It’s been a long road to the NHL for Michael Dal Colle. MDC was selected fifth overall by the New York Islanders in 2014 as a power forward who had a knack for goal scoring. In most cases, top-five picks are impact players rather quickly.
Dal Colle would go on to play three years in the OHL after being drafted before moving over to the AHL. Dal Colle didn’t exactly light the world on fire in the AHL. In his first full season, 2016-2017, he had 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists).
It’s not that those numbers are necessarily bad, they’re just not at the level that a premiere draft pick’s should be.