New York Islanders Michael Dal Colle Earned Call Up to NHL

Michael Dal Colle has been called up from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The New York Islanders fifth overall pick in 2014 firmly deserves it.

On Thursday the New York Islanders called up the former fifth overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft Michael Dal Colle to the NHL. After an injury to Andrew Ladd, the Isles needed to fill a spot on the left in their top six. They chose Dal Colle.

An argument could have been made to call up Josh Ho-Sang who is currently 20th in points in the AHL. But the Isles wanted a lefty. They could have moved the lineup around to accommodate Ho-Sang and his right-handed shot, they decided against it.

For good reason. There’s no other way to say it. Michael Dal Colle deserves this call-up.

Finally, He’s Got It

With 14 points in 14 games, Michael Dal Colle has been a big producer for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and a big reason they sit second in the Atlantic Division in the AHL.

From the drop of the puck on the AHL season, Dal Colle has been putting up points. In the Sound Tigers first game on October 6th, Dal Colle put up a goal and an assist. Over the next 13 games, he’d add another six goals and six assists.

With those 14 points, Dal Colle is already ten points shy of his 24 from 2017-18. It took him 60 games to get there.

Dal Colle was drafted in 2014 with a lot of promise. This was a kid that had absolutely dominated at the junior level. But that was four years ago. Over the next five seasons, Dal Colle played two more seasons in junior and the next three in the AHL.

After his 24 points last season Dal Colle looks like an afterthought in the New York Islanders system. With only four NHL games on his resume by the end of the 2017-18 season, I was ready to call him a bust. I just didn’t see a way he could make it to the NHL or even be a factor at the NHL level.

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Hopefully, with this most recent call-up, Michael Dal Colle can continue the form he showed in the AHL. Hopefully, he can do something with the opportunity he’s being given and forces the New York Islanders to think twice about sending him back down the AHL.