Dallas Stars

When writing a season in review article about a fourth-line player than only dressed for nine contests throughout the season and averaged a little over 5 minutes of ice time per game, normally there wouldn't be a heck of a lot to say. But when you were part of a mid-season trade involving the legendary Jaromir Jagr, and then score goals in your first two games with your new team, well...then there's a little more to talk about. That's exactly the case with 23 year-old left winger Lane MacDermid, who came to Dallas from the Boston Bruins as part of the Jagr trade and then immediately went to work on the Stars' fourth line. Now, before I go any further, let's get the obvious controversy out of the way. Yes, the return that Dallas received from Boston in exchange for Jagr, a package containing MacDermid, OHL prospect Cody Payne, and a conditional draft pick that will be either Boston's 1st rounder or 2nd rounder depending on how far the Bruins go in the playoffs, is not as good as what Stars fans were hoping for. Many felt, and still feel, that then-general manager Joe Nieuwendyk could have gotten a lot more for the 41 year-old future Hall Of Famer, although we'll likely never know for sure. Even though the draft pick, not MacDermid, was the centerpiece of Dallas' return, that trade will be a negative mental asterisk that will probably stick to the big left winger for the entirety of his tenure in Dallas, though no fault of his own, and that's simply a shame. Alex Goligoski certainly knows that feeling. However, even though the Stars didn't receive a premium return for Jagr, they certainly added an interesting asset in MacDermid, one that could become another important piece of the puzzle as Dallas continues to build their foundation for the future. When it comes to MacDermid, what you see is pretty much what you get, and what Stars fans saw during his short six-game stint at the end of the season is what they should expect to see more of. Big, strong and not afraid to throw his weight around, MacDermid plays the role of a prototypical fourth line grinder. He'll hit with impunity, go to the dirty areas of the ice, and drive the net with reckless abandon. He's not strictly an enforcer, in the Krys Barch kind of mould, but he certainly isn't hesitant to drop the gloves, as seen with his tilt with Columbus' Jared Boll, his only fight so far as a Star: Surprisingly, MacDermid shocked everyone in his first two games with the Stars, scoring his first career NHL goal in his Dallas debut and then adding his second the very next game, both against the Anaheim Ducks. Does he possess some hidden, untapped offensive potential? Highly unlikely. His career high for points in a season is only 35, and that came as a veteran 19 year-old playing in the OHL. What he does possess, though, is above-average foot speed for a player of his size and role. It's no secret by now that the Stars are going full speed ahead with the "north-south" playing style and team identity, and MacDermid's particular skillset is certainly complementary to it. His second goal came as a result of that playing style, as he barreled down the middle of the ice and then lifted this cheeky backhand past Viktor Fasth. That was the end of that, though, as MacDermid then failed to register a shot or a point over his final four games. It's obvious that offensive production from him will never be expected, but he could certainly be the benefactor of a few more of those types of goals if he continues to buy into Dallas' new system. In the end, MacDermid's brief Stars debut wasn't spectacular, but it showed a nice glimpse of what might come. Ask a Bruins fan about Shawn Thornton or an Ottawa Senators fan about Chris Neil and they'll be full of praise, as character guys like that always seem to find their way onto successful teams. While many of these types of players fade into the abyss and are never seen again, Stars management clearly hope tha

With the 2013 NHL Draft quickly approaching its the time of year to evaluate and rank the Stars top 20 prospects. This has become increasingly difficult to do with the Stars having quite a few above average prospects and many of those who might have been in the top 10 a few years ago are near the bottom of this particular ranking. Brandon brought you his top 20 on Monday and this is my attempt to do the same. It's important to remember that this is subjective to each individual. This is my take on the top 20 Dallas Stars prospects, I hope you enjoy. table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: <?php echo $tableFont ?