Dallas Stars: Exit Day Interview With Antoine Roussel
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars held their exit interview day this past Friday in Frisco. Before heading out for the summer, we got a chance to catch up with forward Antoine Roussel. Catch the complete interview below.
It’s been three days since the Dallas Stars cleaned out their locker stalls and parted ways for the first time since October when the 2015-2016 regular season began.
This past Friday, the Stars hosted their yearly exit interview day. This gives the media one final chance to talk to players, coaches, and general manager before each goes to their own respective offseason dwelling spot.
You can catch some of the bigger names in the organization (Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jim Nill, etc.) on the Dallas Stars website with video-recorded interviews (there is also a post on Blackout Dallas with all the links stashed inside it. Just click here).
But we decided to get a little more intentional and talk to as many different players as we could in order to gain multiple different perspectives on the season and offseason as a whole, as well as personal outlooks from each different member of the team.
26-year old Antoine Roussel finished up his fourth season with the Dallas Stars this year, and he once again made a significant impact. He is primarily a third-line winger for the Stars and fills the physical, agitating role that the Stars so desperately need, along with a respectable amount of scoring.
This past season, Roussel played 80 games and scored 13 goals along with tallying 16 assists (13-16-29) and a +11 on-ice rating in an average of 13:51 on the ice. As the playoffs rolled around, Roussel put on a wonderful 13 games with Radek Faksa and Ales Hemsky, scoring two goals while averaging 14:16 on the ice.
I got the chance to catch up with him on exit interview day about this past season, the offseason ahead, and his future with the team. You can read the interview below.
Overall thoughts on the season and the leap they made from the year before
We had a very good season. We won the Western [Conference] and the [Central] division, and it was good. It was tough to win.
His thoughts on his play during the year
I really liked my play this season and thought it was pretty good, except for maybe near the start a little bit. Not slow, but just not a strong start.
But then I got better, and then slowed down after Christmas I think, but then I got better. It was good, and then in the playoffs I didn’t score too much and I was a little frustrated maybe because of that. I didn’t capitalize on some of the large chances and it cost us a little bit.
Playing with Faksa and Hemsky down the stretch
Awesome. We had this good chemistry and we were probably the only line that didn’t change for a good, with playoffs, 30 games. I thought we were really good together.
The goal on starting next year
The same. We need to have a strong start and put ourselves in a good spot and stay hungry. It’s good what we did but we want more, and that’s going to be the main focus.
How he has enjoyed his first few seasons in Dallas
It’s awesome. I think it’s going to be, with the lockout season, it’s may be my fourth/fifth year, so it’s pretty cool. I love living here in Dallas, and everything is so preferable here. I just want to stay here as long as possible.
More stars: Stars' Exit Interview Coverage
Offseason plans
Nope. Just seeing my grandparents in France for a week and then nothing else.
Antoine Roussel still has two more years on his contract, and it’s probably a safe bet that he won’t be going anywhere for a while. He works strong on the ice and is a valuable physical asset. It doesn’t hurt that he is a fan favorite, either.
Next: Stars' Names Are Written In Lights
We’ve just about covered all of the exit interviews we conducted, but Mattias Janmark is still left. So check back in over the next few days to find out what the youngling had to say.