Former hockey player Dale Deon receives lengthy prison sentence

Former professional hockey player Dale Deon has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison following his conviction in a child exploitation and trafficking case.

According to reporting from Rick Westhead, Deon admitted to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. Court proceedings also determined that he forced a woman to perform sexual services for money.

Investigators reportedly discovered approximately 26,000 images and more than 3,000 videos on Deon’s laptop during the course of the investigation.

The 33-year-old defenseman played for several teams throughout his hockey career across Canada, Sweden, and the United States.

His junior hockey experience included time with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes and Rimouski Océanic before moving on to play university hockey at Brock University.

Professionally, Deon spent time in multiple minor leagues, including stops with Kalmar HC and Viking HC in Sweden, as well as the Huntsville Havoc, Peoria Rivermen, Pensacola Ice Flyers, Elmira Enforcers, Delaware Thunder, Monroe Moccasins, Binghamton Black Bears, and Mississippi Sea Wolves.

The sentence brings one of the most serious criminal cases involving a former professional hockey player in recent years to a close.

Fans were quick to make jokes about Deon joining the Golden Knights automatically because of his criminal past, with the comments hinting at the fact that Vegas signed goalie Carter Hart in 2025 after he was acquitted of all charges in the Canada’s 2018 World Junior case.