Dale Mitchell

Mitchell's NHL career is at a crossroads. His performance swings wildly -- some days, he plays creative, offensive hockey while others, he looks like he'd barely fit in the AHL. The 21-year-old looks like he'll top out on the third line but he needs to figure things out quickly -- there are a lot of similar players hungry for a job. He'll need to deliver at least 30 points to prove his worth; he'll be lucky to get there this season.

Dale Mitchell reminds us of a stockier Darcy Tucker. A fan fave in Windsor, Mitchell brought high energy and clutch offense to the Spits' Memorial Cup run. In fact, he's the only OHLer who has groups of fans sitting in the crowd wearing fake moustaches, mimicking Dale's own. He has big talent but his small stature and buzzsaw attitude profiles him as -- at best -- a second-line winger and more likely the biggest jersey seller in Toronto for years. Roster him only if you have a crazy Leaf fan in your league who'll overpay in trade.

Mitchell is best described as a fire hydrant on blades. At 5-8 and about 210, he's almost impossible to move off the puck because of his low center of weight. He has a scorer's touch but it's a rare guy who can be an elite finisher at that size. He's definitely a long, LONG range project.

Mitchell is a fire hydrant with hands, and pretty good ones at that. He's just 5'9" tall but a square 200 lbs, and he knows how to skate and agitate. It will be interesting to see if he can translate his touch from junior (aided by uber prospect John Tavares) into the pros or whether he's another Jordan Tootoo (minus the pugilism). He's some distance from the NHL.