Ty Dellandrea, Flint Firebirds (OHL)

The Numbers:

Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Born: Toronto, ON
Age on Draft Day: 17
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 180 lbs.

2017-2018 Stats:

Flint Firebirds (OHL): 67 GP, 27 G, 32 A, 59 P
Canada U-18 at WJC U-18: 5 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P

Rankings:

NHL Central Scouting Top 31 NA – 25
Future Considerations – 30
Corey Pronman – 29

Projection: Two-Way 2nd / 3rd line Center

Many of us Detroit fans have been focused, and with good reason, on options for the Red Wings to select at #6. It appears very likely that the team will have the opportunity to select a piece the team desperately needs in its rebuild with that pick. But Detroit also has a good chance to get another piece of the rebuild with at least one of a group of picks at the end of the first round and beginning of the second.

On the latest episode of the Fer Sure podcast, Jay and I interviewed Dylan Galloway, the head scout for Eastern Canada for Future Considerations. During that interview, I asked him about options for players in the range of Detroit’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th picks of the draft. (30/31, 33, and 36 overall)

Galloway mentioned Ty Dellandrea, a center for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. He said that he was talking to a colleague recently about how he thinks Dellandrea will end up in a Red Wings sweater on draft day. I decided to look a little deeper.

Scouting Reports

Here an excerpt of what Corey Pronman has to say about Dellandrea in his draft prospect article (paywall):

He’s very powerful at full speed with a strong frame that is hard to contain when he drives to the net or tries to beat a defender to the outside. Dellandrea can make a skilled play to get a zone entry, showing the odd flash of higher level skill and has above-average vision. His shot is heavy and he can finish chances when he gets them. Dellandrea also is a quality defensive center who can kill penalties well and take critical draws. Coaches will love his versatility, but he has enough talent to be a valuable scoring asset too.

I asked Galloway to summarize his thoughts on Dellandrea for this article. Here’s what he had to say:

Dellandrea is a highly intelligent centerman whose hard working style and strong, powerful strides makes him a solid two way player. Though he won’t dazzle you with his puck handling skills, he’s got the weapons in the offensive zone to be lethal with the shot or pass, and when combined with his vision he’s a force to be reckoned with. His offensive work – and specifically his shot- although impressive (27G – 32A — 59Pts), to me is still slightly undervalued.

His defensive game might be the area of his game that needs the most work, but really that’s mostly a consistency issue. With a high hockey IQ, the detriment can sometimes be overthinking plays, and Dellandrea can fall victim to this as well.

As I mentioned on the pod, I see his ceiling being a very good 2C. I see a perfect storm of a good prospect, with some already well developed tools, and a few deficiencies in his game going to a “retooling” organization that is known for a strong development system, where there could be an opportunity for minutes.

In our interview with Galloway, he mentioned a scout he feels does good work who goes by the pen name Will Scouch (his Twitter handle “Scouching” is a portmanteau of scouting and couch, since he watches most games from his house rather than the rinks.) His blog is definitely worth reading if you like reading about prospects.

I also reached out to him to see what he’s seen in Dellandrea:

I’ve gotten to be a bigger and bigger fan of his as the year progressed. Flint was not a great team, but Dellandrea stirred their drink a ton. His skill is surprising, and his playmaking ability is underrated. He doesn’t play selfishly, but he’s able to put a play on his stick. His U18 was excellent where he was relied upon as an offensive catalyst. His skating is solid, but he’s at his best finding the open man and getting pucks to dangerous areas, and is no slouch 1-on-1.

He’s strong on his feet, but will need to get stronger as he develops. His shot isn’t the greatest either, but I think he’s got 1st round talent. He’s strong and intelligent and I could easily see him as an offensive 3rd line centre who can eat minutes and produce. If he can gain some more speed and keep getting stronger on his feet, his ceiling could be higher.

I think a team might jump up and take him though. Consistently got better and his U18 was swell. Also to me, says a lot about him that he’s been able to really stick it out in Flint. That is a tough place to play…

Highlights

Here are some highlights from this past season. The main things I noticed was his vision around the net to find teammates and how he was able to use his body effectively to hold the puck in those high traffic areas.

Combine

Past and future Fer Sure guest and writer for Habs Eyes On the Prize Scott Matla was at the NHL Scouting Combine this past weekend, and he was kind enough to share this video he recorded with Dellandrea (It’s tough to hear some of the questions, but you can figure them out from his answers):

Bottom Line

Based on what I’ve seen, if Dellandrea is still on the board when Detroit has their three pick flurry, I think this pick would make a lot of sense. Obviously if he reaches Galloway’s projected ceiling for him (very good 2nd line center), that would solidify Detroit down the middle. With Larkin and Rasmussen in the stable (with the caveat that we still have to see what Rasmussen does at the NHL level), even if Dellandrea tops out as a very good 3rd line center, that gives Detroit a lot of young options down the middle.

Would you take Ty Dellandrea with one of Detroit’s three picks (30/31, 33, 36?)