Tony DeHart 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Tony DeHart

Date of birth: March 20, 1990 (2010-11 Season Age: 20/21)

Place of birth: St. Louis, MO, USA
Height: 6-2
Weight: 187
Shooting Hand: Right
OHL Season: 5th OHL Season
Drafted: NY Islanders In the 5th Round (125th Overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft 
Acquired: Originally Drafted By The NY Islanders

2010-11 Season Stats:

Oshawa Generals      OHL:  GP: 58 G: 4  A: 26  P: 30  PIM: 82

Short-Term Status:
This was his last season of junior eligibility, which means he is going to have to play somewhere in pro-hockey. In my opinion, he is ready for the AHL and I believe he will be paired with Calvin de Haan, as they were paired together in Juniors. 

Long-Term Status:

I am not too sure if he has much of an NHL future, well not as an every day NHL'er. A guy I liken him to is former Islander Joe Callahan, as I believe he will have an effective, long career as a gritty 8-9th depth defenseman. Of coarse, that means he will spend a majority of his career in the minors but my point is, I believe he will be a solid first call-up type guy for a long time which is better than most 5th round draft picks. 

Contract Status:

NO NHL CONTRACT AS OF APRIL 20th 2011

Review:

He had a good overage year for the Oshawa Generals this season. He is known as a gritty defensive defenseman, which is why it was all the more surprising that he put up 30 points through 58 games this year. That placed him with the 3rd most points of any defenseman on his team. For most of the year, Calvin de Haan (One of the Isles' top prospects) was his defense partner. They looked very good together and their styles seemed to complement each other perfectly. Not only do Islanders fans have to thank DeHart for being a good, helpful partner for de Haan but, they need to thank him for protecting Calvin physically in numerous situations. That protecting of his teammates, is something that DeHart takes extremely serious. He does not let anyone take liberties with his star players, and he is very good at handling himself once in an altercation. That aspect of his play might also help him earn a few call-up's down the road when the Isles are playing teams like the Rangers or Flyers, so thats another few opportunity's he can create for himself. Another pleasant surprise from DeHart was his incredible play-off performance in which he was able to put up 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points in 10 games which was the 4th most play-off points by any defenseman. Along with his points contribution, his gritty physical style came in handy throughout the play-off's for the Generals.

Season Grade (A+ to F-): B

It was a very good year for Tony DeHart and to be honest I was not expecting anything close to that from him. Now for the same reason some people won't give him much credit for this performance, is also why he was not able to bump this grade up any higher. That reason is he was in his overage (a player who is 20 years of age) year which means for the most part he was older than his competition. Never-the-less, it was a good year and I believe he proved he is AHL-ready. 

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