Player Discussion: Michael Dal Colle

[doublechili]

The 2014 draft was not a great one, at least not for Canadian players. MDC was picked between Sam Bennett and Jake Virtanen. Lots of misses in that draft. If Snow had gone Euro we'd have gotten a better player. But it's not like MDC was picked in this run of 1st line studs. "Spotty" might be the word for that year.

 

[SI]

The 2014 draft was not a great one, at least not for Canadian players. MDC was picked between Sam Bennett and Jake Virtanen. Lots of misses in that draft. If Snow had gone Euro we'd have gotten a better player. But it's not like MDC was picked in this run of 1st line studs. "Spotty" might be the word for that year.

I remember 3 posters on here - I think it was @Chapin Landvogt and @Konk, who were dead against Dal Colle. The former preferred Ehlers and Nylander and the later preferred Ritchie all over MDC.

I think many of us got mesmerized by his size and production and that MDC was younger than all mentioned above. There was also a ton of talk about his character.

IMO, he is not a long term solution in the top 9. If he can prove to be productive and increase his value, then he can be an excellent player to dangle in a trade near the deadline.

 

[doublechili]

I remember 3 posters on here - I think it was @Chapin Landvogt and @Konk, who were dead against Dal Colle. The former preferred Ehlers and Nylander and the later preferred Ritchie all over MDC.

I think many of us got mesmerized by his size and production and that MDC was younger than all mentioned above. There was also a ton of talk about his character.

IMO, he is not a long term solution in the top 9. If he can prove to be productive and increase his value, then he can be an excellent player to dangle in a trade near the deadline.

I was actually against drafting MDC as well. At the time I saw a statistical breakdown that showed his 5v5 production wasn't great, and I also saw a lot of open shots from the slot in his highlights - the kinds of chances you don't get in the NHL. I wanted Nylander, although ironically enough at this point I'm not 100% sold that Nylander will end up being the better NHLer (all-around) in the long run.

 

[Konk]

I remember 3 posters on here - I think it was @Chapin Landvogt and @Konk, who were dead against Dal Colle. The former preferred Ehlers and Nylander and the later preferred Ritchie all over MDC.

I think many of us got mesmerized by his size and production and that MDC was younger than all mentioned above. There was also a ton of talk about his character.

IMO, he is not a long term solution in the top 9. If he can prove to be productive and increase his value, then he can be an excellent player to dangle in a trade near the deadline.

Good memory. I still really like Ritchie and he's starting to come into his own this year. He will be a force in his prime.

 

[SI]

Good memory. I still really like Ritchie and he's starting to come into his own this year. He will be a force in his prime.

Great move by the Bruins.

 

[crasherino]

Growth and improvement in this league is not linear. Some guys take to it right away, some need a few years for the game to slow down for them. While we all agree that Dal Colle is not going to be Draisatl (who could have been ours with a loss or two at the end of the season), he wouldn't be the first guy to grow into a player, despite looking lost for the better part of 3 years.

As others have mentioned, it helps if he has a established players around him that put him in a position to succeed. Confidence and experience go a long long way in this game. At least if you're starting from a baseline of talent. Without that, its all pissing in the wind anyway. Seems like MDC has at least some.

 

[beach]

The Isles' skaters did not have a good night tonight, but I thought MDC played another solid game.

 

[Isles Junkie]

Ok, by now it's clear that he's never going to live up to top 5 pick hype. That's fine. He can still have a career in this league. He seems to have gotten Trotz's defensive systems down. But he really does need to turn himself into a 10-15 goal scorer if he is going to be in the NHL in the long term. Nothing wrong with a 3rd/4th liner. But right now, he isn't giving us much offensively.

 

[buud]

Ok, by now it's clear that he's never going to live up to top 5 pick hype. That's fine. He can still have a career in this league. He seems to have gotten Trotz's defensive systems down. But he really does need to turn himself into a 10-15 goal scorer if he is going to be in the NHL in the long term. Nothing wrong with a 3rd/4th liner. But right now, he isn't giving us much offensively.

he certainly has had trouble getting quality chances, but he is playing a solid game. working hard, checking, some smart passes. if he can play a defensively responsible game, allowing Brock and Eberle to cheat down low. he may be good in front of the net, on the PP. tipping shots and battling for dirty goals.

trying to think of a comparable.

Trent Hunter?

 

[CupHolders]

he certainly has had trouble getting quality chances, but he is playing a solid game. working hard, checking, some smart passes. if he can play a defensively responsible game, allowing Brock and Eberle to cheat down low. he may be good in front of the net, on the PP. tipping shots and battling for dirty goals.

trying to think of a comparable.

From another thread I suggested Pat Flatley or Trent Hunter. The more relaxed he becomes with the game the less hesitation he will have. Hesitation is the death knell for someone who already lacks speed.

 

[Seph]

he certainly has had trouble getting quality chances, but he is playing a solid game. working hard, checking, some smart passes. if he can play a defensively responsible game, allowing Brock and Eberle to cheat down low. he may be good in front of the net, on the PP. tipping shots and battling for dirty goals.

trying to think of a comparable.

Trent Hunter?

That's who I think of when I try to picture MDC's upside. A lot of the same strengths and flaws there. MDC still isn't there, but if he continues to work hard, I could see him getting there. And while that would still be disappointing relative to his draft status, would still make him a useful NHLer.

 

[13th Floor]

he certainly has had trouble getting quality chances, but he is playing a solid game. working hard, checking, some smart passes. if he can play a defensively responsible game, allowing Brock and Eberle to cheat down low. he may be good in front of the net, on the PP. tipping shots and battling for dirty goals.

trying to think of a comparable.

Trent Hunter?

