Traverse City Prospect Tournament – Schedule, Roster and More

Per usual, the yearly prospect tournament in Traverse City, Michigan will go on without a hitch as the Buffalo Sabres , Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets , Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues all put their prospect squads up against the honor for the glory of rookie goodness.

The Stars squad won the title in 2008 under the domination of Jamie Benn in route to wearing a Stars jersey full time in the NHL.  While the roster is far from star-studded, it does look like the type of team that could win the tournament.  With a solid performance from both Matt Fraser and rising defenseman Brenden Dillon, not to mention a real look at Oleksiak; I don’t see why the Stars can’t be competitive this year.  Here’s what the official press release had to say:

"Frisco, Texas. – The Dallas Stars will be one of eight NHL clubs to participate in the annual NHL Prospects Tournament and rookie camp at the Center Ice Arena in Traverse City, Michigan, from Sept. 10-14.The tournament runs from Saturday, Sept. 10 through Wednesday, Sept. 14. In addition to the Stars, the tournament features rookie squads from the Buffalo Sabres , Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets ,Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Practice sessions and tournament games will be held on the Center Ice Arena’s two sheets of ice – David’s Rink and Huntington Rink.Dallas’ squad for this tournament features 22 players, including 10 who were selected by the club via NHL Entry Draft. The Stars roster is highlighted by Jamie Oleksiak, Dallas’ first-round selection (14th overall) at this year’s Draft; goaltender Jack Campbell, who won the best goalkeeper award at this year’s World Junior Championships, posting a 4-1-1 record with a 1.70 goals against average (GAA) and a .941 save percentage (SV%); forward Scott Glennie, Dallas’ 2009 first-round pick (eighth overall); and former SeattleThunderbirds defenseman Brenden Dillon. The Stars won the tournament in 2008, which featured a strong performance by Jamie Benn (five goals).The Stars rookies will be coached in Traverse City by Jeff Pyle, recently named head coach of the AHL Texas Stars, Dallas’ development affiliate. Jeff Truitt, Texas Stars assistant coach, will also be on Dallas’ rookie camp coaching staff. Dallas General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk will be in attendance for the tournament along with Director of Scouting & Player Development Les Jackson and the club’s scouting staff."

Take a look at the full roster:

Forwards:

• Matt Carter
• Oliver D’Aoust
• Matt Fraser
• Scott Glennie
• Cole Grbavac
• Tristan King
• Nick Layton
• Scott Oke
• Brett Ritchie
• Ondrej Roman
• Stephen Schultz
• Matej Stransky
• Matt Tassone

Defensemen:

• Jace Coyle
• Curtis Crombeen
• Brenden Dillon
• Hubert Labrie
• Jamie Oleksiak
• Alex Theriau
• Troy Vance

Goaltenders:

• Tyler Beskorowany
• Jack Campbell

The Stars won’t likely see all teams as the tournament only runs for 4 days from the 10th-14th, but they will face some interesting opponents and I always find that while analysts and other media can talk a lot about what they think of prospects of various organizations; but tournaments like the one in Traverse City are the types of things that speak more to the heart of the state of prospects as it doesn’t simply look at skill level and Youtube qualities.  Take a look at what teams the Stars’ squad will be facing on the schedule this year:

Traverse City Tournament Schedule:

• Saturday, Sept. 10 Practice 9:30 a.m. (Huntington Rink)
• vs. Carolina Hurricanes 4:00 p.m. (Huntington Rink)
• Sunday, Sept. 11 Practice 10:00 a.m. (David’s Rink)
• vs. NY Rangers 6:00 p.m. (David’s Rink)
• Monday, Sept. 12 Practice 1:45 p.m. (Huntington Rink)
• Tuesday, Sept. 13 Practice 8:30 a.m. (David’s Rink)
• vs. St. Louis Blues 3:00 p.m. (David’s Rink)
• Wednesday, Sept. 14 Seventh-Place Game 3:00 p.m. (David’s Rink)
• Fifth-Place Game 3:30 p.m. (Huntington Rink)
• Third-Place Game 6:30 p.m. (David’s Rink)
• Championship Game 7:00 p.m. (Huntington Rink)

Mike Heika has a great blog entry about the tournament up that includes player listing with all of their point totals and more that you can find HERE.