Michael Dal Colle Making His Case

Ahead of Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and following a week of practice, New York Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz had a conversation with forward Michael Dal Colle.
"If you have a chance to go in, don't give me any reason to take you out," Trotz told the young forward.
Dal Colle delivered.

In his third game of the season, and first instance of suiting up for consecutive games, Dal Colle's presence was influential and boosted his case to stay in the Islanders lineup. The winger recorded his first points of the season - and his first multipoint game of his career - with two assists in the Islanders eventual 4-3 win over the Penguins, which snapped a five-game winless streak.
"He was hopping on pucks, he was strong on them," Anders Lee, who scored the game-winner, said of Dal Colle. "He created that energy, he created those goals along with [Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle], they really lit that fire for our team tonight when we needed that jump. He's coming into this lineup with a ton of work ethic that he's always carried with himself. It's great to see him get rewarded with points."
Both of his helpers - on both of Eberle's goals - were 'instrumental,' according to Trotz and resulted from his physical play along the boards to help maintain control of a forced Pittsburgh turnover and create a quick-strike counter attack.

On Eberle's first goal, which doubled as the game's icebreaker in the first period, Dal Colle won a battle in the neutral zone to spring Eberle for a rush, where the forward drove to the net and beat Pittsburgh's goaltender Tristian Jarry with his backhand.
After the Penguins had evened the score 1-1 later in the period, Dal Colle worked with his linemates on the forecheck to force the Pens back into their zone. Dal Colle knocked a loose puck from mid-air and redirected over to Nelson in the high slot for a one-timer, which was initially saved by Jarry, but jammed in on the doorstep by Eberle.
Learning to utilize his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame to his advantage, just as he did against the Pens, has helped Dal Colle round out his overall 200-foot game. For the skilled winger, it's been an area he's drawn focus towards dating back to his days in 2018-19 with the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
"Credit to the coaching staff Bridgeport, they helped build that a lot," Dal Colle said. "[Bridgeport Head Coach] Brent Thompson was big on that and increasing battle levels. I think it's translated over to this level. I know that's the way I'm going to be effective; [being] engaged against the wall, winning battles and creating space for the guys that I play with."
Dal Colle impressed the coaching staff with his performance last Sunday in the Islanders 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia, where he played on more of a checking line alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Austin Czarnik. Dal Colle felt like it was a sturdy game that he could build off of and after following it up with a strong week of practice, the coaching staff concurred. He was rewarded with the opportunity to play on a more offensively-inclined line with Nelson and Eberle.

"To me, he's a very good skater, he's got good size," Trotz said ahead of Saturday's game. "I've got him with Brock right now; he can go and drive that, go get pucks, go after people, create some of that. He has a pretty good skill set, he has a good shot, he's playing with two pretty good players who can create off of that. A lot of times he's going to have to be a bull in a china shop; get down and get some pucks, create some loose pucks, get them to those guys and head to the net, doing a lot of the leg work."
This season, will be Dal Colle's second season starting the year with the Islanders and a pivotal one for the 24-year-old to make his case as a mainstay in the nightly lineup. With most young players who are, 'banging at the door on a regular basis,' Trotz encourages them to shift their focus from the results on the scoresheet to being committed to playing a consistent and honest game. In turn, the production tends to be organic byproduct.
"[Dal Colle] is changing his mindset," Trotz said. "I asked him to change his mindset to get 'Let's get to being a worker bee every day.' What will happen is he'll be more involved. He'll start getting production from that because he's not thinking about the production part, he's thinking about just playing well and working and some of those natural skills he has will come out."