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Dalpe returns to NHL; Sox sign players; Nolan joins TLL; Hearn back on track

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Paris native Zac Dalpe returned to the NHL on Tuesday night – more than three years after he played his last game in the league.

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Dalpe got seven minutes and 42 seconds of ice time as the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a four-game winless streak with a 3-1 win over the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

The six-foot-one, 195-pound centre blocked two shots, recorded a hit and got a shot on goal but he didn’t post a point. Regardless, just getting back to the top is an accomplishment for the 31-year-old.

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Dalpe, selected in the second round (45th overall) of the 2008 NHL draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, has played in 142 NHL games over his career, scoring 12 goals and adding 13 assists for 25 points. The majority of his professional games have been played in the American Hockey League, where he has 151 goals and 134 assists in 383 games.

During the 2018-19 season, Dalpe played 55 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and appeared in one game for the Blue Jackets, recording an assist in the team’s 7-3 win against the Florida Panthers.

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He then played 18 games for the Monsters in 2019-20 before his season was cut short due to a knee injury. That meant there were no NHL games for Dalpe that season and a gigantic amount of off-sesaon rehab to get ready for this season.

Named captain in Cleveland for the 2020-21 campaign, Dalpe played in five games for the Monsters this season, scoring three goals and adding one assist, before he was recalled to Columbus a month ago to join the team’s taxi squad.

Dalpe was bumped from the taxi squad to the roster on Tuesday.

The Blue Jackets, who are 14-15-8 on the season, are scheduled to play Tampa again on Thursday. It’s unclear if Dalpe will be in the lineup.

Red Sox busy with signings

The Brantford Red Sox continue to shape their roster in preparation for the 2021 Intercounty Baseball League season.

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Brantford announced several signings recently, including Brantford native Nick Burdett.

Burdett, a member of the 2013 championship team, will return for his eighth season. A veteran of more than 230 games, the infielder and designated hitter was an all-star in 2015 and was named the team’s most valuable player in 2018.

Other recent signings include Luca Lombardi, Bret Clarke, Jon Dziomba and Graham Tebbit.

Lombardi is a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher who plays with the University of Toronto, while Clarke is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who played for the NCAA Division I Stony Brook Seawolves from 2016-19.

Dziomba, who has played infield and outfield, suited up for the IBL’s Hamilton Cardinals from 2016-19. He owns a .348 career batting average in the IBL and spent nearly a decade playing professionally.

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Tebbit, another right-handed pitcher, will be playing his eighth season for the Red Sox in 2021. He has won two championships during his tenure in Brantford.

The IBL is slated to start its season on June 3. The Red Sox will open 2021 at home on June 4 when they host the six-time defending league champion Barrie Baycats in an 8 p.m. game at Cockshutt Park’s Arnold Anderson Stadium.

Nolan joins TLL

The Tewaaraton Lacrosse League has added a big name to its Circle of Leadership.

Joining Garrett Ball, a Brantford native, and Claudia Jimerson will be former NHL head coach Ted Nolan.

“I am very happy to be part of this new lacrosse league and the Leadership Circle of Excellence,” Nolan said in a news release.

He said the league’s goals align with his.

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“Knowing the people behind the scenes and knowing what they are about, and how they go about business and sports is a big reason I want to be part of this.”

Nolan coached the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders and captured the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year during the 1996-97 season with the Sabres. He also coached the Latvian men’s national hockey team at the 2014 Olympics.

The TLL’s Circle of Excellence brings together people who will help support the new league.

The TLL, which includes the Six Nations Arrows, will debut later this year. Other franchises are in Oshawa, Tri-City and Burlington.

Visit www.thetll.ca for more information.

Hearn has breakthrough

PGA Tour player David Hearn finally had the round on Sunday that he’s been searching for in 2021.

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Playing at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship on the weekend, Hearn wound up tied for 13th after firing rounds of 72-72-72-66 to finish at six-under-par.

That result allowed the Brantford native to collect a cheque for $55,350 but. more important, it gave him the confidence boost he needs as the season heats up.

Prior to playing in the Dominican Republic, Hearn had struggled in 2021 missing five of the six cuts in the events he had played. Even more troublesome was that he had gone 14 rounds without posting a score in the 60s.

That changed this past Sunday when the 41-year-old had a nearly flawless card with seven birdies, a bogey and 10 pars.

Hearn has now earned $307,788 on the season and sits 131st in the FedEx Cup standings. Those inside the top-125 at the end of the regular season in August move on to the playoffs.

This week, Hearn is in the field for the Valero Texas Open. He will tee off No. 1 at 8:53 a.m. local time (9:53 a.m. Eastern) at TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course) on Thursday for the first round before going off No. 10 at 1:48 p.m. local time (2:48 p.m. Eastern) on Friday for the second round.

Hearn, who played in his 300th career PGA Tour event last weekend, has three top-20 finishes at the Texas Open in six appearances.

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