Dallas Stars Will Reap Reward Of Players Thriving In Worlds, AHL
Success is difficult to gauge for young hockey players. Is it in how many points they put up? Number of blocked shots? Hits? Wins? The answer is uncertain, but it’s no secret that teams like the Dallas Stars benefit when their young players gain valuable experiences playing in high pressure situations.
NHL teams benefit when their players have success elsewhere — even at the Olympics, despite the league’s lack of ability to grasp that. Small tangent aside, the Dallas Stars will be a better team because of the success of players competing for their home countries at Worlds and playing for the AHL affiliate Texas Stars.
And it’s not just for the obvious reasons.
Culture of Winning
Being a good winner isn’t something that’s easy to teach. Players don’t know intuitively how to win or how to maintain a level of sportsmanship when winning. The culture of winning follows the same track.
Yes, the Dallas Stars have struggled to be consistent in their play over the last few years, but they’re also not promoting a culture of winning. When victory is so foreign that players aren’t sure what to do when it happens or how to capture it in close calls — like the third period when protecting a one goal lead or overtime — the concept is unfamiliar.
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With players like John Klingberg and Mattias Janmark, who have already established themselves as mainstays on the roster in Big D, learning what it feels like to win on a big stage at Worlds, they’re only developing a familiarity with winning.
Same goes for the whole roster down in Cedar Park, Texas, where the Texas Stars call home. They’ve made it to the Western Conference Finals by fighting through low points in the season and playoffs to claw their way into a favorable position. Why? Because they know what it means to win.
That kind of culture is cultivated slowly; however, its presence will only help Dallas as they take the steps necessary to move forward and be a more successful club in 2018-19.
Proven Ability for Success
NHL players are used to winning at every level of hockey before they step onto the ice as part of the best league of hockey in the world. The competition has never been and will likely never be better than in the NHL, and it puts players to the test.
Sometimes that competition makes players better. Some thrive on beating the best and working harder and harder every single day to improve. Some, however, fall short. They’re still trying to get themselves to be the best players they can, of course, but they also find the stiff competition (and maybe their lack of ability to improve at the same rate) as discouraging.
Not to say this happens for most players, but it’s a lot more common to see a player in the NHL fall from the graces of thriving in other leagues only to fall short when playing for one of the 31 teams.
Playing on a big stage — whether that’s the AHL playoffs or Worlds — and being able to feel the confidence associated with dominating on the ice only plays to the Stars’ favor moving forward. These young players are able to reignite their passion for the game and their drive to improve. They can see the light at the end of the tunnel and remember the steps it took to get there.
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Ultimately, that kind of reminder for young players within the Dallas Stars franchise will make all the difference.