Tyler Canal
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- Year:
- 2007
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- Hometown:
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
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- High School:
- St. Michael
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- Team:
- Hockey
Tyler Canal grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and graduated from St. Ignatius High School. He also studied for a year at St. Michael Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario, and played three seasons of junior hockey for the Stratford Cullitons, amassing more than 100 goals and 200 points during that span.
Canal entered Lake Forest College in 2003 and became one of the most prolific offensive players in team history. Playing in every game over the next four seasons, he led the squad in points and assists three times each and was the leader in goals twice. He had more points than games played in every season and set career-highs with 16 goals and 23 assists as a sophomore. At the time of his induction, Canal’s 129 career points were the most by a Forester since 1993 and the program’s ninth-highest total, while his 76 assists ranked seventh. In addition, he set school records with four short-handed scores as a junior and eight in his career. Canal was named Honorable Mention All-Northern Collegiate Hockey Association following his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, making him the first Lake Forest player to be listed among the league’s best three times. The Foresters posted an 18-6-4 overall record, went 7-5-2 in league play, and reached the semifinals of the NCHA Tournament for the first time during Canal’s freshman season. They also matched that conference victory total and returned to the semifinal round each of the next two years. He served as a team captain as a junior and senior and his teammates selected him as the recipient of the program's Peter Taylor Award in 2006.
After graduating from Lake Forest with a degree in economics, Canal began a career as a certified financial planner. He met his wife Courtney at the College and went on to coach the youth sports teams of their children Avery and Cameron. He also coached junior hockey and, 14 years after helping Stratford win the Sutherland Cup as a player, he accomplished the feat again as head coach of the Elmira Sugar Kings in 2017.