>; font-size: 12px; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #15EE0C; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } Rank Player Details… 1 Jamie Oleksiak, D Despite not blowing away the NHL in his first stint in the league he did the best thats expected of most rookie NHL defenseman: He mostly stayed unnoticed. Oleksiak oozes potential and his development so far has been good. He might do with spending most of next season in the AHL but theres no need to rush him into a permanent NHL spot yet. 2 Alex Chiasson, C/RW Alex Chiasson burst onto the NHL scene at a point per game pace which is unlikely to translate into next season. When he wasn't scoring goals he showed his strength along the boards and a good defensive game. He probably has the most potential out of the Stars forward prospects... for now. 3 Jack Campbell, G Despite Jack Campbell not having the season many Stars fans wanted, he wasn't No.1 in Austin for large parts of the season, he probably will take the leading role in Austin next season. He's got sky high potential which is why ever since he was drafted hes been near the top of all these rankings. Campbell needs time to refine his game before he's even ready to take a sniff at real NHL time. 4 Brett Ritchie, RW Brett Ritchie blew away the OHL with 76 points in 53 games with the Niagara IceDogs. While this could have been padded by playing alongside Ryan Strome I still believe that Ritchie has some top potential, especially when combined with his size and strength along the boards. How Ritchie handles a full season in the pros will be interesting but he looks like he has a bright future ahead of him. 5 Patrik Nemeth Patrick Nemeth suffers from the lack of attention that defensive defensemen get around the league (Just as an example, find the last defensive defenseman who won the Calder Cup as Rookie of the year...). Nemeth has adjusted to the AHL far better than I thought he would and he has proven himself to be an excellent shutdown defenseman. He gets into my top five because of this and his astonishing adjustment to North America. 6 Matej Stransky Matej Stransky, despite a slow start to the season, really took off later with 85 points in 72 games helping lead the Saskatoon Blades to a playoff spot. His skating appears to have improved over the season, my biggest question mark on him at the start of this season, and his numbers are pretty good. His potential is high and it will be interesting to see how he handles the AHL next season 7 Reilly Smith I agree with Brandon that its hard to place Reilly Smith on these rankings. I really like his skill set but if he wants to be higher up these rankings he needs to get tougher when on the puck. He is talented but apparently snakebitten. His potential keeps him in the top 10 for me. 8 Radek Faksa Radek Faksa has had a forgettable season in the OHL and appears to have made little or not progression in his development. This stalling is why he drops to number 8 for me but he still has the potential and a few years left to get over any humps in the road. 9 Devin Shore I really like what Devin Shore brings

For the last five years I have experienced the same, sad post season experience of watching teams I don't truly care about battle and grind for the cup, all while having to put up with the jabs and snide comments about "How's your team doing this year? Oh, what's that? They didn't make it again? That's a shame." Bunch of tossers. Having lived in central Pennsylvania, I get the best worst of both PA teams (Pens and Flyers). The east coast bias is unbearably thick in this portion of the country (as well as most places in this northeast corner of america). I count my blessings I don't live in Canada (not because it wouldn't be a great place to live, cause yea it would) because I can only imagine what Canadians think of this Dallas Team. Oddly enough, this is the best I have felt about this team in quite a while. First off, let me say a sincere thank you to Joe Nieuwendyk. I am certain I will continue to thank him for various things over the next several years, but one thing that I can add to his "win" column is this Jagr trade. As I write this, it is May 22, 2013 and the Boston Bruins just went up 3-0 to the NY Rangers. If Boston wins this series, Dallas has its conditional 2nd round pick turn into a 1st rounder (between 26-30 overall). Not too shabby! To follow up with this, Newy really has done some great things for this organization. It is kind of sad he will not get as much credit for things as he should. Sure he had his bad moments and his head shaking decisions, but Dallas could have done worse than they did had it not been for GM Joe1. Consider where we were. Year 1. Modano still playing, no owner, Turco still playing, Brad Richards in the last year of his deal. Scott Glennie is the last draft pick. Zubov goes awol. Not a lot of good things to speak of. Good things he accomplished: Trade Ivan Vishnevsky for Kari Lehtonen. Establish Texas based farm team in Austin (can't be overstated). Let Turco and Modano go and play for other teams to end their playing careers, then let them come back to play parts with the organization. Draft safe, secure picks (more on this in a bit). Then finally he trades Roy, Jagr and Morrow for good solid prospects and picks to further bolster the farm club. The fruit that blooms from these decisions will not be truly seen, nor appreciated till several years from now, but early returns are being noticed and should be passing along credit where credit is due. Did he make bad decisions? Of course. The Neal-Niskanin for Goligoski debacle still looms over us, and the Ryder for Cole trade still has many of us shaking our head a little bit. Trading Ott and Ribs can go either way in my book. Ott + Pardy --> Roy