Game On Magazine 2017 December 2017 | Page 18

a testament to how hard I’ve worked and how I’ve worked to get better.” Prior to last season, the former Winnipeg Thrashers forward played for a few other revered NHL franchises in Montreal and with the New York Rangers, the team that drafted him in 2008 in the fourth round (111th overall). “It’s been pretty good,” Weise admits. “I’m almost crossing off all the original six if you throw Chicago in there, too. But it’s been fun.” His NHL path also includes three productive seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and he is currently in the midst of a four-year deal that he signed with the Flyers prior to last season. Looking back, the 29-year- old says he started to believe that a career in the NHL was a plausible goal while playing for the Swift Current Broncos in his second year in the Western Hockey League. DALE WEISE 1 8 | G AME O N | D EC EM BER 2017 NOLAN PATRICK That season, despite being passed over in his first year of draft eligibility, he totaled 18 goals and 43 points in 2006- 07 and felt his game was really starting to develop. “I didn’t get drafted that year but watched guys around the league that were getting drafted and having success and I thought I was right there. Then in my last year of junior I kind of took off and felt I could probably make a living out of this.” The next season he upped his goal total to 29 and his point production to 51 despite playing 14 less games. The Rangers called his name at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft that summer in Ottawa. Now with more than 100 points and 400 games on his NHL resume, Weise easily reflects on the challenging and sometimes arduous road he’s traveled to become a full-time NHLer. “I’m very proud of where I’m at,” he says. “I’m always one of the hardest working guys in the summer. I keep myself in good shape. Hopefully that pays off and I can play for a long time.” When the season is over and he returns home, Weise resides both in East St. Paul and northeast of Lac du Bonnet. Both residences are equipped with gym facilities so there is no break in workout routine during the off-season. He credits off-ice speed coach Glenn Bruce at Elite Performa nce and on-ice skating and skills coach Dave Cameron at the Bell MTS IcePlex with keeping him in top physical condition. And now as he inches closer to a decade in the NHL and as a veteran on the Flyers, he’s also become a surrogate father to the two rookie Manitobans on the team’s roster – Patrick and Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim. In fact, he will forever be tied with the 19-year-old Patrick since he assisted on the future star’s first NHL goal. In the fourth game of the season in Nashville, Patrick took a pass from Weise and snapped a shot past Pekka Rinne, the Predators three- time Vezina trophy finalist. The goal at 10:35 of the second period was part of five straight for the Flyers who eventually took the lead, but would ultimately surrender in a hard fought 6-5 road decision. But the goal was symbolic of Weise’s NHL career in that he caused a turnover inside the Nashville zone off a hard forecheck, eventually outworked the Predators defence to the loose puck before feeding it in front to a net-driving Patrick. “Obviously that was exciting,” said Patrick. “It was a great play by (Dale) to set me up with pretty much an open net. I had to thank him for that one. It was a pretty exciting day for me and my family too. “It’s fun playing with him. He’s an awesome guy. I think he’s a great player and doesn’t get enough credit as he should. He’s a fun guy to play with and an awesome guy off the ice, too.” When speaking about the goal himself, it’s difficult to judge who was more excited, Patrick for scoring it or Weise for helping him to do it. “Before the game I told him I was going to set him up,” says Weise. “I was so happy to be a part of it. He was so excited. “It’s pretty cool. Obviously everybody remembers their first goal. It’s pretty special, especially being as highly touted as he is and being from Winnipeg. He’s such a good kid. And it’s exciting to see how many good young players are in Manitoba.” ❍