It’s been difficult to project Michael Dal Colle’s ceiling since he entered the New York Islanders organization. Drafted fifth overall in 2014, he was coming off of a 95-point season in the OHL and was generating a lot of hype. He was then sent back to junior not once but twice after being drafted but at the same time, Mark Scheifele also went through a similar path with the Winnipeg Jets, so it shouldn’t have been a red flag by any means.
In his first year with Bridgeport in the AHL, Dal Colle was alright, however, it was last season where worrying started. Dal Colle was held to just seven goals and 24 points in 60 games and was held off the scoresheet in his first four NHL games. It didn’t look great.
This year though, Dal Colle took his first real steps towards becoming an NHL regular and started to show quite a bit of promise. He scored at a point-per-game pace in the AHL, with 18 goals and 34 points in 34 games. With the Islanders, he didn’t produce well early on in the year and had just 16 shots and two points in his first 14 games with New York. As his time went on with the Islanders though, it seemed like Dal Colle was starting to adjust to the play a lot better. An argument could have been made that Dal Colle should have played in the playoffs in place of Tom Kuhnhackl (though Kuhnhackl actually ended up performing decently in postseason).
Dal Colle tallied two goals, five points and 18 shots in his final 14 regular season games with the Islanders. This isn’t anything to get too excited about but it definitely shows that Dal Colle is moving in the right direction. Now, after how he performed in the AHL, then seeing him progress a bit in the NHL, the next step for Dal Colle is to get a permanent spot with the Islanders.
This is on Islanders’ coaching and management to give Dal Colle a serious chance in the NHL for a full season. We have no idea what Dal Colle’s ceiling is and he could even follow a similar path to Dylan Strome, who took more time to progress before becoming a top talent. Dal Colle can’t be back in the AHL but he also can’t be sitting in the press box as young as he is.
The Islanders lacked scoring depth this year and it’s likely that the team looks to free agency to add some players who can produce offensively. But Dal Colle is still one of the top prospects in New York’s system and if you put him on the wing of a capable centre next season, there’s a real chance he finds success.
This upcoming year is a pivotal one in his development. He’s likely either going to breakout and establish himself or he won’t and at that point you can just about start focusing your time elsewhere. But Dal Colle needs an opportunity to really show what he can do over a full NHL season, then at that point we can really determine whether he’ll turn into a contributing NHL player.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»