Roy --> Connauton + 2nd Round Pick So...Otter and the worthless bag of pucks Pardy (who is not playing in the NHL as of right now lolz) eventually get flipped into Kevin Connauton and a mid 2nd rounder (TBD). Should Connauton prove to have a certain level of prowess to his game that translates well into the NHL, this could be considered very savvy asset management on GM Joe1's part. Otter, I still miss you, but not your stupid penalties, but mostly I still miss you. Assuming Boston wins one more game this playoffs (Go Bruins) the Jagr trade looks like this. Jagr -> Lane MacDermid, Cody Payne, Late 1st round pick. :-D even if Macdermid is no better than Dyvorak and even if Cody Payne is Kris Barch, the late 1st in this years draft is value enough, especially from what Boston is getting out of him this year. So for those of you keeping score at home, Dallas has the 10th overall pick, a pick between 26-30 (pending a BOS win), the 40th overall pick, Vancouver's pick between 47-52ish (depending on the outcome of the San Jose vs. LA series), and the 68th overall pick in the third round. Supposing Dallas does not make any more trades or tries to move up in the first round, this figures to be 5 really good solid players picked very near the top in this stocked full draft. One final thought

Jim Lites isn't content with the Dallas Stars simply being the hockey team of Dallas. Even just the Metroplex won't do. He wants the Stars sphere of influence to extend throughout the State of Texas, and into Oklahoma, Louisiana, and beyond. When you look at an NHL alignment map, such a plan doesn't seem that far fetched... especially if the Phoenix Coyotes are on the move. The first step in this aggressive takeover over the region? Inching training camp out west, into Brahmas territory, Fort Worth, Texas. Seems to be the best of both worlds, if the Stars plan to keep the players in hotels as if they're actually out on the road. In the past, the Stars have held training camp on Prince Edward Island, in Colorado, and other not-so-local locales. The purpose of this was to force team bonding in a way that coming to the rink, then heading home to the wife and kids, simply can't recreate. Training camp alone isn't going to win over the entire state or region, however. The Stars also plan to schedule preseason games way down in San Antonio, and up in Oklahoma City. Lites kept the door wide open on the prospects of future training camps being held in Austin, Houston, or beyond. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News has more about this plan over on his blog at the [DMN]. In other Dallas Stars news, we are getting closer and closer to the unveiling of the brand new identity on June 4th. It's been no secret ever since invitations went out that this date would be marked on everyone's calendar, but the official press release from the organization point to bigger announcements coinciding with the event. Tom Gaglardi, Jim Lites, Jim Nill, Jamie Benn, and Mike Modano will all be present, when the Stars are expected to trot out in their new look, and make announcements about the future of this franchise. Does two-plus-two equal Jamie Benn as the captain? Announcing Modano's jersey retirement? Some kind of former-player/player-coach co-coaching hybrid that puts "Hull-Jack" to shame? We've got plenty of time to make outlandish predictions. In the mean time, here is the press release. [DallasStars.com] Speaking of the Stars coaching vacancy, you can mark Phil Housley off the list of candidates. The Nashville Predators have inked the former defenseman to be their new assistant, replacing the recently fired Peter Horachek. [Tennessean] The Dallas Stars are one more Boston Bruins victory away of obtaining a first round draft pick from the Jagr trade. Their victory last night put the New York Rangers on the verge of a sweep. Go Bruins. [TSN.ca] The San Jose Sharks have officially made this a series out west in California, armed with another controversial call in a post-season that seems to be riddled with them. The official apparently lost sight of the puck as it slid through Niemi's pads and into the net, resulting in an early whistle. So THAT'S why the Sharks are wearing black instead of teal this post season. Puck camouflage. [CBS] Speaking of poor decisions, the Los Angeles Kings twitter account allowed a "celebrity" tweeter to take over last night. I use that term loosely. Among his contributions? Comparing hockey action to sexual assault. You stay classy, Los Angeles. [Sporting News] Today's video isn't in English, but it's a trailer for a new Russian movie that's coming out, based on the life of Valeri Kharlamov, one of the coolest and most underrated hockey stars in history. I can't wait for this to come out subtitled for us yankees out west. Looks like it could rival "The Rocket" for best hockey biopic. ??????? ?17 - ??????? HD (via CentralPartnership)

The Dallas Stars announced today that the team will unveil its new uniform and logo on Tuesday, June 4th at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas at 6:00 p.m. Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi, President and CEO Jim Lites, General Manager Jim Ni...

