Dal Colle cut from Team Canada camp
Trade rumours continue to circle around Generals’ captain
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
Michael Dal Colle, seen here in a game earlier this season against the Peteborough Petes, will be back in the Gens lineup this week after being cut from Team Canada’s world junior team training camp. (Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express).
It seems Michael Dal Colle just can’t catch a break.
After a slow start to his fourth season with the Oshawa Generals, Dal Colle only recently began to look like himself on the ice, improving his point total to 23 in 27 games.
However, he was among the first round of players cut from Canada’s World Junior Championship selection camp on Sunday.
This marks the second straight year Dal Colle has missed out on a spot on the team.
Roger Hunt, the vice-president and general manager of the Generals, said he was disappointed for his team’s captain.
Dal Colle, who has had a slower start to the season this year, led his team in points during the Memorial Cup winning season last year, garnering 93 points in 56 games. (Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express file photo).
“I feel so bad for him that he didn’t make it,” he said. “And disappointed for our organization. I’d love for him to play for Team Canada, but he’s not had a great start to the season and we’d hope that this might have kickstarted him.”
Dal Colle was among a small group of seven 19-year-old forwards invited to the camp, and seemed to be a reliable pick for a spot on the roster after being a late cut from last year’s camp.
Along with Dal Colle, Kingston’s Spencer Watson, Sarnia’s Jakob Chychrun, and Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles were sent home after a pair of games against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) all-star team over the weekend.
Other Oshawa Generals also expressed their surprise at the news.
“He’s a great leader on our team and he’s a great player and when he’s on, he’s one of our most offensive players and his defensive game is great too, so he’s a great asset to our team,” said goaltender Jeremy Brodeur.
Head coach Bob Jones chose not to comment on the news.
Deadline approaching
Any news on Dal Colle always raises questions about his future in Oshawa.
Since the beginning of the season, rumours have circled that Dal Colle will be shipped out in exchange for a package of draft picks and prospects, something much needed by the Generals who are looking to rebuild after last year’s successful Memorial Cup winning season.
And with the Jan. 11 OHL trade deadline approaching, Oshawa is already making movies, sending goaltending prospect Liam Devine to Kitchener and acquiring d-man Sean Allen.
“Smart teams in the league have been asking about him all year,” Hunt says of Dal Colle. “At the end of the day, he’s going to have a say in that and all we can confirm is he’s an Oshawa General.”