Family First for Dal Colle

For Michael Dal Colle, la famiglia è tutto (family is everything). Not just because the New York Islanders forward is of direct and proud Italian lineage on his paternal side, but because of how his family has been his steadfast foundation over the years.

In response to having his season paused back in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Dal Colle returned to his family's packed household in Toronto where he relished in the abundance of time off during the NHL's pause.
While the waiting game was boring and unsettling at times, quarantine provided Dal Colle with the opportunity to spend priceless time with his greatest supporters who have helped him fulfill his dream and shaped him into the well-rounded individual that he is today.
"It was a pretty busy household, but it was fun," Dal Colle said. "My grandmother also lives with us. It was awesome to see her. I got to spend a lot of time with my parents, my brother and my sister. Obviously, I'm not normally back at that time so it was different, but I enjoyed it and made the most of it."
Instagram from @mdalcolle71: Great father time with this gem #Gustavo.. love you bro
Dal Colle is the youngest of three children to Gus and Wendy and is the little brother to his older siblings Jonluca and Daniela. His father is a first-generation Canadian coming from Italian-immigrant parents, his mother bravely won her battle with breast cancer in 2009 and his older brother has autism. From a young age, Dal Colle developed a sense of humility and learned to make the most of every opportunity he received with grace and hard work.
Dal Colle's grandparents, Bruno and Gilda, moved from Verona, Italy, the picturesque backdrop of Shakespeare's iconic play "Romeo and Juliet," to Canada where they raised Dal Colle's father Gus. While Dal Colle's grandfather grew up skiing the slopes of northern Italy, he encouraged Gus to take up Canada's beloved and widely popular sport of hockey.
"When my dad] was 10 or so he got his first pair of skates," Dal Colle said. "My dad loved it. He got pretty good at it -- his first love was probably soccer still -- but he loved both sports. He carried that over to me growing up; I played soccer and hockey. I got to the point where I had to choose one that I was going to take more serious. It was always hockey for me. It was my first true love. I liked soccer a lot too, but I knew I was always going to go the hockey way if I could and it worked out."
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(The vintage skates Bruno used to teach Gus how to skate. Photo courtesy of Michael Dal Colle.)
Growing up in Vaughn, just north of Toronto, and in a household where Italian is still regularly exchanged as the native tongue between his grandmother and father, Dal Colle has always been cognizant of his bloodline. But on the ice, the winger identified most as a Canadian-born hockey player pursuing his dream to someday play in the NHL.
"There's so many different heritages and backgrounds in the [Greater Toronto Area] that play hockey growing up from a young age," Dal Colle explained. "My minor hockey team was majority Italian as well. My mom is Irish and I have half of my family from Ireland so I've got that mix, but most of the kids that I played with growing up came from full Italian backgrounds."
For the entire Dal Colle household, hockey was a shared passion. The occasions when Dal Colle himself wasn't on the ice, he was in the stands supporting his older sister, Daniela, who eventually played Division I hockey at New York's Niagara University from 2009-12.
Both Dal Colle and his sister shared offensively-inclined instincts, but varied among their individual strengths. While the siblings pushed each other, they were, and still are, each other's biggest supporters.
"I probably criticized her more than she ever criticized me to be honest," Dal Colle said with a laugh. "She was always good [about it] though. I always watched her play. It's funny, we were completely different players. She was always probably the best skater on her team. I probably had better hands and a better finish maybe [than her] growing up. We were pretty much completely different players.
"[Now], she watches me play a lot," Dal Colle continued. "Whenever [the Islanders] are in Toronto, she comes and watches me play. She still loves the game."

Dal Colle and Daniela's most devoted champion is their brother, Jonluca, who nowadays, is almost always proudly wearing an Islanders shirt or jersey printed with his brother's No. 28. Jonluca never misses a chance to see Dal Colle on TV.
While Dal Colle's success is certainly inspiration for his brother, the feeling and admiration has always been mutual. Having an older sibling with autism instilled Dal Colle with a sense of purpose and gratitude at a young age and he's gained perspective from being afforded opportunities that his brother never would.
"You learn a lot from having a sibling with special needs," Dal Colle said. "You realize that you're blessed to have the opportunities that you have in life and to take full advantage of them. You never know so you can't take anything for granted."
With the unusual amount of downtime present during quarantine, Dal Colle had the chance to partake in some of Jonluca's favorite hobbies.
"He likes to watch TV and watch Youtube videos all of the time," Dal Colle said. "We'd always be in the living room watching 90 Day Fiancé, that's his go-to show. Believe it or not, I actually got pretty into too because it was always on and we had a lot of down time."
Being home for an extended period definitely had its perks. Receiving home-cooked meals three times a day was not something Dal Colle took for granted. While he turned 24 on June 20, he admits that outside of heating up some pasta or whipping up some eggs, his culinary skills are quite rudimentary.
"You go from living on your own for eight months there and then going back home -- it's definitely different," Dal Colle said. "The one bonus is the home cooking. My mom is a great cook. I can't really cook anything so she helped me out a lot in that regard. She still babies me a little bit."
Instagram from @mdalcolle71: Happy 25th anniversary to these two #stillgoingstrong #lafamiglia
Dal Colle is particularly close with his mother, Wendy, who is the glue of the family. When Dal Colle was 11, Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a trying time for the family, as there were days where Wendy was bedridden, but after two years of fighting Wendy was fortunate to officially defeat the disease.
"She's the strongest person I know," Dal Colle said. "What she's overcome -- it's been almost 12 years now that she's been cancer free -- she's the focal point of the house. She does everything for all of us and is such a giving person. Everything I do in life is for her because she's given me every opportunity in life."
Refreshed and ready for action, Dal Colle said his goodbyes to his family for now and arrived back on Long Island last week. He is preparing to likely return back to Toronto at the end of the month, which was selected as one of the hub cities as the NHL attempts to resume the 2019-20 season.