If there's a classic example of why projecting prospects is as much art as it is science, it might be Brenden Dillon. Here's some examples of scouting reports out there on him: "Limited overall upside. Not much skill level." "He could be an okay #4 to a good #5 defenseman." It's understandable that Dillon underwhelmed scouts and prospect-savvy reporters, at least for a while. He stood only 5-foot-3 at age 15 and played on relatively low-level youth hockey teams. His statistics were good but never the great numbers you expect from future NHL players. He was passed over in the WHL Bantam Draft and, later, three times in the NHL draft before finally signing with the Dallas Stars as an undrafted free agent. Now, after his first full season in the NHL, it's easy to say that Dillon has far surpassed anyone's wildest expectations for him. Playing largely alongside Stephane Robidas, Dillon was among the Stars best all-around defenders this season, with three goals, five points and a plus-one rating in very difficult minutes. In fact, when compared to all rookie defensemen in 2013, Dillon stacks up as one of the best. On the Stars, he faced the second-most difficult competition (to Robidas) and had the second most defensive zone starts (to Aaron Rome). He was a plus player both in traditional plus-minus and in Corsi ratings, and he brought a very solid physical edge to a smallish Stars blueline. The keys to his success were many, from a good-sized frame that he grew into late to a solid first pass and decent point shot. His defensive instincts were aggressive and matched up nicely with Robidas' steady presence, and he was generally fairly smart about when it was time to take a risk to make a hit and when that would be a bad positional mistake. I think his biggest asset was his fearlessness with the puck and with his willingness to step up and make a physical play. Many defensemen come into the NHL understandably tentative, not wanting to try to do something risky for the chance that the elite players at that level might burn them. Dillon had no such fear, or at least none that came through on the ice. In fact, you can argue that the Stars might want to rein him in a little more in some of his decisions (such as laying the body on a forward a half-second after he dumps the puck). That's far preferable to a player you have to constantly coach to do more. Indeed, the biggest knock against DIllon this year is probably his undisciplined play. He led the Stars in unmatched minors, many of the preventable type, and had a particular problem with the NHL's crackdown on interference. Some of that is rookie exuberance, some of it is not knowing how to sell innocence in borderline moments and some of it is just the line he's trying to walk as a physical defenseman. He'll always take more penalties than many, but he definitely can make a few better decisions without hurting the rest of his game. Dillon was also occasionally overly aggressive in his positioning and could get caught chasing the puck rather than guarding a dangerous area of the ice. Again, this isn't a huge concern, especially for a first-year player, but it is an area he can grow in during the next few years. And that's the real question for Dillon - what will his next step be. Ever since being passed over for the WHL draft, Dillon has done nothing but steadily improve. But an NHL sophomore season, especially for a defenseman, is a notoriously difficult year. Other teams have a better scouting report on tendencies and there are now expectations to live up to, which often leads to the traditional sophomore slump. You could even argue that Dillon went through a little bit of this as the season went on. It certainly got more difficult for him to move the puck up the ice once teams got wind of the fact that he was pretty good at it. If we were handing out traditional grades, Dillon would unquestionably get top marks for this season. As Stars fans have found over the past few

Let's start off this article with a very clear statement: All that follows is purely hypothetical musings on the options the Stars have at their disposal this summer. Dallas Stars winger Loui Eriksson is arguably the best player on the team. An incredible two-way forward with top possession ability as well as elite scoring prowess has Eriksson's name on the list of some of the top forwards in the NHL. His humble demeanor and and off the ice, as well as where he plays, has led to Eriksson becoming known as the most underrated player in the NHL. Eriksson was one of just four players with more than 70 points in three straight seasons from 2009 to 2012 and is undoubtedly one of the more valuable wingers the Dallas Stars possess given his absurdly low $4.25 million cap hit until 2016. It's that inherent value that