Kingston Frontenacs GameDay February 29, 2016

And Dal Colle was
also knocked when he
was cut at the world
junior tryouts for the
second time in two
years.
What might have
been a lost season was
more than salvaged
when the Kingston
Frontenacs traded for
Dal Colle on January 1.
They paid a hefty price
to get him: Robbie
Burt, Kingston’s firstround
draft pick (10th
overall) last spring,
a second in 2017
(originally owned by
Flint), a third in 2018,
a second in 2019 and a
third in 2022. Kingston
General Manager Doug
Gilmour’s willingness to
send a lot of futures to
the Generals for three or four months of Dal
Colle is a testament to his continuing value
as a player.
“Michael gave us an instant upgrade on
offence both five-on-five and on the power
play,” says Kingston coach Paul McFarland,
who was an assistant with the Generals two
season ago. “When the trade was made I
figured the best fit for him was playing
beside Spencer Watson and it’s been that
way since day one.”
McFarland put Warren Foegele at centre
between Watson and Dal Colle, and the
latter has responded
with the best hockey
of his career: 15 goals
and 31 points in 14
games since coming
over.
“This team reminds
me a lot of the Generals
last season,” Dal Colle
says. “We have a big
team that plays a
heavy game with a lot
of structure and a lot
of attention to defence.
That’s how we won in
Oshawa last spring.”
Those comparisons
held up well after a
brutally tough weekend
of games for the
Frontenacs—a threein-three-and-a-half
against Windsor, North
Bay and Barrie. The
Frontenacs won all
three games, including the Spitfires who
were the second-best team in the Western
Conference when they visited Rogers
K-Rock Centre. As promising as that matchup
was, the crucial game of the weekend
was against the Colts on Monday afternoon.
Leading into that game, Kingston was two
points up on the Colts for first place in the
Eastern Conference.
Dal Colle was the second player from
the Memorial Cup–champions acquired
by Kingston this season. In November, the
Frontenacs plied defenceman Stephen