Dallas Stars: Analyzing THN’s Rundown Of Stars For 2017-18 Season
By Josh Clark
The Hockey News recently released their annual yearbook and included a complete rundown of the Dallas Stars for this upcoming season. Take a look at everything they had to say about the team in Victory Green.
The Dallas Stars are in for a bight and exciting 2017-18 season as far as we can tell.
After an offseason filled with extraordinary additions and a completely revamped roster, the Stars are not looking like the team that finished with 79 points last season. Instead, they are looking like a team that could take a swing at not only a Central Division title, but also a Stanley Cup championship.
It may not happen in this upcoming year considering the newness of the team structure as a whole, but it won’t be long before they’re up and running at full speed.
On Tuesday morning, The Hockey News published their annual Yearbook. Their Yearbook contains feature stories, a prediction of how the NHL standings and playoffs will pan out, and a complete rundown and forecast of all 31 teams in the league.
Dallas Stars
Yesterday, we posted about their predictions for the Dallas Stars in terms of final standings and the team’s journey in the playoffs. According to THN, the Stars are projected to claim their second Central Division title in the last three years in 2017-18, defeat the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs, and fall at the hands of Nashville Predators in the semifinals.
But how do they rate the team’s overall outlook? If you haven’t gotten a chance to buy a copy of the magazine, you can catch up on some of their projections and predictions below. They have the Dallas Stars projected to finish first in the Central Division (as noted above) and gives them 15/1 odds at winning the Stanley Cup.
The article itself was written by Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News and covers multiple aspects of the team.
In the article, the Stars offseason moves are praised and claim that they should help the team improve significantly this season. Making the playoffs consistently is a priority of Nill’s, and that could start in the years ahead.
The Stars offense is praised for the newly added firepower, though the reliability of their depth scoring is questioned. The defensive group is much better than the numbers from last year show, and the addition of Marc Methot should be a big help with the young core. But Dallas still needs to rid themselves of a defender or two to be within the plausible limits.
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Bringing in Ben Bishop gives the Stars a whole new outlook on the goaltending side, especially with Kari Lehtonen in the backup role. Heika believes that the crease will be greatly improved as well. He also points out the horrific numbers on special teams over the past few years and how Nill aimed to greatly bulk up both the power play and penalty kill this offseason.
In terms of intangibles, Heika believes that due to Hitchcock’s aggressive and fast-paced coaching style, the first month of the season could either make or break the Stars. With rookies, Julius Honka is expected to be the top young gun to watch. Heika believes that a specific X-factor to watch out for would be where Spezza plays (center or right wing) and if he can produce for Dallas.
The depth chart on offense includes 15 forwards, the defense includes ten defensemen (Gavin Bayreuther earned the tenth spot).
On the following page, the Dallas Stars’ top 10 prospects are listed out. Newly-drafted defenseman Miro Heiskanen takes the top spot, with Julius Honka following behind in second and Valeri Nichushkin in third. Here is the full list.
- Miro Heiskanen, D
- Julius Honka, D
- Valeri Nichushkin, RW
- Denis Gurianov, RW
- Riley Tufte, LW
- Jake Oettinger, G
- Jason Dickinson, C
- Roope Hintz, LW
- Jason Robertson, LW
- Fredrik Karlstrom, C
The final thing included in the Dallas Stars rundown besides the team’s 2017-18 schedule and their stats from last season is a quick look at the Stars’ no. 3 overall pick in the 2017 Draft, Miro Heiskanen. Their best-case scenario for Heiskanen compares him to New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh. That’s pretty good, if you didn’t already know.
Next: Some Way Too Early Predictions For Stars Opening Night
Overall, it’s a pretty positive look at the team and has a hopeful tone for both the short-term and long-term future.
In the end, that’s about all you can ask for.