Given the pace of his development in comparison to most of his draft classmates, few at this time last season would have expected Michael Dal Colle to make such a strong case for a spot in the lineup that Islanders fans were upset when he was scratched in spring of 2019.
But that’s how things can change.
Also this time last year, Otto Koivula was still in the “hey, might one day be a serviceable winger” category. Some injuries and a prescient hunch from Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson later, Koivula looks like he could be a future answer at center for the Islanders.