Tyler Sloan

Playing career

Sloan got his start in junior hockey with the Calgary Royals of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. No team picked him in the NHL draft, but the Columbus Blue Jackets signed him and sent him to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, at the tail end of the 2001–02 season. For the next seven years, he moved around the minor leagues, suiting up for the Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL, plus the Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears in the AHL. In 2006, he helped the Bears capture the Calder Cup championship.

The Washington Capitals called him up early in the 2008–09 season, and on October 21, 2008, Sloan made his NHL debut in his hometown of Calgary against the Flames. He wasted no time making a mark, flattening Calgary’s Daymond Langkow with a big hit that led to a nine-minute power play for the Capitals. Four days later, on October 25, he scored his first NHL goal, beating Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco. After being sent back to Hershey on January 11, 2009, when injured Capitals returned, he got another call-up on May 3, 2009, during Washington’s playoff series against Pittsburgh. Alongside Karl Alzner, he picked up an assist in Game 2 the next night.

On June 27, 2011, the Capitals put Sloan on waivers, likely aiming to buy out his contract. A month later, on July 28, he signed a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators as a free agent. On July 6, 2012, he inked a one-year, two-way contract with the Dallas Stars, worth $600,000 if he played in the NHL and $105,000 if he suited up for their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

Personal life

Tyler Sloan’s sister, Tara, was a five-time Canadian national swimming champion who also held a Canadian record. She was preparing for the 2000 Summer Olympic trials when she died in a vehicle rollover near Medicine Hat, Alberta, in March 2000. Tyler drew motivation from the commitment his sister showed in her own Olympic pursuit. Reading her training journal, he gained a new understanding of elite-level effort. He explained to The Globe and Mail that swimmers have an unmatched work ethic, and seeing what it took for her to reach that point made him realize what was required to compete at the highest level in his own hockey career.