could potentially become a major factor in the Dallas Stars' strategy this summer. The task ahead for new general manager Jim Nill and owner Tom Gaglardi is not an easy one. There are some very promising pieces from which to begin their molding of a winning team, as well as a solid framework of core players, yet there are some notable holes at the center position. As it currently stands, Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin are you top two centers, with Vernon Fiddler having received top six minutes the final month of the season. While Benn will likely remain the top center on the team, the Stars absolutely need another option for the second line that allows the team the depth up the middle needed to be successful. Unfortunately, the options in free agency this summer for centers are not all that promising. Derek Roy and Mike Ribeiro will both be the most sought-after centers -- although Roy's stock has surely plunged this season -- and neither are returning to the Stars. Roman Cervenka, Matthew Lombardi, Stephen Weiss, Kyle Wellwood are all names that don't exactly thrill you and Tyler Bozak is more than likely going to be locked up long-term by Toronto. Options remain, however, specifically when it comes to a trade. If there would be a top-six center available via trade, however, the price to acquire said player would be very steep -- which is where Loui Eriksson would come into play. Now, Eriksson as trade bait is a thought that is getting a lot of mentions in the Canadian media right now. Perhaps it's just a case of one writer thinking out loud and the rest copying that thought -- but this is a scenario that will certatinly be talked about over the course of this summer. Eriksson is one of the top forwards in the NHL, he's under contract for three more seasons at a ridiculously low price and from what we understand his no-trade clause does not begin until the 2013-2014 season. This makes Eriksson an incredibly valuable trade target and could be part of a trade that completely alters the course of this franchise. Make no mistake, any trade involving Loui Eriksson would be one hell of a blockbuster. The big question, however, is which is more valuable to the Stars -- a proven elite scorer with top two-way ability who is just 27 years old or a top-six, proven center capable of rounding out a dangerous top two lines. Logic states that a young center capable of producing more than 60-70 points per season is certainly more valuable than a scoring winger; we are seeing right now exactly how difficult it is to find good depth at that position. The Stars do have a number of promising prospects coming up on the wing, including Alex Chiasson, Matej Stransky and Brett Ritchie. All three project to be top six wingers at the NHL level, although there is absolutely zero guarantee that any of them reach the level of Eriksson in the coming years. There are also options at center, although even Radek Faksa is at least two years away from being ready for the second line center position in the NHL. So the Stars must explore every option. Perhaps Eriksson is used to move up to a top five spot in the draft, although I'm doubtful any o

Over the next month or so, I'm going to look at the Dallas Stars from a positional standpoint. The goaltenders, the defensemen, and the forwards (in that order). Where the team stands currently, what upgrades are needed (if any), and what players they could and/or should target. The Dallas Stars enter the offseason with a pretty stable foundation in goal. Kari Lehtonen has quietly developed into one of the best goaltenders in the league, thanks to a lot of hard work on his part and a strong relationship with the Dallas coaching staff and team trainers. From goaltending scout Justin Goldman: Every goalie matures at a different rate, and some goalies take longer to learn, understand, and embrace that "true pro" attitude than others. For Lehtonen, I think it just took him a few extra years to realize what that "true pro" attitude was all about. Thanks to both external and internal influences, Kari learned that he couldn't rely on pure skill alone. It only takes you so far, and then it takes an insane work ethic and dedication to things like nutrition and physical fitness to truly become an "elite" NHL goalie. Lehtonen is under contract for five more years at $5.9 million per season. Dallas is paying him to be their franchise goaltender, and he has shown that he is more than capable of carrying the weight for them in between the pipes. Not much else really needs to be said about Kari, really. He was on an island too much in 2013, as the team struggled to find a defensive identity (and it often dressed at least two or three rookies on the back end). The team can’t rely on him to steal every game if