Dallas Stars: AHL Players Focus of Second Round of Cuts

The Dallas Stars have made their second round of cuts today after their first pre-season loss.

Fifteen players were cut by the Dallas Stars today, with 35 players left standing less than two weeks before opening night.

Ten of the players cut by the Stars today are under contract with the NHL club, but they’re AHL guys headed back to the Texas Stars.

AHL camps open this week, so it’s time for guys who are definitely starting the year in Austin to head down to prepare for the camp there.

More from Dallas Stars News

• Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
• Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
• Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
• Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs

The other five players on today’s list are on try-out contracts. The released players include Shane Hanna, Samuel Laberge, Colin Markison, Robbie Payne, and James Phelan, and some of them are headed to the Texas Stars as well to get ready for camp.

Nick Caamano is the biggest name on the list of cuts as far as Stars prospects go. Caamano stayed up longer than expected last season and had a good camp again this year. He’s a fifth-round draft pick, but the Stars have had more than their fair share of luck with fifth-round guys, including Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, and Marty Turco. Caamano may not look like he’s going to be at that level, but he’s got the potential to be another great late pick for the Stars.

Also of note on the list is Ben Gleason, who earned a contract after his stellar performance in Traverse City. The Stars signed him to an entry-level contract and now he’ll head to the AHL.

Two goaltenders have been assigned to the AHL as well: Philippe Desrosiers and Colton Point. That still leaves Landon Bow with the Stars for now, though that won’t last until opening night of course. Bow split AHL starting time with Mike McKenna last season while Desrosiers spent almost his entire season in the ECHL and Point was still in college.

The other players being sent back to the AHL today are Tony Calderone, Niklas Hansson, Joel L’Esperance, Chris Martenet, Adam Macherin, and Ondrej Vala.

Of today’s cuts, none are particularly surprising at this point in the pre-season. Jim Montgomery and Jim Nill need to get the roster down to 23 for opening night, so there are another 12 cuts to be made. It’s getting down to some of the tougher decisions after today, including the overcrowded depth forward mess.

With guys like Roope Hintz making their case for a roster spot and a full set of one-way contracts, the Stars will have to decide whether or not they want to send someone on a one-way deal to the AHL and deal with the monetary issues that will cause.

The last 12 cuts probably won’t come until late this week, but watch for some of the borderline guys to make a serious push in the next few games.