Dale Clarke (born March 23, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for Tappara in SM-liiga.
Clarke played three games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues. He previously played in Finland for Espoo Blues, HIFK and in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for the Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams and the Kassel Huskies.
As a youth, Clarke played in the 1992 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Quinte minor ice hockey team from Belleville, Ontario.[1]
Clarke played junior hockey for the Wellington Dukes of the Metro Toronto Junior Hockey League (MTHL) from 1994 until 1996. He attended St. Lawrence University and played four seasons from 1996 until 2000. In 2000, he signed with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) and joined their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Worcester IceCats in time for the playoffs.[citation needed]
He played two seasons for the IceCats and had a three-game call-up to the Blues. In 2002–03 he was traded by the Blues to the Colorado Avalanche organization, joining their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. He then split time with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL to end the season. From 2003 to his retirement, he played in Europe for teams in Finland and Germany.[citation needed]
On January 16, 2013, Clarke signed a contract midway through the 2012–13 season to return for a third stint with Tappara of the Finnish SM-liiga.[2]