they want 55+ quality starts from him this season (and beyond). How many goalies would I take over Lehtonen if I were starting a team from scratch? Let's see. Henrik Lundqvist, for sure. Carey Price, Pekka Rinne, Jonathan Quick, Tuukka Rask, and Cory Schneider, too (age-related reasons for Schneider, mostly). Maybe Jacob Markstrom... but that would be a bit of a risk considering his lack of NHL experience. That's it. So Lehtonen is either the sixth or seventh goaltender I'd go with. Antti Niemi and Craig Anderson would be in the conversation, too. Back to the Stars. After Lehtonen, the depth chart gets a bit more interesting. Richard Bachman and Cristopher Nilstorp are both free agents this summer (Bachman is restricted, while Nilstorp is unrestricted). Bachman lost the backup job to Nilstorp in 2013, and both goalies had moments of strong play mixed in with some struggles. Nilstorp is currently backstopping the Texas Stars in the AHL, and that may give him the inside edge on Bachman for the backup spot in 2013-14. Mike Heika believes that the job is Nilstorp’s to lose, provided he re-signs with Dallas. Let’s continue on down the depth chart. Jack Campbell was drafted back in 2010 by the Stars and because of where he was taken (early in the first round), the expectations have been sky high since. It didn’t help that the team considered him the third best prospect in the draft, either. “Our scouts pushed hard for [Campbell],” he said at the time. “After [Taylor] Hall and [Tyler] Seguin, this is the kid that we feel has the best chance to be a franchise player. He was our guy, right from the start.” Taking goaltenders high in the draft is a bit of a risk (drafting any player carries an inherent risk, but goaltenders generally take a lot longer to develop compared to skaters). Pittsburgh took Marc-Andre Fleury 1st overall in arguably the deepest draft of all time (2003). Price was a surprise pick at 5th overall by Montreal back in 2005. The Canucks selected Schneider out of high school in 2004, and it took him nearly seven years to establish himself as a good NHL goaltender. Campbell won’t be ready for a few years, and thanks to Lehtonen’s massive contract, he won’t have to be. The Stars are going to be very patient with their goaltender of the future. Lo

Have the Colorado Avalanche learned nothing from the Dallas Stars? Both franchises, regularly counted on in the 1990's and 2000's to contend for the Stanley Cup, behind such star power as Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Brett Hull, and Joe Nieuwendyk, now more likely to compete for the top ten picks in the NHL Entry draft. When the golden era of Stars hockey was over, they needed a spark (and some good headlines), so they looked to the past for big names to put in management roles. Joe Nieuwendyk as general manager. Brett Hull as co-general manager (and ambassador of fun). Both were varying degrees of failure, not without their bright spots, nor their blemishes. Since then, the Stars have dedicated themselves less to their past, and more to their future, with the hiring of Jim Nill, and talk of finding an established coach with a managerial pedigree. The Colorado Avalanche on the other hand, have looked to the rafters for their new management team. First with former captain Joe Sakic, and if Stéphane Roy is to be believed, now Patrick Roy. Stéphane Roy, Patrick's brother, and oddly enough a former Stars third round pick in 1985, is telling the Denver Post that Patrick Roy will be taking over the Avalanche's head coaching job. Roy has actually been quite a successful coach for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, compiling a record of 307-128-32 since 2005. Will the Avs have better luck than the Stars did by living in the past? Time will tell... but that first overall pick certainly won't hurt. Here is the original article from the [Denver Post]. Remember how everyone made such a big deal about Jaromir Jagr being given the keys to the Stars practice facility? He's taking advantage of the same perks with the Boston Bruins, skating by himself two hours after their victory over the New York Rangers in game two. [Days of Y'Orr] The New York Rangers are trying to get their train back on the tracks, before it's too late. [New York Times] Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog has probably the coolest article I've read all month right now, showcasing the number of teeth lost so far during the NHL Playoffs. Read this and tell me that hockey isn't the greatest sport of all time. [Puck Daddy] Last night, the Detroit Red Wings pulled ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks in their second round series, under quite a bit of controversy. Down by one in the third period, Chicago scored what appeared to be a tying goal, only