DEL ZOTTO COMING TO HARTFORD? COULD BE… 

Last night, the London Knights were eliminated in their pursuit of a Memorial Cup. Why does that matter to Hartford Wolf Pack fans?

The starting defenseman for the Knights is none other than the number 20 overall pick overall by the New York Rangers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Michael Del Zotto. What that could mean, should the organization choose to do so, and we can’t possibly fathom how they wouldn’t, is to bring him to Hartford on an ATO and get him into the lineup right away.

Given how incredibly badly Brian Fahey and Jared Nightingale were last night, Del Zotto and any of the other prospects could not be any worse.

“It’s a terrible feeling,(losing in OT and being eliminated)” London defenseman Michael Del Zotto said to the press afterwards. “I was brought here to win and we didn’t get it done. We worked as hard as we could and it wasn’t enough.“

The Western Conference champions, the Windsor Spitfires advanced to the OHL final with a 4-3 win and five-game victory over Del Zotto (and presumed number one pick in the upcoming NHL draft, John Taveres) before 6,528 last night at the WFCU Centre. It was a fourth overtime loss in five games against the Spitfires, who have two members that have been drafted by the New Jersey Devils, center Adam Henrique and defenseman Harry Young. The closest the Rangers get to that team is left wing James Woodcroft lists the Blueshirts as his favorite team.

Adding Del Zotto would add some scoring punch to the rearguard which the team could really use. Jess Rubenstein, who’s seen Del Zotto all season long says of the 6’ 188 pound 18 year old, “We start with his offensive numbers as Del Zotto did deliver going 3-16-19 +8 in 14 playoff games. It would have been nice to see more goals but we liked how Del Zotto put up clutch points during the first 2 playoff series this year.

We liked that Del Zotto did cut down on his defensive mistakes and tried to become a more physical player. It was not always perfect and Del Zotto remains very much a work in progress but the effort and desire are there.

Over the summer, it is expected that Del Zotto will sign his entry level contract with the Rangers but the odds are very much stacked against Del Zotto making the jump to the Rangers next fall. The number one reason is that despite all his improvements on defense, Del Zotto still needs a lot of polishing to his entire game.
There is no question that on offense alone that Del Zotto has the skills to make it to the NHL but he would not survive long under the Tortorella system at his current defensive skill level.”

For the full scouting report on “Del Z,” read Jess Rubenstein’s assessment of the young Canadian in his The Prospect Park blog.

Here’s hoping Del Z’s hockey isn’t over for 2008-2009 and that the championship he failed to secure in Juniors might happen for him in the AHL.

(Del Zotto picture courtesy of Stu Switzer at Phatso Photography)