Dallas Stars Giving Young Guns Time In Demers’ Absence
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars are facing some difficult scenarios with recent injuries. But these injuries have opened the door for younger defensemen to take charge.
When people think of farm systems, the first professional sport that comes to mind is more than likely baseball. The influence of prospects and growing rookies in the sport is crucial to the success of each MLB club.
But the prospect systems in other leagues, such as the NHL, are very important as well. Whether an NHL veteran is going out and leaving an empty space or a long term injury requires someone to pick up the slack, younglings are always needed.
The Dallas Stars are definitely a team that understands the necessity for thriving prospects. Especially at this point in the season, where each game could be the difference between two or three seeds in the playoff race.
Back on March 8th, the Stars took on the Montreal Canadiens up in Canada. The game eventually cut off a two game winning streak for Dallas, as the Stars lost 4-3 in overtime. But the loss of a player might have hurt the Stars even worse than the simple overtime loss.
Jason Demers was injured in the middle of the game, and did not return to play. It was decided that he had an upper-body injury that required his arm to be in a sling for an extended period of time. The Stars decided that they would take a closer look at him in six weeks back on March 10th.
With that news, it is clear that the Dallas Stars will be without the veteran defenseman until after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unless, of course, Demers makes a surprisingly quick recovery and returns before then.
But with him out of the lineup, the Stars have had to and will be forced to fill a hole for the next few weeks. So far, they have had some surprising success.
Demers went out in a time where members of the Dallas Stars were dropping like flies. On the defensive side alone, the Stars were already missing John Klingberg and Jordie Benn. All in all, Dallas was missing three of their six regular starting defensemen.
As a result, they were forced to call upon their “farm” system. Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak had been on the Dallas Stars roster the majority of the season, but had seen very little ice time. They were immediately cast into the starting lineup, along with defenseman Stephen Johns after he was called up from the AHL.
Johns came to the Stars as a part of the Patrick Sharp trade back in July. He made his NHL debut against his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, on March 11th. Overall, his performance gave off many positive vibes. His game against the St. Louis Blues the following night was nothing to smile about, but you can only expect that to happen when talking about a rookie with no professional experience.
More stars: Stars Fans Need To Acknowledge Where They Are At
Meanwhile, Nemeth and Oleksiak have been logging much more playing time and have made the most out of it. It’s clear that they are using this playing time to their advantage in their pursuit to get better and become regular NHL starters.
Overall, the injury to Jason Demers has been a blessing and a curse. While losing a veteran like Demers is detrimental to the leadership on the blue line, it has offered many young players the chance to gain experience. And so far, the Stars have proven that they have a sufficient prospect system. Since the injury, the Dallas Stars have gone 3-1-1.
Next: Stars Have A Gem In Stephen Johns
They will get another chance to show off their young but effective blue line tonight when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. A lot is on the line in the standings, and we will see if the Stars have what it takes to knock the Hawks off and continue their pursuit for the title of “best in the West.”