Player Discussion: Michael Dal Colle

[PROMputt]

It can go either way. They talked about Bertuzzi in much the same way, that he didn't have enough fire or play angry, and the Isles traded him away and botched that one up real well.

MDC appears to be getting better each game and passing month in the AHL. I hope he just keeps working, adds size and refines his skating.

Honestly, If he does that, he can probably be a better version of Bernier (in his prime years) and a player who can notch 20-25 goals a year with a few peak years thrown in for good measure.

One thing about MDC, is that he might not "play angry" per se, but he seems motivated to want to score goals. Nothing wrong with that since you always need a few players who hunger to score.

The Bertuzzi comparison is the one I use whenever Dal Colle is brought up. Like defensemen it seems big forwards sometimes take a little longer to develop. He is finishing up the season at Bridgeport strong and I feel this is a very good sign. He needs to work hard in the off season and I think he can earn a spot on the roster next year.

 

[Dutch Frost]

The Bertuzzi comparison is the one I use whenever Dal Colle is brought up. Like defensemen it seems big forwards sometimes take a little longer to develop. He is finishing up the season at Bridgeport strong and I feel this is a very good sign. He needs to work hard in the off season and I think he can earn a spot on the roster next year.

You are comparing Apples to Bowling Balls

I wish they would let MDC play a few games right now and hope he can have the same energy as Ho-Sang. I can go back to a month ago reading from you arm chair QB's who said Ho-Sang aint ready and his ego is detrimental to the team blah blah.

Give him a shot and see what he can do without having you smothering women on this board crying about our beloved prospects being rushed.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

You are comparing Apples to Bowling Balls

I wish they would let MDC play a few games right now and hope he can have the same energy as Ho-Sang. I can go back to a month ago reading from you arm chair QB's who said Ho-Sang aint ready and his ego is detrimental to the team blah blah.

Give him a shot and see what he can do without having you smothering women on this board crying about our beloved prospects being rushed.

I think the point made is power forwards take time to develop. I have read MDC is a bust all over the place. Give the kid time and don't give up on him. Adding to the roster now is also debateable but not the move I would make at this critical time.

 

[PROMputt]

You are comparing Apples to Bowling Balls

I wish they would let MDC play a few games right now and hope he can have the same energy as Ho-Sang. I can go back to a month ago reading from you arm chair QB's who said Ho-Sang aint ready and his ego is detrimental to the team blah blah.

Give him a shot and see what he can do without having you smothering women on this board crying about our beloved prospects being rushed.

Not this arm chair QB. Check all my posts I have never written a bad thing about the kid(I have been in his corner since we drafted him). But then again I was a big Nino supporter(saw him at the scrimmage against the Islanders after the lock out and he was a stud that day).

 

[PROMputt]

I think the point made is power forwards take time to develop. I have read MDC is a bust all over the place. Give the kid time and don't give up on him. Adding to the roster now is also debateable but not the move I would make at this critical time.

Thank you, yes that was my point.

 

[Islesfan22]

The Bertuzzi comparison is the one I use whenever Dal Colle is brought up. Like defensemen it seems big forwards sometimes take a little longer to develop. He is finishing up the season at Bridgeport strong and I feel this is a very good sign. He needs to work hard in the off season and I think he can earn a spot on the roster next year.

Bertuzzi was much stronger and a better skater then MDC at the same age. The problem with Bertuzzi was that everyone was comparing him to maybe the best power forward ever in Gilles. Bertuzzi wasn't nearly as tough as Gilles and perhaps the pressure got to him. I have watched MDC in juniors and I was never impressed with his play. There was games you didn't even know if he was playing. He has a good shot and pretty good skill which you mostly notice on the pp. if MDC wants to be a good nhler he must hit the gym and get stronger something he has been unwilling to do from what I've read.

 

[danteipp]

Bertuzzi was much stronger and a better skater then MDC at the same age. The problem with Bertuzzi was that everyone was comparing him to maybe the best power forward ever in Gilles. Bertuzzi wasn't nearly as tough as Gilles and perhaps the pressure got to him. I have watched MDC in juniors and I was never impressed with his play. There was games you didn't even know if he was playing. He has a good shot and pretty good skill which you mostly notice on the pp. if MDC wants to be a good nhler he must hit the gym and get stronger something he has been unwilling to do from what I've read.

