This morning, the Dallas Stars announced that they signed forward Ty Dellandrea to an entry-level contract.
Dellandrea was this year’s first round pick for the Dallas Stars, going thirteenth overall.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, but it’s the next step for him on his way to making the NHL roster in the future. As he’ll be playing in the OHL again this season, he’ll be a slide candidate, meaning that the contract extends for an extra year because this year doesn’t count against the three years.
Dellandrea attended this year’s prospect camp as well as the tournament in Traverse City, where he stood out among the prospects.
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When the Stars picked him so high, it came as a shock to fans and media alike, but he’s shown what caught the eye of the scouts. Time will tell if it was the right call to draft him instead of the other higher-rated players available, but for now, he’s doing a good job making his case that it was the right decision.
He made his first debut last night against the St. Louis Blues in the first pre-season game of the year, after having a decent showing at training camp. He centered a the fourth line with Nick Caamano and Jason Robertson, two of the other top prospects in the Stars’ system.
Caamano, Robertson, and Dellandrea could all make the roster in the next few years. Their line showed some of their youth last night with some small mistakes, but they also showed a lot of promise despite being not quite NHL ready.
Last season, Dellandrea played in the OHL for the Flint Firebirds, where Caamano also spent part of the season before being traded to Hamilton. Dellandrea had 27 goals and 59 points in 67 games, good for first on the team in goals and second in scoring. He did finish with a pretty bad -30, but the entire team was in the red on plus/minus and they finished the season 20-43-5.
This season, Dellandrea will head back to the OHL, but he’s definitely a prospect fans should keep an eye on, because it probably won’t be long before he’s pushing for a roster spot.