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Kale Dach, forward for the Sherwood Park Crusaders, is currently third in BCHL scoring with 39 points in 28 games.
The 2007-born Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. product started his hockey journey at a very young age with his hometown minor hockey program and has not looked back.
“I started playing hockey at about four years old, two years earlier than everyone else,” he said. “I played minor hockey all the way up until about two years ago and had a lot of success there.”
Despite sharing the same last name, coming from the same small Alberta town, and being asked about it all the time, he shares no relation to Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach and Chicago Blackhawks draft pick Colton Dach.
Prior to joining the Crusaders, Kale played the better part of three seasons with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers of the Alberta Elite Hockey League. He laced up for every team they had between under-15 and under-18 and said the Rangers helped prepare him for the jump to junior hockey.
“I had a lot of good coaches,” said Dach. “They believed in me and that helped me find a lot of individual success. They were able to teach me different looks on the powerplay and my defensive game got really strong. They put me on the right track to play junior hockey and I’m very thankful for them.”
Dach’s first season of junior hockey with the Crusaders was a bit unusual as the team joined the BCHL midway through the season. Now in 2024-25, with 28 games of regular BCHL action under his belt this year, he says he is very impressed with the quality of the league.
“It’s a good league,” he said. “There is a lot of skill and a lot of big players. It’s definitely harder than last year. Coming into this year kind of caught me a little bit by surprise, but I’m definitely feeling good now.”
Dach’s individual success this season is well-documented. A lot of it has to do with his hard work improving his game, but according to the 2025 NHL Draft product, his teammates deserve a lot of credit as well.
“I play with really good linemates,” he said. “Jermemy Loranger is a very skilled player. He’s been putting the puck in the net, and I’ve been feeding him, so we’ve been really good together.”
He is not lying. Loranger is the current league leader with 47 points in 28 contests. Dach says their chemistry started blooming immediately.
“Right away we became good buds,” he said. “We instantly gelled. He has a really good shot and I have really good playmaking ability, so it kind of just clicked. He is also able to make really dynamic plays himself and is able to find me in front of the net.”
The Crusaders are currently sitting fifth in the Interior Conference, but are just three points back of third place. Even though they are just over halfway into the season, Dach says they are still trying to solidify their identity as a team.
“Right now, we’re not exactly where we want to be as a team,” he said. “It feels like we have a lot of good players, but we haven’t fully come together just yet and built the sort of style of play that we want. It feels like we’re right on the cusp of getting there.”
Without looking too far ahead, Dach is committed to Penn State University and is excited to join the program after his junior career comes to an end.
“I was asked to tour Penn State and it was amazing,” he said. “Everything was awesome. The coaching staff and the facility are great. They ended up offering me while I was there and gave me a few days to consider and think about it. It was an easy decision to commit.”
Dach will continue to lead the charge offensively this season for the Crusaders alongside his linemate Loranger as they attempt to climb the standings. It should be an exciting offseason for him with the draft coming up, but his focus is firmly set on helping his team go on a long postseason run.
