Dallas Stars World Championship Update: Three Stars Still In Play

With some teams being eliminated from the World Championships, several Dallas Stars seem like they will be around until the very end.

Although the IIHF Worlds had to say goodbye to tournament high-scorer Antoine Roussel, who missed the first playoff round with his French team by only one point, there are several Dallas Stars still in the running for the ultimate prize of the championship.

In the two games that have already taken place today, Finland and Russia prevailed over the USA and Czech Republic, respectively, keeping Julius Honka and Valeri Nichushkin in the race for their countries.

The outstanding player of the two has been Honka, who has made great use of his two-way game and has risen to one of the highest scoring defensemen on Finland’s roster.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to Stars fans, who got the privilege of seeing him grow and develop in his game even through the course of a rough season. And if his performance so far at Worlds is any indication, he’s not done yet.

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Nichushkin is still technically a part of the Dallas Stars’ organization, but there has been much speculation about whether or not it’s in the cards for him to ever return to Texas.

Many have suggested (to use a calmer word) that the Stars elect not to protect him in the upcoming Expansion Draft, and I would have to agree based on his performance for Russia so far. Nichushkin has mostly been in the background as a fourth-liner who has yet to see real production.

While the first two games on the schedule for today have already been decided, two are underway currently with results yet to be seen. Canada and Germany are battling it out in their quarterfinal contest as you read this, though the decision will have little bearing on the future of any Dallas Star in the tournament.

However, we’re far more interested in the turn-out between Sweden and Switzerland. Where John Klingberg is concerned, we can’t help but get a little invested. Klingberg has carried his own weight among some world-class Swedish players, and has been one of Sweden’s top scoring defensemen as well as averaging a relatively high ice times for each game. In seven games, he’s come out with a +5 rating.

For Dallas Stars fans, this is great news. At multiple points in the season, when up was down and down was up, things were going so wrong that we had to question if any part of the team was functioning correctly.

Next: Antoine Roussel Must Be Protected By Stars At All Costs

Seeing how multiple Stars have flourished and contributed to team victories in the World Championships should reassure fans that the individual players are not the problem. And perhaps getting a taste of victory now will increase their motivation when the new season finally rolls around.

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