Prospect Update: Alex Dostie

By Thomas Harrington

The Anaheim Ducks selected Alex Dostie in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. This was his first season as a member of the Anaheim organization, and it was spent primarily in the QMJHL. Dostie was actually the second player the Ducks selected in the fourth round that year; the first was Jack Kopacka.

Dostie started the season playing for the Gatineau Olympiques, but he didn’t finish the season there. He scored 15 goals and 36 points in 32 games for the Olympiques, the team that he had been with since the 2013-2014 season. Halfway through the season, however, Dostie was traded from Gatineau to the Charlottetown Islanders, where he scored 15 goals and 35 points in 31 games, a remarkably similar pace to what he did in Gatineau. The big difference in stats was his +/- rating, as he had a -12 rating with Gatineau and a +22 ratting with the Islanders. That stat is much more telling of team success, as Gatineau finished 10th overall and Charlottetown finished fourth overall. The 71 total points were two fewer than he had the season before, but the 30 total goals was a new career high for him. In the playoffs, Dostie helped the Islanders reach the third round, as he scored eight goals and 16 points in 13 games for his new team, but it wasn’t enough, and they were defeated by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in five games. His eight goals were second on the team in the playoffs, and his 16 points were fourth.

Dostie’s back-to-back seasons of 70+ points are impressive but more impressive to me is his work in the postseason. Over the last two years, Dostie has played in 23 playoff games and scored 14 goals. That’s a significant improvement in terms of his goal scoring rate over the course of the regular season in that same time frame. At a time of year when it’s harder to score goals, Dostie is able to elevate his game above what he has done during the course of the regular season. There are few players who are better in the playoffs than the regular season, but they are incredibly beneficial to teams when they find them. Jakob Silfverberg is one such player. He’s been good in the regular season, but one of the best forwards in the playoffs over the last couple of years.

Being drafted as a 19-year-old, there was some thought that Dostie may spend an overage year in juniors before turning pro, especially since he hadn’t signed with the Ducks by the end of June. However, he signed his entry level contract with the Ducks in July and now looks poised to join the San Diego Gulls. He actually joined the Gulls at the conclusion of his junior season on an ATO in May and played in one playoff game for San Diego. He went scoreless, but it was a valuable experience for the young forward, as he got a taste of what the professional game is like.

Assuming he’s with San Diego this season (and that looks highly likely), my expectations aren’t sky high for Dostie. He’ll take some time to fully adjust to the AHL. However, what I would like to see from him is improving play throughout the season. He’s shown that he can elevate his game in the playoffs in juniors. If he can do that in the AHL, he’ll be well on his way to a successful NHL career.

We won’t see Dostie in the NHL this season, since Anaheim and San Diego, the Ducks should have enough depth to let him develop with the Gulls. Next season he could get a call-up, but I think it more likely he makes his NHL debut in the 2019-2020 season. He won’t necessarily be in the NHL on a full-time basis that season, but I do think we’ll have seen him in an Anaheim sweater by then.

In terms of his NHL future, Dostie could turn into a second or third line scoring forward. That’s asking a lot of a fourth round pick, but if his skills and ability to elevate his game in the postseason can carry over to the NHL, he could fit in nicely on Anaheim’s second or third line someday.

Dostie’s entry level contract is for three years and will begin this season. When the contract is over, he’ll be a restricted free agent. Assuming he develops and plays well in the AHL, if not the NHL, the Ducks will likely re-sign him in three years’ time.

My next prospect update will be on Garrett Metcalf.

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August 15th, 2017

Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: alex dostie, Anaheim Ducks, Ducks, ducksnpucks, Prospect update