I dunno Trent Hunter could score at least. MDC just can't get his shot off. It's been how many years and I don't think I can recall more than 2 to 3 serious shots on net. Not just shoveling it on the net, but shooting it. Hunter had a wrister at least.

 

[dlawong]

He probably has to get that draft status out of his head. There are others fail to live up to their draft status hype especially those drafted high in the 1st round. It is more of a past scout problem than his.

I think communication with his teammates both on and off ice about the game and understanding how they play are things that may help him to be better. As he does not have the high end puck dangling skill to go one on one nor the elite skating skills to get around or blew past a D, he may just have to concentrate on getting to the net more often and scoring off rebounds, tip-in and help teammates scoring by screening the goalie, all which I think he should be able to do adequately well.

The other thing he can do is to shoot the puck more often when he is partially in the open because some of these shots may surprise and hamper a goalie or go in or bounce off someone. He needs to avoid to be too perfect when it come to shoot and release, as long as it does not lead to a bad turnover (like getting intercepted when he is the lone man back or in the middle of a line change). I also think that he can pass well enough to set up his line-mates for chances to score as he did have decent assist stat in junior.

Funny enough that only two of the players he had on the same line in junior made NHL regular roster - Warren Foegele (Cane) who were his center at Kingston during his final junior year and Scott Laughton (Flyers) who were his centre in his draft year at Oshawa. Cole Cassels (Pens AHL team), Michael McCarron (Nashville) and Spencer Watson (King's ECHL team) who all had some pretty good chemistry with him are all still playing in the minor pro leagues or has been mostly healthy scratch in NHL. Based on his draft year stat 39g-56a-95p in 67 games, he probably needs to play with line mates who can score to be successful in the NHL.

 

[danteipp]

I know it isn't a perfect correlation, but MDC reminds me of Brad Dalgarno. Tall and lanky, both were high draft picks, yet underwhelmed in the NHL.

I still cannot believe that MDC has actually rounded out his game and is a seemingly serviceable player, yet his one strength, which was supposed to be his shot, is atrocious to non-existent

 

[NC 1972]

he certainly has had trouble getting quality chances, but he is playing a solid game. working hard, checking, some smart passes. if he can play a defensively responsible game, allowing Brock and Eberle to cheat down low. he may be good in front of the net, on the PP. tipping shots and battling for dirty goals.

trying to think of a comparable.

Trent Hunter?

Except there wasn't an issue with Hunter scoring, met him in The Roosevelt Field Mall walking around with his girlfriend no one knew who he was. I spoke with him for a few minutes nice guy.

 

[CupHolders]

I know it isn't a perfect correlation, but MDC reminds me of Brad Dalgarno. Tall and lanky, both were high draft picks, yet underwhelmed in the NHL.

I still cannot believe that MDC has actually rounded out his game and is a seemingly serviceable player, yet his one strength, which was supposed to be his shot, is atrocious to non-existent

Yes, he does have a very similar frame to Dalgarno.

 

[MJF]

I still cannot believe that MDC has actually rounded out his game and is a seemingly serviceable player, yet his one strength, which was supposed to be his shot, is atrocious to non-existent

I think the reason for this is that Dal Colle never skated well enough up here to get into an open spot to use his shot. In the AHL his skating was passable enough and opposing defenses weak enough that he could get free to use his shot. He was also on PP1 down there so that was a help to him too.

 

[blinkman360]

You gotta respect MDC. Dude has been busting his ass for a couple of years now trying to earn his spot. I'm glad he's finding success - hopefully the goals/points will follow.

 

[NC 1972]

I remember 3 posters on here - I think it was @Chapin Landvogt and @Konk, who were dead against Dal Colle. The former preferred Ehlers and Nylander and the later preferred Ritchie all over MDC.

I think many of us got mesmerized by his size and production and that MDC was younger than all mentioned above. There was also a ton of talk about his character.

IMO, he is not a long term solution in the top 9. If he can prove to be productive and increase his value, then he can be an excellent player to dangle in a trade near the deadline.

Yes he was getting points on character , he has a special needs brother if my memory servers correct and his relationship with his brother was often brought up. He may not be what we were expecting but sometimes you must look at the person as well as the player. I'll cut him all the slack he needs.

 

[MJF]

You gotta respect MDC. Dude has been busting his ass for a couple of years now trying to earn his spot. I'm glad he's finding success - hopefully the goals/points will follow.

He's an example of "give the coach what he asks for".

 

[The Real JT]

You gotta respect MDC. Dude has been busting his ass for a couple of years now trying to earn his spot. I'm glad he's finding success - hopefully the goals/points will follow.

I think he's ready for a breakout.

 

[CupHolders]

He's an example of "give the coach what he asks for".

Exactly this. I feel players like this getting ice-time is that they just do what’s asked of them. Most NHL coaches seem to want most of their lineup to just NOT lose the game. Then try to bank on their top players to be in a position to win the game.

 

[Green]

You gotta respect MDC. Dude has been busting his ass for a couple of years now trying to earn his spot. I'm glad he's finding success - hopefully the goals/points will follow.

He was given all the time on the earth to develop, other players are not given that same luxury for some reason even if they look better in the brief time they are given

 

[NC 1972]

He was given all the time on the earth to develop, other players are not given that same luxury for some reason even if they look better in the brief time they are given

No one wants to throw away a top 5 pick therefore they will be given more time to prove themselves.

 

[CupHolders]

He was given all the time on the earth to develop, other players are not given that same luxury for some reason even if they look better in the brief time they are given

Look better to fanatics and fanalysts maybe. But coaches measure player success in context to playing within their game plan.

Ordinarily the player needs to be a net positive in the coaches view of production or opponent suppression.