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Dallas Stars’ Three Most Impressive Players So Far This Year

By Josh Clark |

The Dallas Stars are about two weeks into their 2015-2016 season and have put on an entertaining show so far, to say the least.

With a record of 5-1-0, the Stars have dominated play and momentum in just about every one of their games. They have scored 21 goals in the past six games, including a four point night from Tyler Seguin and a hat trick from Jason Spezza.

Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Stars are receiving offensive support from all four lines. Unlike last year where Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were the main contributors, this year the Stars always have a legitimate scoring threat on the ice with each line.

Most of the Stars forwards have produced in one efficient way or another, but there have been five main standouts. But it would be a bit repetitive to use up two spots on Benn and Seguin. So instead, we will focus on the other three Stars that are having a big influence.

1. Mattias Janmark

It cannot get much better for a rookie forward in the first six starts of his NHL career. Yes, Mattias Janmark has strung together one of the most impressive rookie starts of any Dallas Star in history. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Janmark is the first Star ever to record a point in each of his first four games in the NHL.

He could not have hoped for a better start on opening night. After Pittsburgh surfaced a quick attack that was fought off by the Stars defense, Ales Hemsky hit Janmark with a cross-crease pass on the break and Janmark delivered. He scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot in his first NHL game. Brett Ritchie is the only other Dallas Star to accomplish that when he did it on New Year’s Eve of last season.

Janmark may hold the upper hand considering it was during his first NHL shift. Janmark would pull off the exact same move two days later when he scored on the Stars first shot against Colorado.

The main points for Janmark is that he is aggressive and active and does not waste a shift. He looks like nothing more than a rookie having fun on the ice, but unlike most rookies he is able to translate that into success. He has also been moved from line-to-line and position-to-position, but it has yet to slow him down. With two goals and two assists through the first six games of the season, Janmark is on pace to have a record-shattering rookie campaign.

2. Jason Spezza

At the beginning of July 2014, the Dallas Stars acquired center Jason Spezza in a trade. The Stars needed some reliability in the dot behind Tyler Seguin and he was chosen for the job.

But Spezza did not perform up to the standards fans had set for him, at least through the first half of the 2014-2015 season. This was mainly due to him adjusting to a new lifestyle and completely new team. Once he settled in and learned the ropes, he was able to pick up the pace and finished the year with 62 points.

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Not many knew what to expect from Spezza coming into this season. With new talent added to the roster, his chances to make an impact could lessen. But through six games this year, it is clear that this is not true.

Spezza has taken a whole new outlook this season, and it is paying off. Through the first six games, Spezza has logged four goals and three assists for seven points, which is good enough for third most on the team. If he continues this pace, Spezza will be looking at a career year. Only this time, he will be doing it as a second line center with multiple different wingers beside him. All he needs to do is keep the consistency, and he has proved he can do that.

3. Ales Hemsky

Last season just was not Ales Hemsky’s year. After tallying an assist on the Stars opening night of October 9, 2014, he went pointless until mid-November. His first goal did not come along until November 28th, and not scoring seemed to have an effect on his play. By the end of the year, Hemsky had logged a measly 11 goals and 32 points. That is a steep drop-off from what Stars fans expected from the new second line center.

The 32-year old had a stellar 10 1/2 year career with the Edmonton Oilers and short stint with the Ottawa Senators. But he just could not gain traction in his first year in Dallas, and that put up a red flag considering the Dallas Stars had him on a three year, $12 million deal.

Hemsky noted that, like Spezza, it took some time for him to adjust and adapt to the new lifestyle set before him. Though it was at a lesser extent, Hemsky still increased in production towards the end of the year.

At exit interview day 2014, Stars management made it public that along with two other players, Hemsky had been playing a good chunk of the year with a bad hip that would require surgery. Coming off of a long recovery, Hemsky missed most of training camp and the preseason. Not many Stars fans knew what to think. In one case, Hemsky could be completely fixed and be shooting for a big year. On the other, missing all that playing time early could end up plaguing him once again.

But Ales Hemsky has yet to slow down this season with Dallas. Mainly on the second and third lines, Hemsky has scored one goal and tallied five assists for a point-per-game pace throughout the first six games. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up, but he is definitely producing how the Stars have wanted him to since signing him.

The Dallas Stars are very lucky this year on offense, defense, and goaltending. But specifically on offense, where for once they seem to have four lines capable of striking fear and getting the puck to the back of the net. Each and every forward has done their part so far, and as a result the Stars are the best in the West. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Next: Dallas Stars Continue To Roll, Become Best In West

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