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Dallas Stars Draft Profile: Kelowna Rockets Defenseman Cal Foote

By Tom Dorsa |
Apr 14, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Young Dallas Stars fans play a game of street hockey before the game between the Stars and the Minnesota Wild in game one of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Young Dallas Stars fans play a game of street hockey before the game between the Stars and the Minnesota Wild in game one of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Up until the NHL Draft on June 23rd, the team at Blackout Dallas will be rolling out previews of the potential Dallas Stars selections. Today, we look at Cal Foote.

Name: Callan “Cal” Foote

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right-handed

Hometown: Englewood, Colorado

Birthdate: December 13th, 1998

Size: 6-foot-3, 209 lbs

Team: Kelowna Rockets (Western Hockey League)

Stats: Six goals, 51 assists, 57 points in 71 games.

NHL Ceiling: Top-four defenseman with penalty kill excellence

As general managers in the National Hockey League begin to overlook the quality of bigger, bulkier defensemen in a league that is trending toward smaller, faster blueliners, players like Callan Foote become borderline steals in their Draft years.

The Dallas Stars are enjoying the same development out of 6’3″, 230 lb defenseman Stephen Johns. A physical, right-handed defender that can make plays up the ice and control the puck with the best of them. There exists players like this in today’s NHL already, like Shea Weber and Dustin Byfuglien, who fit this boot.

Cal Foote can fall into line with fundamentally-sound, bigger defensemen that emerge as leaders in their locker rooms and players that are purely hard to defend or beat one-on-one. That’s what made Cal’s father, Adam Foote, a staple of the Colorado Avalanche for 11 seasons as a gritty, stay-at-home defenseman.

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What Cal can do differently than Adam is use his underrated skating ability to push the puck up the ice and find his forwards for a scoring opportunity, something he did quite a bit with Kelowna. Foote led all Kelowna Rockets blueliners in scoring was 57 points, fourth on the squad.

Foote is very sought after because he seemingly thinks one step ahead of everyone else on the ice. He isn’t particularly an elite NHL skater or passer, but his instincts allow him to rarely get caught out of place, which in turn permits his teammates to take further risks they wouldn’t otherwise take.

Foote has a knack for finding where the puck goes at all times, deploying his wonderful stretch pass out of the defensive zone and across the opposing blueline. He isn’t the type of defenseman that will hover around in the offensive zone, more so a reliable, pass-first/positional player, but he will still be able to rack up a lot of points.

“A capability long sought after by NHL organizations, the right-handed shot defenseman has become a rarity in the NHL game, with only 31.7% of all defenders who played 35+ games in 2014-15 shooting right.”Brett Slawson, The Hockey Writers

The best comparison used thus far for Callan Foote is tall, lanky puck-moving defenseman Dougie Hamilton of the Calgary Flames. Foote is an extremely rangey defender, similar to Hamilton, but can move the puck up ice and fall into the proper positions well.

Foote will need to improve on a number of things that will likely come very easily to him when the 6’3″ defender continues at Kelowna, the former WHL home of Stars captain Jamie Benn, or commits elsewhere. His acceleration and edgework will need a few tweaks, and Foote will have to learn to shoot like players of his size level.

At 6’3″ and 209 lbs, Foote isn’t going to ever be the most agile skater, but a rapid acceleration is neccesary for being a top-four defenseman in the National Hockey League. Foote’s shooting will need to become a strength rather than a frality, as well, but if he can continue to pass and see the ice the same way as he has in two seasons with the Rockets, an NHL team like the Dallas Stars can find a use for him.

Next: Skilled Defenseman Timothy Liljegren Could Be A Steal

Foote could go top-10 in the Draft’s first-round on June 23rd, and perhaps down to the mid-20s. In several projections, he’s been up-and-down the board, but at any rate, he’ll be available for Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars at #3 overall. Let’s see what he does with the opportunity to select another massive righty, although with Stephen Johns in the fray, it’s possible that they overlook Foote altogether.

Foote, whose younger brother Nolan could very well be the number one pick in 2019’s Draft, will wait and see what happens in Chicago.

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