CHICAGO — Greetings from the Midway International Airport where I’m waiting for a flight back to Texas after the NHL Entry Draft.
As a quick recap, the Dallas Stars had one of the more successful drafts here in Chicago. The Stars snagged the No. 1 target on their draft board, Miro Heiskanen, with the third-overall pick, while they also picked the top-rated goalie in the draft, Jake Oettinger, at No. 26 after trading up three spots.
In the second round Dallas picked Jason Robertson at No. 39. A first-round talent, that fell to the second round because of his skating.
The draft was also a nice boon for Wrong Side of the Red Line. During the draft week this site picked up 18 new subscribers, and we’re getting close to the century mark.
It’s a small operation right now, but one with big plans for the coming season. Those who have already subscribed thank you very much. For those who haven’t, if you like the coverage you see here and are interested in even more Stars coverage consider subscribing for $3 per month or $36 for the full year.
(You can subscribe by clicking here.)
That’s enough salesmanship, let’s empty out the notebook from this weekend.
Early draft success
Stars director of amateur scouting Joe MacDonnell was thrilled with how the draft turned out.
For possibly the first time in his career running a draft, MacDonnell was able to pick the player that was ranked first on his draft board (Heiskanen), and grabbing Oettinger with the second first-round pick may have set up the Stars with a proper line of succession when Ben Bishop’s six-year contract is coming to a close (Oettinger will be 24 around that time).
I had predicted the Stars would take Heiskanen and Oettinger (however there was worry he wouldn’t be around at No. 29, which is why Dallas traded up to No. 26), but I didn’t envision that Jason Robertson would be available at No. 39.
Robertson’s skating could have been a reason to drop him to the second round, but he felt like a sure-fire top-35 pick in my mind. That could be the big steal of this draft (after St. Louis grabbing Klim Kostin at No. 31), if Robertson really commits to his skating like he talked about after the draft.
Low risk, high reward?
Oettinger was the big prize in the goalie market this draft, but we should keep an eye on Stars seventh-round draft pick Dylan Ferguson.
Ferguson was the back-up goalie this season in Kamloops, but still put up decent numbers and played well when Kamloops starter Connor Ingram was playing at the World Junior Championships.
Because of that Ferguson was underscouted and the Stars gladly took a flyer on the athletic goalie.
Nichushkin saga continues
Stars general manager Jim Nill spoke with Valeri Nichushkin last week and plans to follow up again soon, but we still don’t have a clear picture of what the Russian is thinking for next season.
Nichushkin has a contract in the KHL this season, but could push to get out of it. There is past precedent of that and Denis Gurianov did it last summer.
The Stars would like to have an answer sooner than later on Nichushkin, but it seems like the reality of this situation is that it will drag further into the summer.
I asked Nill how he handles his cap space and if he plans to earmark part of the Stars cap space for Nichushkin if he were to make a late defection in July or August.
Nill gave a diplomatic answer, but did acknowledge that’s something that could be a possibility.
Sharp and Hemsky?
The Stars are going to have discussions this week with Ales Hemsky and Patrick Sharp about potentially returning next season.
Both players had tough seasons and struggled with injuries. Both players are also in their 30s and nearing the twilights of their careers.
Personally I don’t see much value in bringing back either player.
The Stars have a bevy of young players that need to step into larger roles and be given an opportunity to do so. Hemsky and Sharp are bottom-six players now and I don’t like the idea of an aging veteran taking a roster spot that could go to a player like Jason Dickinson.
The Stars already have a veteran presence in Jason Spezza and ideally Jamie Benn should be in a spot in his captaincy where he can lead without Sharp or Hemsky’s help.
Draft in Dallas?
There were reports and Tweets on Saturday that the Stars could host the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
A source confirmed that has been indeed discussed, but there are still logistics to be worked out.
Free agency
The Stars and the rest of the NHL were able to reach out and connect with pending unrestricted free agents starting on Sunday.
The Stars have voids to fill at forward and on defense, and Jim Nill hopes to address both of those areas in the coming weeks. Nill said the communication period this week isn’t an exact science and depends on the player.
Sometimes the player will want to come to a city and check it out, particularly those with families. Other times the player already has done enough research and a phone call is appropriate.
USHL strong
One thing that I noticed about this draft was the number of players that were drafted from USHL teams.
Total player count via @eliteprospects #NHLDraft
43 – OHL
40 – USHL
33 – WHL
24 – USHS
14 – QMJHL
12 – OJHL— Aaron Westendorf (@USHLAaron) June 24, 2017
That’s a good sign for the league, which has become a truly legitimate option for player development in the past decade. The USHL also creates a strong pipeline to college hockey, which for some prospects is the more ideal path (for example a player like Devin Shore has told me multiple times he wouldn’t have been ready to be a pro if he didn’t go the NCAA route.
Niemi buyout
The Stars have yet to take care of the three-goalie situation, but expect that to happen sometime this week.
Dallas is holding out hope for a trade solution, but the most likely solution is Antti Niemi will be bought out before the end of the week.
Development Camp
The Dallas Stars will hold development camp July 7 through 11 in Frisco. A more detailed schedule should be announced closer to that time.
DrewL says
As big as the USHL draft number is, perhaps more shocking is how small the QMJHL nunber is. Just 14. Wow. That’s barely ahead of the OJHL, which is a noted step down in competition. Any thoughts on this decline in draftees from the Q?
Sean Shapiro says
Just 14 players from the Q, and the top pick wasn’t even traditional Q territory. It’s a trend I think we’ll have to keep an eye on for next year.