I think you have part of it right (see more below), however, I also think a lot of people tend to forget just how bad Bertuzzi was with the Isles, his complete inability to create any space for himself and his struggles to do even the simplest things correctly.

If you want to understand more about the Gillies/Bertuzzi relationship, Bertuzzi's fragile ego and his failure with the Isles, go read the following story from ESPN:
http://www.espn.com/magazine/vol5no21bertuzzi.html

http://www.espn.com/magazine/vol5no21bertuzzi.html

I remember reading this article at the time and I still cannot believe Bertuzzi's wife stepped in to "defend" him from Gillies.

That is why I am all for giving power forwards sufficient time to develop. It appears MDC seems to be getting it and is gradually improving with the BST. Hopefully he keeps it up.

I said before that he reminds me of Steve Bernier, who had similar talent but did NOT work hard enough to improve his skating and two-way game to become a complete power forward. That might be the low end for a comp for MDC.

But hopefully MDC will be more than that in the end!

 

[seafoam]

One thing to consider, and we're kinda seeing it with Ho-Sang, is that he's kinda playing better in the NHL than he did in the AHL.

There aren't many high skill/high IQ guys in Bridgeport that can think like guys like Ho-Sang and Dal Colle, so I think their offensive numbers are going to naturally underwhelm. Factor in that they are being taught to play a 200 ft. game and there aren't going to be making a lot of highlight reel plays.

I think Dal Colle could be a victim of this even more than Ho-Sang, and his resurgence in his last year in junior after going from a downright terrible Oshawa squad to a more skilled Kingston squad shows that is may true.

One thing we have to understand is that Dal Colle is a goalscorer, and goalscorers need good centers to do puck carrying and set them up. If Dal Colle was a goalscorer who wasn't as reliant on having a good center, he would have went a lot higher than he did (but those guys are hard to find). There is not a good center is Bridgeport, folks.

 

[SDIsles34]

One thing to consider, and we're kinda seeing it with Ho-Sang, is that he's kinda playing better in the NHL than he did in the AHL.

There aren't many high skill/high IQ guys in Bridgeport that can think like guys like Ho-Sang and Dal Colle, so I think their offensive numbers are going to naturally underwhelm. Factor in that they are being taught to play a 200 ft. game and there aren't going to be making a lot of highlight reel plays.

I think Dal Colle could be a victim of this even more than Ho-Sang, and his resurgence in his last year in junior after going from a downright terrible Oshawa squad to a more skilled Kingston squad shows that is may true.

One thing we have to understand is that Dal Colle is a goalscorer, and goalscorers need good centers to do puck carrying and set them up. If Dal Colle was a goalscorer who wasn't as reliant on having a good center, he would have went a lot higher than he did (but those guys are hard to find). There is not a good center is Bridgeport, folks.

I never considered Dal Colle a high skill/ high IQ guy. It certainly requires offensive awareness to get into scoring areas but in my time watching him, he didn't necessarily make good decisions with the puck and never wow'ed with stickhandling or skill. Maybe I'm missing something but always considered him a purely opportunistic sniper. Won't notice him much but you'll see 1-2 G's on the box score.

Also, didn't he play alongside Ho-Sang quite a bit in Bridgeport?

 

[seafoam]

I never considered Dal Colle a high skill/ high IQ guy. It certainly requires offensive awareness to get into scoring areas but in my time watching him, he didn't necessarily make good decisions with the puck and never wow'ed with stickhandling or skill. Maybe I'm missing something but always considered him a purely opportunistic sniper. Won't notice him much but you'll see 1-2 G's on the box score.

Also, didn't he play alongside Ho-Sang quite a bit in Bridgeport?

Once they were united alongside Winquist, both of their numbers started to jump.

 

[Sorge Georos]

I think you have part of it right (see more below), however, I also think a lot of people tend to forget just how bad Bertuzzi was with the Isles, his complete inability to create any space for himself and his struggles to do even the simplest things correctly.

If you want to understand more about the Gillies/Bertuzzi relationship, Bertuzzi's fragile ego and his failure with the Isles, go read the following story from ESPN:
http://www.espn.com/magazine/vol5no21bertuzzi.html

http://www.espn.com/magazine/vol5no21bertuzzi.html

I remember reading this article at the time and I still cannot believe Bertuzzi's wife stepped in to "defend" him from Gillies.

