Dallas Stars: Projecting The Future of The Victory Green Defense
The Dallas Stars’ once suspect defense is now becoming somewhat of a strong suit. The good thing is, it’s only getting better.
Hockey fans often times look to the future, near or distant, for any can of hope. It’s in our nature as fans of the coldest sport with the smallest national audience and draw to seek out hope, thinking that with endless time comes endless improvement. For a lot of the National Hockey League’s 31 teams, that isn’t the case, and the franchises are perpetually locked in notoriety.
Thankfully for the Dallas Stars, the future is brighter than the recent past was. From bankruptcy, to constant postseason absences, and having to say goodbye to longtime heroes of the game, the last six or seven years have been abysmal. But with that, we deserve a great future, don’t we?
The future, in a sense, has arrived, after awaiting the prospective emergence of guys like Radek Faksa, Julius Honka, and Brett Ritchie, even after the coming out party of the prior crop like Antoine Roussel and Stars’ captain Jamie Benn. But with prospects, the best and smartest thing to do is to keep a seemingly ceaseless amount of future NHL anchors coming up through the ranks.
That system is what the Dallas Stars have been able to emulate, with no better indicator than the immensely stacked defensive core of the Stars’ prospect system. Even with the coming graduation from prospect status to NHL stalwart for young Finnish defenseman Julius Honka, the Stars remain loaded like a freight train.
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From offense comes defense, and from defense comes offense, hockey fans. We’ve seen teams dominant the Western Conference in recent years with an absolutely insanely talented D core. The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks won it all with great defenses, the Nashville Predators come close to duplicating that, and the Dallas Stars are in line to follow suit.
With that, let’s project the Dallas Stars’ blueline in – if all goes according to plan – as soon as one season:
FIRST DEFENSIVE PAIR
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
Last season, under Lindy Ruff, the combination of Lindell and Klingberg was a disaster from the perspective of the naked eye. With Klingberg being sans under appreciated complimenter Alex Goligoski, left-handed Lindell was projected to come into his own and fill the void left by Goligoski, who was traded to Arizona in June of 2016.
However, they were pretty darn effective from a statistical standpoint. The pairing of Lindell and Klingberg posted 47 goals for compared to 34 goals against, while the Stars had a stellar 0.934 save percentage with the pair of #23 and #3 on the ice. Their Corsi For Percentage sat at 49.5%, which isn’t bad for a rookie defender playing with an offensive defenseman on non-playoff team.
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There’s no stat for frustration, however, and the turnovers and general inability to drive offensive play demonstrated by the duo is a reason for concern. Nonetheless, both Klingberg (25) and Lindell (23) are extremely young for NHL defenders and both still have some growing to do from a mental standpoint (they’re physically full already, trust us).
We can basically count on John Klingberg being a steady 50 to 60-point defenseman until the sun melts the surface of the earth off like a slice of cheese. Esa Lindell is the key, and under Ken Hitchcock (with whom many big, lofty defenders have succeeded) can grow into a permanent first-pair defenseman. If so, this is the long-term first pair at American Airlines Center.
SECOND DEFENSIVE PAIR
Miro Heiskanen – Julius Honka
The pinnacle of prospective defensemen in Dallas and perhaps all of the NHL, the future pair of youthful Finnish hotshots Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka is one of extreme intrigue and skill. Both can skate, snipe, and sense the plays in all-three zones like a first-round pick should (both are former first-rounders).
Think of Heiskanen-Honka, which is looking to be a possibility come 2018-19, as essentially a 1B to the potential first pair of Lindell-Klingberg: hell, they might be better. They won’t have any “growing” to do as hockey players, it seems, as Heiskanen (18), and Honka (21), have skills and maturity not often seen from players of their age.
Heiskanen’s ceiling, due to injury, has yet to be seen in Texas, but the dude is a technical wizard. The third-overall pick is the highest in Stars’ history since their 1993 move to the lone star state and they seemingly did not waste it. Combine that with Honka’s infectious swagger and blazing quick feet, and you have what looks like an unstoppable force for 10+ years on defense at American Airlines Center.
Just think about the advanced metrics of these two players together for the years to come in the fast-paced NHL of today, then clean up the drool. Honka was unbeatable in all three zones during his 16 games with Dallas last season, and Heiskanen is the top prospect in the Dallas core. This is gonna be fun.
THIRD DEFENSIVE PAIR
Gavin Bayreuther – Stephen Johns
When Gavin Bayreuther signed on with the Dallas Stars straight out of St. Lawrence University last season, I instantly thought of his potential with fellow NCAA defensive standout Stephen Johns, a Notre Dame alum. The issue with Johns in his Dallas tenure has been consistency and confidence, something Bayreuther can help blossom in the 6’4 righty.
Bayreuther, after Honka and Heiskanen, is the Stars’ A1 defensive prospect. Pair him up with Johns, a massive blueliner with a speedy set of skates and an offensive skillset, and you have a third defensive pair that other NHL teams would die for. The trend with all three of these pairs is the lefty-to-righty alignment, not to be overlooked among these two players.
Johns will be with Dallas, perhaps with Lindell as the young season begins, while Bayreuther sits and waits in the American Hockey League as the number-one D with the Texas Stars. In a weird way, both Americans have a lot to prove this season, but the thought of both extremely effective puck-movers next to one another amazes me as a Stars fan.
The third pairing of our defense has been less than exceptional in recent years with guys like Jyrki Jokipakka, Jamie Oleksiak, and Kris Russell in the mix. Bayreuther and Johns are two top-four guys on most other teams, but would be, and hopefully will be, a glorious and fun third pair.
EXTRAS – POTENTIAL 7TH DEFENSEMAN
Dillon Heatherington, John Nyberg
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Dillon Heatherington and John Nyberg are two of the top defensemen prospects in the Dallas Stars system, and easily the closest to becoming NHLers. Heatherington and Nyberg could find themselves in the starting lineup in the near future, as well.
Heatherington is a massive defenseman with a stay-at-home style, however his skating has improved tenfold since the Columbus Blue Jackets gifted us the former second-rounder for Lauri Korpikoski at the trade deadline. His NHL potential continues to rise as the lefty will egin his first full season with Texas this year.
John Nyberg has a very well-rounded game as well, and can further craft himself into an NHL-ready D-man when his game transitions to North America eventually. He’s very calm in his own zone and can do a lot of different things right.
Next: Stars' Newest Acquisitions Provide More Cup Desire
In way or another, the Dallas Stars have the bright future we all deserve as fans. Can the Stars capitalize on the immense talent on the squad is the only question, because boy, will this team be stacked.