Dallas Stars Part Ways With First Rounder Jack Campbell
By Josh Clark
Yesterday, the Dallas Stars were relatively quiet on the trade front during the draft. They did, however, dish away another first round pick in their system that once again did not pan out.
The NHL entry draft is a baffling yearly occurrence. Within each draft down to every single pick, there is a world of opportunity with the player.
A fifth round pick (i.e. Jamie Benn) has just as good a chance at being a superstar in the NHL as a player selected first overall. It is a two way street though, in the fact that a first round player can become a bust just as easily as a fifth rounder.
The Dallas Stars seem to have a bit of an unnatural and uncommon problem. While the majority of NHL teams, and all professional sports teams for that matter, find their production from first round superstar prospects, the Stars go the opposite way. They rest in the reliability of their late draft picks, such as Jamie Benn and John Klingberg.
Though it is nice to have fifth round picks pay off in such large dividends, it means that they struggle in some other areas. Right now, it seems as though their problem is with their first round picks.
Last offseason, the Dallas Stars parted ways with center Scott Glennie. After being drafted eighth overall by the Stars in the 2009 NHL entry draft, Glennie never really panned out for the club. He was a talented center for the Texas Stars, tallying 118 points in 226 games, but the chips never fell in his favor.
With the general manager change in 2013 and Jim Nill coming in, the Dallas Stars saw a major shift. The rebuild ended a new reign began. Glennie was one of the players heavily affected by this change, and as a result he ended up moving on in free agency back in 2015. A first round pick out the door just like that.
Well, it happened again this year. The Dallas Stars traded goaltender Jack Campbell to the Los Angeles Kings during the second day of the 2016 NHL draft in exchange for defenseman Nick Ebert.
Campbell, 24, was the 11th overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft and the first selection by the Dallas Stars. At the time, many saw him as the goalie of the future for the Stars organization. A skilled, homegrown goalie like Campbell would be able to take over the crease and lead the Dallas Stars to a bright future.
It’s not often that a goalie is drafted in the first round, so when one is it is safe to assume that there is a world of potential to be found.
Apparently it was not so for the American-born prospect. Campbell only played one game at the NHL level, a 6-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks during the Stars’ 2013-2014 season.
Injuries and inconsistencies hit Campbell hard to the point where a new contract with the RFA was no longer a definite yes this offseason. This past season, Campbell split time between the Texas Stars of the AHL and the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Part of it was due to rehab, while the other part was simply based on the fact that Texas had stronger goaltenders looking for minutes.
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It’s difficult to watch Campbell float off to another club, considering all of the possibilities he could have had with the Dallas Stars. At the end of the day, it was simply bad timing. With Nill going for the “win now” motive and doing all in his power to get the Stars there, Campbell would have needed a more consistent resume.
Instead, he never played a full season with the Texas Stars as a result of injuries. He did help the Texas Stars win their first Calder Cup in 2014, though fellow goalie Cristopher Nilstorp spent the majority of the playoff run between the pipes.
It’s sad to see a solid pick that never panned out go like Jack Campbell. The goaltender gave it his all when he was on the ice. Hopefully the fresh change of scenery will be to his advantage. And who knows? That “goalie of the future” title is still hanging in the balance if he can grab it. That is yet to be determined.
Next: Stars Further Solidify Defense, Sign Jordie Benn To New Deal
First round draft picks that turn out to be busts are never an easy subject to cover. Every first round pick is expected to be near the NHL-ready level. But sometimes, outside factors just run a player’s chances aground. Luckily, the Stars have some fifth-round players to pick up the slack. The interesting thing now will be to see where Nill’s first round picks end up settling at.