The Dallas Stars have themselves a new starting goaltender for the 2017-18 season. Luckily for them, it means more than just a guy that is going to stop pucks from going in.
“When I was here , that’s where the tollway ended.”
This is what new Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop had to say today about the city of Frisco. He both graduated high school and played for the NAHL’s Texas Tornado in the city and spent an important part of his life there. But that was 12 years ago.
Things have definitely changed since Bishop was last a member of the DFW community, not only in Frisco, but also throughout the entire metroplex.
“I heard it’s changed quite a bit and it’s growing,” Bishop said of his old home. And he’s exactly right. The city of Frisco has come a long way over the past 12 years and is now one of the more prominent cities throughout North Texas.
Dallas Stars
Frisco is kind of like the Dallas Stars at the moment. They’ve been on the rise over the past few years and have built themselves from practically nothing. A five-year playoff drought will do that to a team, after all.
But the positive side is that they are rebuilding themselves and slowly returning to a place of prominence.
With Bishop, that could very quickly become a reality.
“It’s a good team and they’re ready to win now,” Bishop said on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with the Dallas media. “It’s not a rebuild or anything like that. To go to a place where you have a chance to win right now is exciting.”
The Dallas Stars are getting a lot with the addition of Bishop. They are getting a determined no. 1 starter who has a proven stat line over the past few seasons and still has a few good years left as an elite goaltender in the NHL.
The Stars will no longer have to search for new answers in the crease on a season-by-season basis and will finally be able to have confidence in their goaltending duo.
But Bishop’s impact will go much further than just stopping pucks between the pipes. Sure that’s helpful and will bring the Stars out of a defensive hole they are currently in, but his talents go much further than that.
That’s because Bishop is also extremely confident in his role and is an impressive leader for a team, especially in the back end.
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One of the Stars’ most glaring problems this past season was from their blue line on back. The entire team definitely had its kinks, but the defense and goaltending were especially counterproductive. They were among the worst in the league statistically, and that’s a large reason for the addition of Bishop.
Not only will Bishop assist in helping get the goals against average down, but he will also have a chance to help lead the young defense from a veteran standpoint.
“Yeah. There’s probably a lot of talk between us and the and the forwards,” Bishop said Friday at his media availability. “I think at training camp you’ll have time to work on it and at the summer skates. It’s a process. You’ll kind of feel each other out there for a little bit and hopefully we can have it dialed in before the season starts.”
It’s no secret that solid defense is a common theme among consistent playoff teams that make a run at the Stanley Cup. Just look at the Nashville Predators. They have qualified for the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, but it hasn’t been because of their high-powered offense. Their goaltending and defense have primarily led the way.
P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm, and Pekka Rinne are all contributing factors in the Predators’ primary scheme, and it’s been an impressive one to watch this past season, more specifically throughout the playoffs.
Bishop has played behind the likes of talented defenders like Victor Hedman, Nikita Nesterov, and Anton Stralman and knows what it takes to succeed on the defensive end. He will be able to pass that on to the young defensive core and even the offensive group that the Dallas Stars currently possess.
“I think that’s what we’re all hoping for,” Bishop said. “I think it’s a process where it’s going to start in training camp from day one. I think you see in a lot of sports that defense wins championships. You’ve got to be able to win those 1-0 games and keep the other team off the board. It’s a team effort, not just the goalie. The defense and the forwards have to be on the same team.”
In addition to Bishop’s accumulated defensive strategies, he’s also learned how to be a multidimensional goaltender and isn’t afraid to get out of the crease.
SenShot
In fact, Bishop is a reliable stickhandler and is one of the most skilled goaltenders in the league at it.
“I started out as a forward and I loved scoring goals. It was just one of those things in the driveway when I was a kid and even when I was a goalie before and after practice I just loved shooting the puck and playing with the puck. I still like scoring goals in practice and just messing around. I think the idea wasn’t really working on it to make it an asset; it was more of just doing it for fun.”
He knows how to play the puck behind the net and make outlet passes that can start up offensive rushes out of the defensive zone. If he can quickly get on the same page as his teammates just as he said above, the 2017-18 Dallas Stars could be a crisp puck-moving force with very few errors and turnovers. That is a force to be reckoned with in today’s NHL.
“When I got to be in the NHL, I kind of realized that it was a big asset. It’s one of those things that you work on almost every day in practice. I didn’t know it was going to turn out to what it was, but it’s nice to be able to go out there and help the .”
With Ben Bishop, the Dallas Stars are getting a lot more than just a 6’7 veteran to stand between the pipes and stop a frozen piece of rubber. They are getting a confident goaltender with a knack for leadership and defensive strategy. With his added presence and the Stars’ newfound drive, next year could see Dallas reach new heights.
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“Speaking with the guys, they’re all in and are ready to get back into the playoffs,” Bishop said. Now all that’s left is for them to follow through.