Aaron Dell (born May 4, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League.[1] He most recently played with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Undrafted, Dell has previously played for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.

Aaron Dell
Dell with the Abbotsford Heat in 2014
Born (1989-05-04) May 4, 1989 (age 35)
Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
AHL team
Former teams
San Jose Barracuda
San Jose Sharks
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career

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Dell played collegiate hockey at the University of North Dakota. Dell returned to the Allen Americans in trade from the Utah Grizzlies on October 11, 2014.[2] While with the Worcester Sharks, on March 1, 2015, Dell was signed to a one-year entry-level contract with the team's NHL affiliate, the San Jose Sharks, for the remainder of the season.[3]

In the 2016–17 season, Dell made the Sharks' opening night roster as the team's backup goaltender to Martin Jones. On October 18, 2016, Dell made his NHL debut and won against the New York Islanders.[4] On February 28, 2018, Dell signed a two-year contract extension with the Sharks.[5]

On October 13, 2020, Dell signed a one-year $800,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent.[6] After attending the Maple Leafs training camp for the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Dell was included in the team's taxi squad. On January 18, 2021, Dell's brief tenure with the Maple Leafs ended as he was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils.[7]

On July 28, 2021, Dell signed as a free agent to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres.[8] On September 13, Buffalo announced that Dell will wear jersey no. 30, a move that upset many fans as the number had not been issued since Ryan Miller's departure from the team in 2014.[9]

On January 25, 2022, during a game against the Ottawa Senators, Dell delivered an unprovoked hit to forward Drake Batherson, causing an ankle injury; as a result, Batherson was ruled out for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game which he was supposed to attend.[10] The following day, Dell was suspended three games for the hit, officially ruled as interference.[11]

As a free agent from the Sabres, Dell returned to his original club, the San Jose Sharks, after agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on July 13, 2022.[12]

Dell signed a professional tryout deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets in August 2023.[13] He was released from his PTO on October 5.[14] In December, Dell signed a professional tryout deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.[15] He was later released by the Hurricanes without a contract and later signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the season with the Ontario Reign, primary affiliate to the Los Angeles Kings, on January 6, 2024.[16] Dell made 5 appearances with the Reign before securing a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season with the Kings on March 5, 2024.[17]

Records

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  • 2010–11: Holds UND school record for most wins in a season (30), surpassing previous record holder Ed Belfour (29)[18]
  • 2014–15: Holds Worcester Sharks record for GAA at 2.06 and SAV%.927 and tied with Alex Stalock with four shutouts.
 
Dell with the Worcester Sharks in 2015

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2006–07 Airdrie Thunder HJHL 36 31 2 3
2007–08 Calgary Canucks AJHL 23 5 11 2 1245 65 0 3.13 .891
2008–09 Calgary Canucks AJHL 51 25 17 8 2986 126 3 2.53 .923 4 1 3 253 13 0 3.08 .913
2009–10 U. of North Dakota WCHA 5 1 3 1 199 6 1 1.81 .897
2010–11 U. of North Dakota WCHA 40 30 7 2 2349 70 6 1.79 .924
2011–12 U. of North Dakota WCHA 33 18 10 2 1799 80 2 2.67 .900
2012–13 Allen Americans CHL 44 22 11 6 2344 90 3 2.30 .916 19 12 7 1097 45 1 2.46 .915
2013–14 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 29 19 7 3 1735 62 2 2.14 .920 3 1 1 188 6 0 1.92 .932
2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 6 1 2 0 262 10 0 2.29 .922
2014–15 Allen Americans ECHL 12 8 1 2 676 32 1 2.84 .902
2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL 26 15 8 2 1544 53 4 2.06 .927 3 0 3 149 12 0 4.83 .857
2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 40 17 16 6 2281 92 4 2.42 .922 4 1 3 231 10 0 2.59 .932
2016–17 San Jose Sharks NHL 20 11 6 1 1115 37 1 2.00 .931
2017–18 San Jose Sharks NHL 29 15 5 4 1523 67 2 2.64 .914 2 0 0 47 2 0 2.55 .929
2018–19 San Jose Sharks NHL 25 10 8 4 1324 70 2 3.17 .886 2 0 1 90 5 0 3.33 .861
2019–20 San Jose Sharks NHL 33 12 15 3 1835 92 0 3.01 .907
2020–21 Binghamton Devils AHL 1 0 0 1 65 5 0 4.62 .839
2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 1 5 0 320 22 0 4.14 .857
2021–22 Rochester Americans AHL 22 12 7 1 1259 61 0 2.91 .909 10 5 5 627 37 0 3.54 .883
2021–22 Buffalo Sabres NHL 12 1 8 1 566 38 0 4.03 .893
2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 38 15 17 4 2067 108 2 3.14 .898
2022–23 San Jose Sharks NHL 4 0 3 0 200 9 0 2.71 .913
2023–24 Ontario Reign AHL 12 7 4 1 723 31 1 2.57 .914
NHL totals 130 50 50 13 6,874 335 5 2.92 .905 4 0 1 137 7 0 3.08 .891

Awards and honours

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Award Year
College
All-WCHA First Team 2010–11 [19]
NCAA goaltending title 2010–11
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2010–11
WCHA All-Tournament Team 2012 [20]
WCHA Final Five tournament MVP 2011–12
CHL
All-CHL Team (First Team All-Star) 2012–13 [21]
All-Rookie team 2012–13
Most Outstanding Goaltender 2012–13
Ray Miron President's Cup champion 2012–13

References

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  1. ^ "Dell Returning to Barracuda". American Hockey League. September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "Americans trade for Goalie Aaron Dell". Allen Americans. October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  3. ^ "Aaron Dell player biography". The Hockey News. March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Schlossman, Brad Elliott (October 18, 2016). "NHL: Aaron Dell wins NHL debut". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "Sharks Sign Goaltender Aaron Dell to a Two-Year Contract Extension". National Hockey League. February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  6. ^ "Maple Leafs Sign Goaltender Aaron Dell". National Hockey League. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Devils claim Aaron Dell from waivers". New Jersey Devils. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  8. ^ Ryndak, Chris (July 28, 2021). "Sabres, Dell agree to 1-year contract". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  9. ^ LeBlanc, Jacob (September 13, 2021). "Sabres fans will see a familiar jersey number in net this year". Sabre Noise. Fansided. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Observations: Aaron Dell on hot seat for hit as Sabres are drubbed by Sens". Buffalo News. January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "Sabres goalie Dell suspended three games for interference on Senators' Batherson". Sportsnet. January 26, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Sharks sign Goaltender Aaron Dell". San Jose Sharks. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Ellis, Steven (August 23, 2023). "Columbus Blue Jackets add Aaron Dell, Nicolas Meloche on PTOs". Calgary Herald. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "Aaron Dell, ex-Americans & Grizzlies Goalie, Released from Blue Jackets Pro Tryout". October 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Hurricanes bring in ex-Sharks G Dell on free-agent tryout". TSN. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "Reign sign goalie Dell to AHL contract". Ontario Reign. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "LA Kings sign Goaltender Aaron Dell". Los Angeles Kings. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  18. ^ Francis, Eric (January 13, 2017). "Francis: Aaron Dell's road from Airdrie to first Saddledome start reads like a hitchhiker's guide to the pros". Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "Matt Frattin named top player in WCHA". Toronto Maple Leafs. May 1, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  20. ^ "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  21. ^ "All-CHL team announced". minorhockeyreport.com. March 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Most Valuable Player in Tournament
2012
Succeeded by