joey Daccord, plus Coachella Valley captain-in-the-making Max McCormick, among multiple dozens of other NHL prospects.

“Zac understands what is required to be successful as a pro,” said Cory Murphy, the Kraken’s director of player development. “He’s lived through many experiences that our prospects will go through. He will be able to help them navigate their career paths. Being recently retired makes him able to quickly and deeply connect with prospects. He brings such a high level of enthusiasm to the job. He loves the game, and he is very passionate about helping our prospects to be successful.”

‘Something I’d Love to Do’

“Helping players to become good pros is something I've been passionate about,” said Dalpe, taking a break from Rookie Camp in September. “Being an older guy in the minors and, as a captain, you feel like you've been doing that job already, aside from cutting video and writing game reports [required in player development for an NHL team]. You're talking to these, quote, kids, end quote, trying to find a way to navigate pro hockey. A lot of kids I played with came to me for questions and guidance. I thought to myself, this is something that I'd love to do when I am done playing.”

Being done with his playing days was more sudden than gradual for Dalpe. He broke a tibia in his leg last December and was out of the AHL Charlotte lineup for the rest of the season. In January, he “emailed a lot of the NHL GMs I know, thinking it's probably time for me to put together a resume.”

More real-world moments came when many general managers said no or didn’t respond at all. The Kraken did show interest later in the process, with ties to Dalpe including his veteran presence in Charlotte’s 2021-22 split-squad team roster filled by Seattle and Florida prospects, plus being Florida teammates with Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour and Josh Mahura in 2023. Dalpe played for Chris Taylor, now Kraken assistant coach and then head coach of AHL Rochester. There was one other influential lifeline: Kraken president of hockey operations Ron Francis was in the Carolina front office during Dalpe’s draft year.

“I was driving in my car this summer and found out that maybe Seattle might be looking for somebody,” said Dalpe, smiling at the memory. “I texted Ron because I knew Ron from when he drafted me in 2008. I got a hold of Chris [Taylor] ... There were some rounds of interviews, some video breakdown I did [as a test of evaluative skills] on Zoom, then a conversation with the GM [Jason Botterill]. Then you just hope to get the job. As it turned out, I never had to put a resume together.”

An extended list of injuries provided further motivation for Dalpe to make the shift from player to player-to-player development. His body was hurting most seasons and as a dad with three boys ages four, six, and eight, he worried about his sons only knowing their father as a guy always recovering from major injuries, the latest a broken leg.

“For all of my kids’ lives, they too often saw Dad at the lowest point of injury recovery, getting out of bed in the morning in a bad mood because my body hurt,” said Dalpe. “Mentally, physically, I just felt like the job was taking its toll. It wasn't going to be fair moving forward to my family, trying to keep milking the cow, so to speak. I decided, hey, it’s probably a good time to not be on crutches for eight weeks and instead enjoy throwing a baseball around with my kids. I felt like our eight-year-old should be talking about how I missed a tackle in the backyard playing tackle football when Mom wasn’t looking [big grin].”

Building Relationships, One Prospect at a Time

As he embarks on his player development consultant role, Dalpe intends to construct personal relationships with prospects to accompany the video examples of the Kraken way to play and/or how to improve their skill set and reinforce hockey on-ice IQ.

“I've been a relationship-based guy my whole career,” said Dalpe, who will work most often with forwards, aligning with his career as a center. “Player development is about knowing the game., How can you help a prospect on the ice?. But a big part is helping the prospects off the ice. I've done a lot. I'd like to think it's translatable to a young kid.”

Dalpe said player development was less prevalent when his career started (‘that’s not a shot at anybody”) while today’s prospects openly seek guidance, whether it’s on-ice technique on the ice, how to train better, or maintaining confidence.

“If you can provide that to them in a way that resonates, that’s the goal,” said Dalpe, "Seattle drafted them and has shown trust in their futures. Already, watching their video, I feel like some of them are my own kids, and I want them to do well. I’m really excited about working with them.”

Prospect Roundup This Week

Former WHL Everett star defenseman Kaden Hammell appeared in his first American Hockey League game last Sunday. The 2023 fifth-rounder earned an assist for his first pro and finished plus-minus of +2 in the Firebirds’ 5-4 overtime loss at Bakersfield. Fellow 2023 draft classmate Carson Rehkopf (second round, 50th overall) notched his first AHL goal and CVF’s first score in the game on an impressive rush up ice to tally on a rebound.

Another Everett standout, Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen (2024 second round, 40th overall), has totaled eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in nine games, just shy of two points per game. The Kraken’s top draft pick this summer, No. 8 overall Jake O’Brien, has busted past the two-points-per-game average with six goals and 11 assists in eight games for Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League. For the week ending Oct. 14, the Brantford captain was named OHL Player of the Week for his four goals and four assists in three wins.

A pair of Kraken seventh-rounders, defenseman Jakub Fibigr (2024) and winger Loke Krantz, are turning heads with early-season production and are solid all-zone players. Brampton assistant captain Fibigr has four goals and six assists for 10 points in eight games while playing responsibly in the defensive zone. Krantz (2025) is splitting time between his club Linköping’s Sweden Hockey League top team and the Linköping Juniors 20U squad. He has accumulated six goals and six assists for 12 points in 10 games at the J20 level and picked up an assist over his first two games playing in the SHL, his country’s top pro league. Both picks could trend to “steals” in future seasons.