The Traverse City Tournament kicks off on Friday afternoon in Traverse City, Mich. for eight NHL prospect teams. And for the Dallas Stars, they are sending quite a deep and talented roster.
The Dallas Stars are one of eight teams invited to participate in the Traverse City Tournament each year. And if you don’t already know, that comes with certain benefits.
The four-day tournament gives each of the eight invited teams a chance to send some of their best and brightest prospects to Traverse City. The Detroit Red Wings play host each year and give themselves as well as the Stars, Blue Jackets, Wild, Blackhawks, Blues, Rangers, and Hurricanes a chance to show off their talent for the future.
But it’s more than just showing off. It gives each team a chance to see their best prospects in a game setting against other top prospects around the league. Some of these players could very well face off against each other at the NHL level within 3-5 years, which gives teams a good sampling size to see where they are at in regards to the future.
And in the past few years, some talented current Dallas Stars players have cycled through this tournament. Names like Radek Faksa, Mattias Janmark, Stephen Johns, and Esa Lindell all participated in the prospect tournament at one point or another and used it as a springboard to get into the NHL.
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Over the past few years, however, the Stars haven’t necessarily sent overtly stacked rosters. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have neglected to send talented prospects, but instead focuses on their average results.
Things could look sizably different for the Stars in the 2018 tournament, though. That’s because they are taking in a solid group brimming with talent, expectations, and excitement.
The Stars announced the team that they will take to Traverse City on Wednesday afternoon. The roster consists of 14 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders for a total of 24 players. And of those 24 players, it’s impossible to scan the list without finding some top-tier talent and highly-touted prospects from the Dallas system.
Here is the Dallas Stars roster for the Traverse City prospect tournament. pic.twitter.com/bJTnhrUyla
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) September 4, 2018
Let’s look at the forwards first. Nick Caamano and Ty Dellandrea are some of the first names to stand out. Caamano, a former fifth-round pick of the Stars, has been posting solid numbers in the OHL for the past two seasons and building his resume as an AHL-ready prospect. He’ll start the season in Austin with the Texas Stars and could very well work his way up into the NHL before the season ends.
And then there’s Dellandrea. As the Stars’ 2018 first-round pick, he’s shown a lot of potential in the early stages of his career and will get his first opportunity to show off in a game situation for Dallas.
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Other top-of-the-line names include Roope Hintz, who will be fighting for a roster spot in Dallas this season, 2017 second-round pick Jason Robertson, and 2018 pick Adam Mascherin.
On defense, there’s plenty more talent to go around. Third overall pick Miro Heiskanen will skate in a Dallas Stars uniform in a competitive setting for the first time in the tournament. His potential is through the roof, the promise is all there, and it looks like Heiskanen could be the next franchise defender for the Stars.
Niklas Hansson, John Nyberg, Jakob Stenqvist, and Ondrej Vala help round out a solid blue line that should greatly benefit the Dallas Stars prospect team.
And then there’s Colton Point as the presumed starter in goal. Point signed his professional, entry-level contract with the Stars this summer and will make the jump from college to the AHL this year. He’s shown flashes of brilliance in his time at Colgate University and will have a chance to battle for the starting spot in Texas this year. That all begins with a strong performance at the Traverse City Tournament.
All in all, there is a load of talent and plenty of new potential that makes up this year’s prospect tournament roster for the Dallas Stars.
That should only pay dividends throughout the weekend as the Stars’ prospects fight for first place. Their first game is on Friday, September 7 at 7:00 p.m. against the New York Rangers and will be streamed on Fox Sports Go.