That is why I am all for giving power forwards sufficient time to develop. It appears MDC seems to be getting it and is gradually improving with the BST. Hopefully he keeps it up.

I said before that he reminds me of Steve Bernier, who had similar talent but did NOT work hard enough to improve his skating and two-way game to become a complete power forward. That might be the low end for a comp for MDC.

But hopefully MDC will be more than that in the end!

Gillies looked across the table at Bertuzzi and told him to pick an opposing player and run him. "Kick the **** out of him," he said. That oughta give the kid a rep and some room, Gillies thought

That worked out real well a few years later

 

[Islanders4Cups]

One thing to consider, and we're kinda seeing it with Ho-Sang, is that he's kinda playing better in the NHL than he did in the AHL.

Probably a topic for the Ho-Sang thread but I don't necessarily agree that JHS is playing better in the NHL than AHL. Yes 3-3-6 looks good seemingly validating he is on a great pace scoring wise and he seems to be thriving but there is -4 out there and I promise he won't here long if that doesn't flatten out. Not saying the goals against 5 on 5 are all his fault, but some were. You don't see many 30 goals 30 assist guys which many of us seem to be projecting and penciling him in for with a -40 around the league. He is doing nicely but saying he is doing better than in Bridgeport is a stretch. He earned his way to get here improving defensively. Let's see if he can do that at the NHL level

 

[danteipp]

That worked out real well a few years later

Dumb-dumb Bert couldn't even follow simple advice correctly, don't blame Gillies for Bert's inadequacies and lack of comprehension. I guess Gillies should have taken him to a restaurant with paper table cloth and crayons. He could have doodled out the difference between hitting in hockey versus attempted murder. Although I guess maybe Gillies thought that was self explanatory.

 

[ekill08x]

Probably a topic for the Ho-Sang thread but I don't necessarily agree that JHS is playing better in the NHL than AHL. Yes 3-3-6 looks good seemingly validating he is on a great pace scoring wise and he seems to be thriving but there is -4 out there and I promise he won't here long if that doesn't flatten out. Not saying the goals against 5 on 5 are all his fault, but some were. You don't see many 30 goals 30 assist guys which many of us seem to be projecting and penciling him in for with a -40 around the league. He is doing nicely but saying he is doing better than in Bridgeport is a stretch. He earned his way to get here improving defensively. Let's see if he can do that at the NHL level

Yeah and hes been back checking very hard. That -4 is way more on Brock whose a turnover machine and lazy back checker and how poorly the D has been. If you've watched close Ho Sang has played a very nice two way game and players like Hamonic a have killed him when hes out there with him. Ho Sang is here to stya brother.

 

[Seph]

One thing to consider, and we're kinda seeing it with Ho-Sang, is that he's kinda playing better in the NHL than he did in the AHL.

There aren't many high skill/high IQ guys in Bridgeport that can think like guys like Ho-Sang and Dal Colle, so I think their offensive numbers are going to naturally underwhelm. Factor in that they are being taught to play a 200 ft. game and there aren't going to be making a lot of highlight reel plays.

I think Dal Colle could be a victim of this even more than Ho-Sang, and his resurgence in his last year in junior after going from a downright terrible Oshawa squad to a more skilled Kingston squad shows that is may true.

One thing we have to understand is that Dal Colle is a goalscorer, and goalscorers need good centers to do puck carrying and set them up. If Dal Colle was a goalscorer who wasn't as reliant on having a good center, he would have went a lot higher than he did (but those guys are hard to find). There is not a good center is Bridgeport, folks.

Not sure if he's really playing better or if it's just a result of not being stuck in Capuano's offense starving system anymore. The Islanders require Bridgeport to play the same system as the big club to ease the transition on call ups, so it's pretty safe to assume that when Cappy was canned, the system changed. Since then, Ho-Sang played 17 AHL games, and put up 7g and 20 points. Dal Colle has also put up 5 g and 18 pts in the 24 games since then, which while not quite as torrid of a pace as JHS, is still a notable improvement on the 16 pts in 34 games he put up under Cappy's regime.

