Editor’s note: This is the fifth part of a series previewing individual players projected to make the Dallas Stars roster heading into the 2017-18 season.
Radek Faksa has high expectations for the 2017-18 season.
After his first full NHL season the 23-year-old Czech center said he’s ready to take the next step in his game. He wants to be more consistent, he wants to score more points, and he wants to be part of a team that’s playing deep into the playoffs.
“For sure I want to do more next season,” Faksa said this past spring. “I learned a lot this season, but it didn’t feel good with how we did as a team. I think next year I can be a bigger part of the team and I don’t want to be talking about the end of the season (in April).”
Things are seemingly aligning well for Faksa, who signed a three-year, $6.6 million contract extension as an RFA this summer.
“He’s the player that could go from a name people know in Dallas to a name people know across the league,” an Eastern Conference scout said this week. “I think he’s going to have a nice defined role he can settle into and he’s going to thrive under Ken Hitchcock.”
A couple other scouts had similar views of Faksa, who is going to be the Stars third-line center this season after Tyler Seguin and Martin Hanzal (or Jason Spezza if the Stars elect to make Hanzal a winger).
“For a young player like him it’s going to be a great fit,” a scout from within the Central Division said. “He could be used as a shutdown player against top lines, and then there won’t be pressure to score. Or if Dallas goes strength against strength, top lines against top lines, he’s a difficult matchup for another third-line.”
Offensively that could mean a career year statistically for Faksa after he registered 33 points in (12 goals, 21 assists) in 80 games last season. At 6-foot-4, 210-pound he’s learned how to use his size effectively in the offensive zone, while Faksa also has the elusiveness to make plays in tight.
Of course, he’s also proven he can get the job in unconventional ways as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asjLOknpTP4
While the offensive game could take a step forward, the defensive game should also improve under Hitchcock’s attention-to-detail system.
Faksa tends to sponge up information from coaches and veteran players. He’s often one of the last players out of the locker room after practice, often picking the brains of his older teammates, while he’s never shied away from seeking out additional information from the coaching staff.
“I like to learn as much about everything, the team we’re playing, players I’ll be going against, everything,” Faksa said. “The more you know, the better you’ll be able to use that in a game, right?”
In the past Faksa relied heavily on the tutelage of Ales Hemsky, even living with the veteran Czech during the 2015-16 season. While Hemsky left the Stars this season as a free agent (signing with the Montreal Canadiens), signing Hanzal — another Czech — should benefit Faksa and could have a direct impact on his work in the face-off circle.
“That’s something I’d keep an eye on,” the Eastern Conference scout said. “If he can take parts of Hanzal’s game in the face-off circle Dallas, especially in the defensive zone, Dallas will be in a really good spot.”
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