“Kid at heart”
By Chris Good

If the stereotype is true that Canadians are polite, meet the quintessential Canadian in Dashers goalie Dalton McGrath.
With a disarming smile and a calm, steady demeanor, Dalton is the reflection of his self-described “laid-back” personality.  Underneath the gentle, composed exterior, however, beats the heart of a fierce competitor.

“I want to win,” he says.  “I want to do the best I can to help the team out.”

“The goal is to win a championship, and I’m ready to do that.  It would be so nice.  [The other guys] and I have worked all these years towards it, and then to win it all would be good.”

“SP and beyond”

Dalton is enjoying his second professional season and has already spent some time in the SPHL this year.  

Ever hungry for success, Dalton adds, “I want to push to get to the next level.  If you help your team out and your team helps you, it’s easier to get to the next step.” 

“I want to gradually work up to the SP and beyond.  I’m looking for the opportunity to show what I can do.”  

Fan support

Danville is the smallest town Dalton has ever lived and played in.  “It’s a lot different,” he says.  “I’m used to a busier environment; I get bored otherwise.”

Nevertheless, Dalton is comfortable in Danville and lights up when talking about the fan base.  “The fans support us on the ice and recognize us around town.”

“Thank you, everyone, for your support,” he says, and adds that he can hear fans cheer when he makes a good save.
His biggest fans, his grandparents, are not able to make it to his games but loyally and enthusiastically watch online.

1st pro athlete

Although Dalton is the first professional athlete in his family, every member has played sports.

His dad, Scott, a cable company technician, played Jr. A hockey in Canada.  “He was more of a fighter,” Dalton chuckles.
Darlene, Dalton’s mom, played high school basketball and track.  She now works as a manager for a different cable company than Scott.

Dalton’s oldest sister Dionne played baseball.  She is now married to Justin and is a busy stay-at-home mom to three active children – two girls, Boston and Skylar, and a son, Wilkins.

Emilee, Dalton’s older sister by two years, was a swimmer.  She is set to graduate this April from college with a degree in Activation and plans to work with senior adults.

Ontario and PEI

Dalton was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, where his parents still live.  For seven or eight years while Dalton was growing up, his family billeted OHL players.  “It was cool,” Dalton recalls.  “I enjoyed it.”

Dalton goes home to Brampton in the off season but also considers Prince Edward Island, on Canada’s far-eastern side, home as well.  “I spend part of my summers there; I have family there.”

Hockey and lacrosse

Skating since he was three, Dalton started playing hockey by age four or five, when his dad put him in house league.  Although all the players rotated positions, Dalton found he liked playing goalie right from the beginning.

Also around age four or five, Dalton began playing lacrosse, a sport in which he did not play goalie.  He played both sports year around until he was 16 or 17, playing lacrosse in the summer and hockey in the winter.

Juniors, college, pro

Dalton played hockey for two years in high school and then started his Junior career in Barrie.  He played five years of Juniors, on a different team each year, but all of them in Ontario.

After aging out of Juniors, Dalton decided to go to college and continue playing.  He went for two years, studying General Arts, but his heart wasn’t in school.  

“I liked playing with my teammates in college and still keep in touch with a handful of them, but I just made up my mind I wasn’t going back to school,” he says.  So that summer he called around to teams, went to a camp, and then ended up at Steel City, where a friend was already playing.

As a Dasher

Dalton’s jersey number is 30, but he didn’t choose it, he says.  “If I could pick, I would wear #50 because I like the look of it.”
In the locker room, Dalton thinks he is known by his teammates to be “fairly quiet and supportive – and to have awkward good-byes,” he laughs and then explains.  “When we’re finished at the rink and are leaving, I think it’s ok the way I say, ‘See you later,’ but some guys think not.”

Dalton’s game-day routine is “pretty laid back,” he says.  “I do the usual skate, nap, eat, shower, go to the rink.  I don’t have any superstitions.”
“I just listen to music in the locker room,” he continues.  “I’m very laid back.  I’ll talk sometimes; sometimes I’m quiet.  I just focus right before we go on the ice.  I focus on success.”

Dalton’s favorite hockey memory to date is “meeting a handful of guys that you can see yourself being friends with for life.”
Prison guard or electrician

After hockey, Dalton sees himself “married and working in a career I enjoy.”  His career choices may possibly come as a surprise.  
“I’m fascinated with prison guards.  I don’t know if I could actually be one, but I watch a lot of TV shows about them.  I’m also thinking about being an electrician.”

Uncle Dalton

One thing Dalton is sure of is the enjoyment he has being an uncle.  “I’m a kid at heart, and I like playing with my nieces and nephew.”

Other interests for Dalton include cooking, playing guitar and bowties.

“I love to BBQ, and I enjoy cooking.  I just started within the last year, and I’m trying different things.”

“No failures yet,” he laughs, “all decent so far.”

He and roommate and Dashers defenseman Cole Hutchinson recently bought guitars and are learning to play.  “I’m teaching myself from YouTube,” Dalton says.

Dalton’s penchant for bowties started about four years ago.  “I like the look of them.  I have a handful.  My sis likes them and picks them out for me, and now my dad buys them for me too.”

The understated, unassuming kid-at-heart Dalton McGrath and the rest of the Dashers are gearing up for a deep playoff run, and when Dalton’s in goal, it would be a mistake to underestimate him.  Catch #30 and all the Dashers at the remaining home games at the David S. Palmer Arena.