The 2017 Traverse City Tournament takes place this weekend in Traverse City, Michigan. The Dallas Stars released their roster for the tourney this morning. How does it look?
There’s not a lot to look forward to around the NHL in August. Things are slow, predictable, and boring. Most fans typically have their countdown clocks set to the first day of training camp in mid September.
But there is hockey action between the dreaded month of August and the beginning of training camp for eight special teams. That action is the Traverse City Prospect Tournament.
The annual tournament takes place typically during the first or second weekend in September. It involves the farm systems of eight different NHL teams (Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, New York, St. Louis) and lasts five days. It’s a round-robin style tournament, with the eight teams being broken up into two divisions of four teams.
The Dallas Stars have been sending a prospect team up there for a few years now, and the results have been plentiful. It gives the organization a chance to examine its prospects on a level playing field. It’s basically a chance to see the future of the NHL up close. It also gives prospects a chance to prove themselves and earn a spot on the highest possible roster.
And this year, the Stars are sending another solid group of prospects up north. Earlier today, the Stars released their roster for the 2017 Traverse City Tournament. You can view it below.
Here is the Stars' prospect roster for the Traverse City Tournament this weekend. pic.twitter.com/rILifEakHN
— Blackout Dallas (@BlackoutDallas) September 5, 2017
Upon first glance, you probably notice some obvious choices for the roster. You also might be wondering why a few names were left off. And finally, there might be some names that you have never heard of. Let’s take a look at some of them.
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Denis Gurianov, Jason Robertson, and Roope Hintz are all pretty obvious decisions. All have been drafted recently by Dallas, show immense talent, and look to be strong pieces of the Stars’ future. Brett Davis, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 Draft, also made the roster after having a solid showing at development camp.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this roster is the Dallas defense. Gavin Bayreuther, Niklas Hansson, Chris Martenet, John Nyberg, and Ondrej Vala. These five names have all made a big impression on the Stars over the past year and are taking big strides with each passing season. Give them all a chance to show off their talent and you’re bound to get good results. With that being said, expect the Dallas defense to be strong and consistent throughout the tournament.
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Another interesting point is the Stars’ goaltenders. Landon Bow was the only goaltender in the Stars’ system appointed to the roster. Philippe Desrosiers did not make the roster. But Jeremy Brodeur did make the roster. Currently an undrafted prospect, Brodeur has bounced around the OHL and ECHL for the past few seasons. And yes, he is the son of legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur.
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He will turn 21 in October. It will be fun to see how he performs in the tournament for Dallas.
All in all, it looks to be a pretty solid roster for the Dallas Stars this time around. The Stars fell just short of the championship last season, so they will be looking to return with a stronger second act. It’s always fun watching the future skate around.