Dallas Stars Continue To Plan For Future, Call Up Devin Shore

The Dallas Stars front office was rather busy Sunday morning as they made another move with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

Dallas called up F Devin Shore from the AHL in order to have an extra offensive player on the roster for the road trip. The Stars will pack their bags and head for Canada where they will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. From there, they will travel to three more locations (Boston, Carolina, Detroit) as part of their four-game road trip that concludes Sunday afternoon.

Shore was the top candidate to be called up by the Dallas Stars, considering he is currently tearing it up in the AHL. He sits second place in the league in goals scored with eight and is tied for sixth in points with 11 through nine games played this year. Standing at 6-1, 205 pounds, he fits in with the majority of the Stars offensive makeup.

Shore was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. His offensive prowess is hard to match for any rookie, and he is known for scoring multiple goals in games. His vision is excellent and he can help run an effective power play.

It is not surprising that Shore was called up by the Stars, but the fact that he was technically the fourth rookie forward to be called up this year says a lot about the Stars organization and what they are trying to accomplish.

The Dallas Stars kept forward Mattias Janmark on the roster after training camp and the preseason and penciled him in on the third line for their opening night game, where he scored on his first NHL shot and shift. Janmark would continue his points streak and make headlines for his blazing hot start. He is now considered a full-time member of the Dallas Stars roster. He is pointless in his last four games, but still has five points (3-2-5) in 11 games.

Though he played a minor stint with Dallas last season, Curtis McKenzie started the year in the AHL. He was called up for the Stars fourth game of the season, only to be sidelined by an illegitimate and unnecessary check into the boards. McKenzie should be back in the next week or two but has yet to have an impact on the team. Through 37 career games with the Stars, McKenzie has five points (4-1-5) and a -8 on-ice rating.

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After McKenzie went down with injury, the Dallas Stars recalled Radek Faksa. After an impressive end to last year in the AHL, Faksa carried his success into training camp and the preseason this year and was eventually rewarded for it. He is pointless through seven games this season, but has a +1 rating and continues to show signs of growth in each game.

So Shore will be the fourth offensive prospect to be called up this year to play with Dallas. What does this mean?

It looks like all signs point to GM Jim Nill building early for the future. While he understands that he has a threatening roster as it is, he knows that there is a plethora of talent in the AHL awaiting its turn at the NHL level. He is getting as many of the red-hot rookies a chance as he can so that whenever it is time to part ways with some of the older forwards, he has plenty of backup to reinforce the offense.

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It’s a smart plan for Nill, and now is the perfect time to do it considering the Dallas Stars are on a hot streak, especially in terms of offense. Nill is sharpening both ends of the stick and stashing it away, because sooner or later it is going to come in handy.