There weren’t many available seats in the American Airlines Center press box this week for the Dallas Stars back-to-back preseason games.
Fifteen of the 31 NHL teams had scouts with reserved seats for the Stars loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. When you include the Stars and Avalanche executive, more than half the league was scouting that game.
One night later there were 13 scouts with seats reserved when the Stars beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1.
So why were there so many scouts for a pair of meaningless preseason games?
For starters, the back-to-back was an opportunity for several scouts to get extended viewing in one city. Instead of traveling early on Tuesday, a large contingency of those scouts were able to enjoy a slow day in Dallas before watching the second game.
It’s also an important time in the hockey intel business.
While preseason games rarely provide insight into big-name players — and frankly the book is already out on players like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn — it is a chance to get a better look at the depth of a franchise.
Which younger players could make an impact this season? How do they fit into a respective system? And how does that system look?
Some teams, the Vegas Golden Knights for example, were probably scouting for more specifics. Vegas opens its inaugural season in Dallas on Oct. 6, it wasn’t a coincidence the Golden Knights’ scout setup shop for two days at American Airlines Center.
For other teams it was part of the blanket coverage and gathering as much information as possible. You never know when an individual player scouting report or intel will be used by the coaching staff or management.
For example when the Stars ultimately make a decision on their defense core and trade or waive a player, you can be certain the other 30 NHL teams will be checking their scouting logs for notes on that respective player.
So what did scouts learn about the Stars in back-to-back viewings this week?
Of the scouts watching games at American Airlines Center, I spoke to a handful of them anonymously for their third-party view of the team and particular players.
On the Stars
The Central Division is hard to project this season. After the Colorado Avalanche you could make a case for six teams to make the playoffs, and five of those teams have legitimate chance of winning the division title.
Multiple scouts think the Stars could be one of the best teams in the division, and all of them pointed to the addition of Marc Methot this summer. In many scouts’ views Methot’s addition solidifies a suspect defense and allows younger players to ease into a bigger role — they aren’t going to be forced to play above their experience level right away.
Martin Hanzal hasn’t played yet this preseason, but one scout said that, “even if he doesn’t score a single point this season he’ll make them better because of his defense.”
There was also a bit of a consensus that Kari Lehtonen could have an ideal fit this season as a back-up goalie, and Ben Bishop should improve the overall confidence of the team.
Alexander Radulov was actually one of the last additions scouts mentioned, but his ability to control the puck and maintain a cycle should make Benn and Seguin that much more effective.
Jason Dickinson
Dickinson’s overall health and movement impressed scouts. There were some questions about him after his slow recovery from off-season hip surgery before the 2016-17 season, but his performance on Tuesday had positive reviews.
His goal came on a deft cut in around a defender, as one scout said, “most young players don’t turn that into a great scoring chance, they just take the bad angle shot right away.” His work in the defensive zone also drew praise.
Remi Elie
There are split reviews of what type of ceiling he can have in the NHL, but a few scouts said Elie is ready for the NHL right now, and one said they would include him in their lineup over some of the veteran bottom-six players.
Gemel Smith
I talked with one scout who wasn’t high on Smith in the past, but had his impressions of the forward change this week. His skating has always been a strength in bursts, but he was more consistent and better defensively in this viewing. One scout said he must have taken things to heart this summer and found a better work ethic.
Tyler Pitlick
One scout said the Stars did a real nice job with the Pitlick signing. And for a player coming off ACL surgery, he doesn’t look like he’s lost a step. Another scout said Pitlick could fit really well with Martin Hanzal once Hanzal is fully healthy.
Mattias Janmark
He looks just as good as he did two seasons ago. None of the scouts have any insight on his knee, but they all really like the way he works with Jason Spezza and tracks back to make up for defensive coverage.
Roope Hintz
Some scouts think he’s NHL ready right now, others think he needs some seasoning in the AHL. Either way the view is that the Stars have a lot to work with in the young Finn. One scout said, “I would prefer he play in the AHL this season. It be better for his overall game as a top guy, he’s not going to get the opportunity to be a top guy with the numbers they have here.”
Devin Shore
One scout said he’s always been high on Shore, but he seems like he’s gotten better since last season. His hockey smarts and work ethic, which have also been praised by the Stars coaches, were one of the first things scouts mentioned about the forward.
Jamie Oleksiak
There was a split jury on Oleksiak. A couple scouts thought he looked more composed than in the past, but others thought he looked slow and didn’t really impact the game like he should’ve against lesser competition on Tuesday. There is an agreement that Oleksiak still has high potential, and two said he’d fit well on the third pair.
Julius Honka
Scouts love Honka’s game. His ability to create offensively and his natural talent make him a must-watch player for scouts each viewing. “He’s a guy that creates plays when they aren’t there,” one scout said. “I would love to have a guy like that on my team. I can teach the other stuff, that talent you can’t teach.” The “other stuff” is defensive consistency and decision making, which scouts would like see more of from the defender.
Greg Pateryn
He played a strong game against Minnesota, and scouts said you can’t really expect too much from the defender. He doesn’t make many mistakes. His pass to Dickinson raised a couple eyebrows, Pateryn isn’t known for impacting the offensive game.
Patrik Nemeth
One scout said Nemeth’s game against Colorado on Monday was one of the better ones they’ve seen him play. Another scout said Nemeth is the safe choice if you want to put a player in the lineup, but you aren’t going to get much offense from him.
Stephen Johns
A scout who watched Johns earlier in the preseason said he looked better in the back-to-back games and he would have high expectations for the righty. Another scout said Johns is making smarter decisions than he was last season, but he’d still like to see more.
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