Tory Dello, who spent last season with the Utica Comets, is continuing his professional hockey career overseas. The 28-year-old defenseman has signed with HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the Czech Extraliga, the top-tier league in Czechia.
Dello has played six seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL), most recently splitting the 2024–25 campaign between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Utica Comets. In 14 games with the Comets, he recorded four assists.
Prior to his professional career, Dello played NCAA hockey at the University of Notre Dame, where he served as an associate captain. Despite going undrafted, the six-foot, 194-pound defender earned a reputation for his leadership and reliability on the ice.
On July 4, 2024, Dello signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings worth $775,000. He was later traded to the New Jersey Devils on March 14, 2025, in exchange for future considerations. Although the Devils acquired his contract, making him eligible for NHL action, Dello did not make an appearance at the NHL level.
His move to Czechia marks a new chapter in his career. HC Energie Karlovy Vary confirmed the signing on July 20, 2025.
“I am very excited to join Energie and live in Karlovy Vary,” Dello told the team’s website. “I have heard a lot of great things about the team, the city, and the fans. It will be a big challenge for me, moving far from home, a new language, a different style of hockey, but I believe I will cope with it and enjoy it to the fullest.”
HC Energie Karlovy Vary, founded in 1932, primarily features players from Czechia. Dello, a Lakewood, Illinois native, is currently the only American on the roster.
The club’s sports director, Jiří Kalous, expressed excitement about the signing: “We were looking for a reliable defender with good game awareness, at the ideal age, and with experience on smaller rinks where decisions must be made quickly,” Kalous said. “That’s why we focused on the AHL, and in Tory, we are getting exactly the type of player we were looking for. His strengths include dedication, shot-blocking, physical play, and a team-first mentality, qualities we highly value at Energie.”
After 245 games in the AHL and a near stint with the New Jersey Devils, Dello is putting his NHL ambitions on hold, for now, as he begins his European journey.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images