Chase De Leo (born October 25, 1995) is an American professional

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

forward for the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play t ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), while under contract with the Anaheim Ducks in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL).

Personal life

De Leo was born on October 25, 1995, in

La Mirada, California La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre f ...

, U.S. to parents John and Janie who own a wholesale plumbing supply company. De Leo originally played baseball before being convinced to take up roller hockey due to his mom finding the former sport boring. De Leo played roller hockey for the Orange County Blades before transitioned to ice hockey. He began playing as a goaltender for the Norwalk Knights before switching positions. As a youth, De Leo played for the Los Angeles Selects

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team, where he was a teammate of Eric Comrie. While playing with this team, De Leo competed in the 2008

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

. After meeting

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...

Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...

, and

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

, De Leo chose to pursue ice hockey as a career.

Playing career

De Leo played junior ice hockey for 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 ...

Portland Winterhawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split thei ...

from 2011 to 2015. During those four seasons, his showed consistent improvement each season and finished his junior career with 251 points in 279 regular season games, which included back-to-back 39-goal seasons. He also tallied 58 points in 81 playoff games and was part of the Winterhawks 2013 WHL championship team that advanced to the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between ...

final. The Winnipeg Jets selected De Leo in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. After completing his junior career in 2015, De Leo was assigned to the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

, the Jets' top minor league affiliate. He spent most of his first professional season with the Moose, but was briefly recalled by the Jets on March 20, 2016, to make his NHL debut on March 20 against the Anaheim Ducks. De Leo played one more game for the Jets before being returned to the AHL. As an impending restricted free agent following the 2017–18 season, De Leo was traded by the Jets to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Nic Kerdiles on June 30, 2018. Following three years within the Ducks organization, featuring in a lone game each season, De Leo left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

on July 29, 2021. After a lone season with the Devils, De Leo as a free agent opted to return to former club, the Anaheim Ducks, in signing a two-year, two-way contract on July 14, 2022.

International play

De Leo was a member of Team USA at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Leo, Chase 1995 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Anaheim Ducks players Manitoba Moose players New Jersey Devils players People from La Mirada, California Portland Winterhawks players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Ice hockey players from California San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Utica Comets players Winnipeg Jets draft picks Winnipeg Jets players