to have it waved off immediately for phantom goalie interference. Or wait... his foot WAS in the crease. That's still a thing, right? [NBC] The Stars official site has a really great retrospective on the franchise's history that I think should be required reading for everyone in attendance next season. I loved it, and want to see more articles like this on the official site. [DallasStars.com] Finally, our video of the day comes from the Memorial Cup, where London's Max Domi made the highlight reel assist of the tournament so far. This kid is one of my favorite prospects in hockey, and I'd love to see him in a Dallas Stars sweater for years to come. Six shades of sexy, the next generation. Bo Horvat (1) Goal: (Max Domi Between The Legs Pass) Portland 3 London Knights 2. May 20th 2013 (via xXxCrosby87Xx)

There aren't really words to clearly describe Alex Chiasson's introduction to NHL hockey, yet there's so much to say. First off, at the risk of sounding cheesy I would venture to say that his first 7 games were more about the NHL's introduction to Alex Chiasson, but that's going a bit overboard. Chiasson came into the year as one of the most highly touted prospects in the Stars system, a bit like Reilly Smith. Like Smith, the NHL work stoppage meant that he wouldn't have a chance to try out for the NHL team until later, so he started in the AHL. After a bit of a tentative start he began tearing it up in the American league and became one of the Texas Stars' go to forwards. This became even more apparent when the NHL season started and scoring leaders like Cody Eakin and Reilly Smith graduated to the NHL level. While they did so, Chiasson stayed in the AHL and became one of the baby Stars' premier threats on offense along with recently acquired Justin Dowling, putting up 35 points in 57 games. Now to the NHL. After the whirlwind of a trade deadline that had many of us scratching our heads and despairing about the future of the Stars team, Chiasson was called up to fill a hole left by the exodus of veteran forwards. At first it seemed like Chiasson would fill in a bottom-six role while players who had played in Dallas all year would move up into the open top-six slots. Chiasson soon changed that though. Not long into his time in Dallas, he was put on the top line with Jamie Benn and Ray Whitney and subsequently helped lead the charge after the trade deadline which put the Stars into playoff position. Chiasson went a point per game in 7 games with six goals and one assist. He was a consistent scoring threat who meshed perfectly with the styles of Benn and Whitney. That line seemed to be perfect with his addition to it. His smart, two-way, puck possession style of play went along great with the playmaking of Ray Whitney and the north-south power forward center style Jamie Benn plays. Alex Chiasson's goals came primarily by driving to the net with his stick down and head up. One of the even more surprising things about Chiasson's game was his play away from the net. In the defensive zone he was great at chasing pucks and battling to regain possession, zone exits seemed to go smoother with him in the defensive zone. On top of that his play with the puck on his skill looked that of a veteran, he was able to hold on to the puck and protect it until a passing or clearing option made itself available, when he'd take full advantage. Then, in the offensive zone he crashed hard on the forecheck and played a great cycle game which brought him towards the net and into the scoring areas where he profited. This all around game bodes very well for Chiasson's future. This was his first couple weeks in the NHL we're talking about and he still has a lot to learn; he can still get a lot better which - even though his production is unsustainable - is pretty scary/awesome for Stars fans. As Josh Lile noted earlier, the sheer pace of Chiasson's scoring along with where all of his shots came from is unsustainable. While this is true, it still has a huge positive side to it. The vast majority of his scoring chances came from right in front of the net, which shows that he drives to the net and can actually connect with defenders on him. He's not only smart enough to go to the front of the net for scoring opportunities, but he continually showed the strength to outmuscle defenders and keep his stick firmly on the ice to get a shot off while driving. We all knew that Alex Chiasson was a top Dallas Stars prospect going into this season, but the work he put in after his call-up to the NHL was a revelation. Nobody expected that kind of play from him, he looked like a player with a lot more experience than 3 NCAA seasons and only 57 games in the AHL. He was a major catalyst for the run the Stars went on following the trade deadline and, while I don't wa