 

[danteipp]

As previously mentioned, part of it has definitely been better center play and creativity with the BST. Winquist has more creativity offensively than most of the plugs they were rolling earlier alongside JHS and MDC.

 

[Dutch Frost]

One thing to consider, and we're kinda seeing it with Ho-Sang, is that he's kinda playing better in the NHL than he did in the AHL.

There aren't many high skill/high IQ guys in Bridgeport that can think like guys like Ho-Sang and Dal Colle, so I think their offensive numbers are going to naturally underwhelm. Factor in that they are being taught to play a 200 ft. game and there aren't going to be making a lot of highlight reel plays.

I think Dal Colle could be a victim of this even more than Ho-Sang, and his resurgence in his last year in junior after going from a downright terrible Oshawa squad to a more skilled Kingston squad shows that is may true.

One thing we have to understand is that Dal Colle is a goalscorer, and goalscorers need good centers to do puck carrying and set them up. If Dal Colle was a goalscorer who wasn't as reliant on having a good center, he would have went a lot higher than he did (but those guys are hard to find). There is not a good center is Bridgeport, folks.

this is why I have no issues with calling him up for a few games. It costs us nothing. If he shines, he helps us in the playoffs. If he doesent well then he just needs more time down in the minors but at least he is sniffing real NHL mins and being able to learn and grow from it.

I dont understand why we keep our prospects smothered down in Bridgeport.

 

[steveat]

I think there was another reason why we have kept some of our prospects buried in the minors and that has to do with LV coming into the league. We are going to lose a good player...just not sure which one yet and we would have been in a bigger pile of crap if we did bringup MDC and JHS too early.

 

[LeapOnOver]

That worked out real well a few years later

Haha, was going to say the same thing. You can tell by the article he has a ridiculous temper problem. It's obvious this article was a warning rather than a feel good piece, lol.

 

[seafoam]

I think there was another reason why we have kept some of our prospects buried in the minors and that has to do with LV coming into the league. We are going to lose a good player...just not sure which one yet and we would have been in a bigger pile of crap if we did bringup MDC and JHS too early.

Neither of them are expansion draft eligible regardless of how many NHL games they play this year.

It has to do with number of seasons as a pro. Two or less pro seasons deems themexempt from the expansion draft. Dal Colle and Ho-Sang are in their first seasons as pros.

The fact that Pulock is in his third full pro season (as opposed to second full pro season like the majority of players in his draft class) is screwing the Isles.

 

[SDIsles34]

The fact that Pulock is in his third full pro season (as opposed to second full pro season like the majority of players in his draft class) is screwing the Isles.

Which is ironic, that was a huge value at the time. Drafting a prospect in the first round who you can bring into your system one year earlier than the rest of the group (or just about the rest).

 

[seafoam]

Dal Colle has a chance to hit 40 points today as Bridgeport takes on Springfield momentarily.

Just for a comparison, Anthony Mantha only hit 33 points in his first AHL season.

 

[kmo429]

^Great to hear. He's improved as the year went on as well which is all you hope for in a fairly raw first year pro. 4-6-10 since Ho-Sang call-up in 17 games (0.24 GPG, 0.59 PPG.) Not tearing it up, but still performing well even after losing his linemate and the best forward on his team.

To put his recent performance in perspective, he had 8-11-19 in his first 44 games (0.18 GPG, 0.43 PPG,) so there has been marked improvement in the second half with and without JHS. Good to see. Still a project but if he continues his current improvement arc over next year in the AHL, he'll have alot of Isles fans and hockey fans back on his side.

 

[Islesfan22]

Dal Colle has a chance to hit 40 points today as Bridgeport takes on Springfield momentarily.

Just for a comparison, Anthony Mantha only hit 33 points in his first AHL season.

Big difference is Dal Colle was a top 5 pick who was expected to be in the NHL already. Mantha was the 20th pick in round one. Much highe expectations for Dal colle then Mantha.

 

[PK Cronin]

Big difference is Dal Colle was a top 5 pick who was expected to be in the NHL already. Mantha was the 20th pick in round one. Much highe expectations for Dal colle then Mantha.

Who cares about expectations though? I don't. Give me a quality player who can contribute. Knocking a player because he didn't develop according to some arbitrary timeline is craziness to me.