Dustin Slade (born February 28, 1986) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. Slade last played with the

Halifax Wolverines The Halifax Wolverines (sometimes; Halifax Wolves) were an amateur men's senior ice hockey team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team won the 1935 Allan Cup, and were nominated to represent Canada in ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics but ...

of the

Maritime Junior A Hockey League The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of five teams from New Brunswick and one team from Prince Edward Island, which make up the Ea ...

(MJAHL) after quitting the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in t ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL), with whom he won a

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

as league champions and was a WHL West First Team All-Star.

Playing career

Slade began his

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

career in the

(WHL) with the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers o ...

in 2002–03, while still playing the majority of the season in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the

Quesnel Millionaires The Quesnel Millionaires were a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. They were members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They played their home games at Quesnel Twin Arena. ...

. Playing in his WHL rookie season in 2003–04, Slade was transferred twice to the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hocke ...

, then to the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

. Slade ended up returning to the BCHL with the

Surrey Eagles The Surrey Eagles are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at South Surrey Arena. History New ...

in 2004–05 after being suspended by the Pats for disciplinary reasons. He had additionally earned a reputation for being unable to maintain his on-ice composure, at one point, earning 26 penalty minutes in one game. He was subsequently traded to the

for the 2005–06 season, where he recorded a 1.90

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

(GAA) to go with a 36-13-5 record in 56 games. He was named to the WHL West First All-Star Team and earned a WHL Goaltender of the Year nomination (awarded to Justin Pogge of the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

). He went on to help lead the Giants to the franchise's first

, earning a berth in the

2006 Memorial Cup The 2006 Memorial Cup was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, from May 19–28. It was the 88th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The host team Moncton Wildcats ...

, where the Giants were eliminated in the semi-finals. His combined 17 regular season and WHL playoff

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s established a WHL record. The following season in 2005–06, Slade began splitting his starts with the younger Tyson Sexsmith, who was emerging as a legitimate goalie in his own right with the Giants. Frustrated by having to give up playing time, on November 20, 2006, he told management he'd rather join the minor professional ranks and left the team. However, unable to find a job in the minor leagues, he made a request to return to the Giants within several months, which went unaccepted. The Giants instead shopped him to interested WHL teams, but did not end up trading him either. As a result, Slade resorted to the Junior A ranks, joining the

of the

MJAHL The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of five teams from New Brunswick and one team from Prince Edward Island, which make up the E ...

in late-January. Slade claimed that before joining the Wolverines, he had a three-year contract with a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

professional club that was blocked by the Giants. About a month into his stint with Halifax, Slade was ejected from a game against the

Moncton Beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are ...

for a sequence that included a high stick on Beavers' rookie Joel Boffe that required 14 stitches followed by a fight with Pierre-Alexandre Poulin. After completing the season with the Wolverines, Slade has been unable to secure a job with a professional team.

Awards and honours

* WHL West First All-Star Team ( 2005–06) *Nominated for the

Del Wilson Trophy The Del Wilson Trophy is presented annually to the Western Hockey League's goaltender judged to be the best at his position. The award is named after Del Wilson for his many years of service to both the Regina Pats and the League. Wilson was an own ...

(Top WHL Goaltender) (2006) *

Ed Chynoweth Cup The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...

as a member of the WHL champions

(2005–06)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slade, Dustin 1986 births Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from British Columbia Kamloops Blazers players Living people Maritime Junior Hockey League players Penticton Panthers players Quesnel Millionaires players Regina Pats players Sportspeople from Penticton Surrey Eagles players Vancouver Giants players