Happy Birthday, Collin Delia! Fun Facts, Highlights, and One of the Most Memorable NHL Debuts in Blackhawks History

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Stef
May 21, 2023 (11:12 PM)

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Today we celebrate our 28-year old back-up, and 2018 IceHogs Man of the Year, Collin Delia!
This Southern California native grew up playing youth hockey, and loved it so much, he moved across the country to the complete opposite climate of Massachusetts to play Division 1 collegiate hockey for Merrimack College.

He started out as a back-up, and through an injury in his sophomore year, worked his way up to being named to the Hockey East Third Team All-Star in his junior year. In 2017, after completing his junior season with the Warriors, the Blackhawks signed Delia to a two-year, entry-level contract.
In his first Chicago season, Delia played with the Indy Fuel (ECHL), the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) and made his NHL debut, playing 2 games for the Blackhawks.
Delia's NHL debut just so happened to become one of the most famous games in Blackhawks history, as he was recalled to be a back-up for Anton Foresberg, following an injury to Corey Crawford. Forsberg was injured in pre-game warm-ups, which put Delia in the March 29, 2018 game against the Winnipeg Jets. But in the third period, Chicago's third goalie was injured, allowing EBUG Scott Foster to play the last 14 minutes of the game, which the Blackhawks won, 6-2. This game was also Brent Seabrook's 1000th game.

Since then, Delia has spent most of his time going back and forth between the Hawks and the Hogs, making the AHL playoffs in 2018, finishing the regular season with a SV% of .900 and 7-3-0 playoff record with .924 SV%.
Last season he played 8 games for the NHL at a .899 SV% final, and 22 games for Rockford, finishing a .905 SV% and record of 11-9-3.

Adding to the fun «first time» statistics for the Birthday Boy, Collin Delia became the 16th AHL goalie, and first Rockford IceHog goalie, to be credited with a goalie goal on December 17, 2021. Though he didn't exactly shoot the puck, himself, he was the last member of the Rockford team to touch it, as he made a pad save and the rebound just shot through center and all the way down.

Through his 4 years with the NHL, Collin Delia has played 32 games, a record of 9-12-5, and a SV% of .904. While there is definitely room for improvement, I think with the right conditioning and continued training, he can be relied on as a solid back-up for the Blackhawks for the next several years.