Collin Delia’s hockey career has had many twists and turns, which have required him to be calm, collected and able to go with the flow. 

Fortunately for him, that journey began in Southern California. Despite not being built on a hockey culture, the region has a culture of chasing opportunities wherever they may take you, as well as taking time to enjoy the great weather and natural wonders. 

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Born in Rancho Cucamonga — a city in the Inland Empire — Delia played for various programs across SoCal throughout his youth career, including the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, California Stars, California Titans, Inland Valley Wild, California Wave and Orange County Hockey Club. 

In addition to hockey, Delia grew up enjoying various hobbies such as leather crafting and cooking. He has said his heroes outside of hockey — including Gordon Ramsay and Tom Ford — were equally inspiring as any hockey player as he pursued his on- and off-ice passions. 

He eventually received an opportunity to play hockey for the Amarillo Bulls in the North American Hockey League in Amarillo. Delia took the opportunity and moved to Texas for two years between high school and college. 

While not good enough for the NHL, his play earned him a scholarship at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. 

Delia steadily improved in three seasons at Merrimack, making the All-Hockey East Third Team in his junior season. That ended up being his final year at Merrimack as his star play in net caught the attention of the Chicago Blackhawks, who offered him a two-year, entry-level contract. Delia accepted and began his pro career in the 2017-18 season. 

During his first year in the Blackhawks organization, Delia mostly split time between the ECHL’s Indy Fury and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. However, injuries to multiple Blackhawks goalies opened up an opportunity for Delia to make his NHL debut on March 29, 2018. 

Delia earned the win in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 victory that day, but his efforts in that game were overlooked because he was injured in the middle of the third period, and Chicago was forced to insert emergency goalie Scott Foster — a 36-year-old accountant. 

Delia would earn eight more wins at the NHL level in three more seasons with the Blackhawks organization. Following the 2021-22 season, Delia secured a contract with the Vancouver Canucks. 

Delia’s 2022-23 season with the Canucks organization was his best thus far. In 20 games (18 starts), Delia picked up 10 wins on a 3.28 goals allowed average. 

But for this past season, Delia went to his third organization in as many seasons, signing with the Winnipeg Jets. 

Delia spent the entirety of the season with the Manitoba Moose, posting 11 wins in 32 games. His season is now officially over, as both the Jets and the Moose have been eliminated from their respective playoffs. 

At 29 years old, with no contract heading into next season, Delia’s hockey future is uncertain; however, he’s made a career of thriving amidst uncertainty. So, even though this next season will likely take him to a new place, look for Delia to turn it into his greatest opportunity yet. 

Ethan Inman is a rising senior writing about Los Angeles’ unique hockey heroes in his column, “L.A. on Ice,” which runs every other Wednesday.