Dallas Stars: Five Surprise Players From The 2018-19 Season

1. Jason Dickinson

Around this time one year ago, Jason Dickinson was skating with the Texas Stars (AHL) as they put together a strong run through the Calder Cup Playoffs. But that wasn’t the most interesting storyline of the 22-year-old forward’s 2017-18 hockey campaign. Instead, it was the 17 different transactions that he had been a part of as he constantly alternated between the AHL and NHL.

But all of that movement wasn’t necessarily Dickinson’s fault. Instead, it was simply a matter of not finding a fit under Ken Hitchcock’s coaching style.

Hitchcock frequently praised Dickinson’s abilities throughout the year and would talk about how he was everything that the Stars wanted in a forward. But when Dickinson was with Dallas, he would skate an average of 8:32 and only played a total of 27 games, tallying no goals and two assists.

It was a lack of space more than anything that led to Dickinson’s frequent trips up and down I-35 during the 2017-18 season. And by the end of the year, he had three goals and five points in 38 NHL games spread across three seasons. Questions began to arise regarding whether Dickinson was becoming yet another first-round flop for Jim Nill after being drafted 29th overall in 2013.

But in 2018-19, he entirely erased the suspicion. The now 23-year-old forward made a significant and lasting impact on the Dallas depth group this past year, using his size and speed to be an asset in multiple areas.

Not only did Dickinson pass his former season-high in points by the Thanksgiving holiday this past year, but he took on a variety of new roles and excelled in them. He became a regular fixture on the penalty kill (skating an average of 1:28 shorthanded per game), turned into a hero in 3-on-3 overtime, let his physical side show, and used a mixture of aggression and determination to make a sudden and lasting impact regardless of where he was put in the lineup.

“I’ve always believed in myself. Coming into this season, I didn’t think I deserved anything less. It’s just been a matter of putting it together. I try to do the little things on the ice. I try to be on the right side of the puck. It took a few games to get some bounces my way in order to get on the scoresheet to make it look even better than what I was doing. It’s nice to get that recognition and be able to get some more ice time.” – Dickinson from 11/23/18

Through all of the hi-sticks to the face and vicious collisions with opposing players, Dickinson scored six goals and posted 22 points as well as a +9 rating in 67 games. That was in an average of 13:22 on the ice per game.

He also took his impressive progression a step further in his NHL postseason debut, tallying three goals and five points while averaging 15:57 on the ice in 13 starts. He was a permanent staple in the Stars’ top six throughout their playoff run and helped Dallas form a deep offensive attack that propelled them.

It was an outstanding and somewhat surprising breakout year for Dickinson and proved just how far determination and “doing the little things” can do for a young player. If there’s a loose puck, he’ll scrap for it. If there’s a penalty that needs to be killed, he’ll do everything in his power to make it happen. If there’s a goal that needs to be scored in overtime, he can do that, too. Dickinson showed how useful his strengths can be to this new version of the Dallas Stars and now looks to be a valuable piece of the team’s future.

Not bad for a guy that bounced back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL like a pinball one year ago.

2. Esa Lindell

For most of the past decade, the Dallas Stars have been known for offensive prowess and defensive inconsistency. But for the past two years, those labels have flip-flopped. One of the reasons behind that turnaround has been the play of Esa Lindell.

While Hitchcock, Montgomery, Rick Bowness, John Klingberg, Miro Heiskanen, and Stephen Johns have also played extensive roles in this transformation, Lindell has been near the center of it all.

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It all began in 2016-17 when Lindell entered the league as a rookie. In a way, he was thrown into the fire in his debut season. The Stars were in shambles just months after winning the Central division and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Their lineup was littered with injuries, they couldn’t find any sort of consistency to cling to, and their hopes quickly plummeted as the second half of the season began.

They ended the year with the second-highest goals against average and missed the playoffs by 15 points. And for much of that ugly season, Lindell played on the top pairing alongside Klingberg, who was struggling to take on the role of being a no. 1 defenseman. So, there were struggles all around.

But Lindell continued battling. The two-way defender took a sizable step forward in 2017-18, posting seven goals and 27 points as well as a +19 rating in 80 games. And while the Dallas defense finished the year with the seventh-lowest goals against average in the NHL, it still wasn’t enough to push the Stars back into the playoffs.

And so, Lindell took his own performance another step further in 2018-19. Behind a new coaching staff, Lindell took on bigger and more extensive roles as he fully solidified himself as a top-pairing defender alongside Klingberg.

The 24-year-old put up career numbers this past season, scoring 11 goals and tallying 32 points as well as a +14 rating in a full 82-game slate. That included seven power play points and a team-high two shorthanded goals.

Lindell was all over the Dallas game plan this past year. He played a big role on the power play, led all Stars skaters in shorthanded average time on ice at 3:14 per game, and ate up valuable minutes with an average of 24:20 skated per game.

He was just as effective in the playoffs, tallying one goal and four points as well as a +4 rating in an average of 26:58 on the ice. And who could forget Game 2 against the St. Louis Blues where Lindell skated 30:13 (including 7:59 shorthanded) while tallying three hits and six blocked shots? Good times.

The defenseman finished first on the team in blocked shots with 161 and third in hits with 143. He was everything that a team could ever want out of a defenseman and proved himself to be a valuable piece of the Stars’ future.

And with Lindell’s becoming a pending RFA this summer, it’s safe to say that the “Silent Assassin” is due for a handsome pay raise. It’s clear that he has earned it after three consecutive years of significant strides forward.

3. Roope Hintz

When the Dallas Stars needed a young forward to step up and help resolve their depth scoring problems, Roope Hintz initially didn’t look like the answer.

The rookie made his NHL debut on Oct. 4, 2018 when the Stars kicked off their 2018-19 campaign against the Arizona Coyotes. And after an impressive 2017-18 season and playoff run with the Texas Stars and a strong showing in the preseason, it seemed as though Hintz was ready to make a quick impact at the NHL level.

That didn’t happen (well, not immediately at least). After just five starts through the first two weeks, Hintz was sent back down to the AHL for further development. He was called back up one month later and played in nine more contests before being sent down for another month.

Pucks and Pitchforks

And after posting two goals and three points in his first 14 NHL games, Hintz was called up yet again on Dec. 29, 2018. The rest is history.

Hintz ended up turning in an impressive 2019 slate, posting seven goals and 19 points in his final 44 games of the regular season. That all added up to nine goals and 22 points in 58 regular season games along with 87 hits and a 54.3 face-off win percentage (second-highest on the team) in an average of 14:03 skated per game.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the center. In his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, Hintz recorded five goals and eight points in the Stars’ 13 postseason contests. He not only made a sizable contribution to the Stars’ attack, but also made a name for himself across the NHL.

The interesting thing about the 22-year-old second-round pick from 2015 is that he seems to possess a perfect balance of size and speed. At 6-3, 215 lb., he’s one of the bigger forwards in the Dallas lineup and isn’t afraid to impose his will on the forecheck or back check with a heavy hit. He’s also known for getting in shooting lanes and using his frame to block shots and break up passes.

On the other hand, there’s a good chance that he’s the fastest skater on the Dallas Stars roster. Even though he’s 215 pounds, he knows how to get up and go when needed. Whether that’s barreling into the offensive zone and gliding past defenders to set himself up for an open chance at the net or surging back to the defensive zone to break up an odd-man rush, Hintz was always ready to make a play with his feet.

As a result, he helped churn the Dallas offense along and gave it new life as the playoffs began.

It was an impressive rookie showing for a young center that should be a regular face in the Stars’ top-six for years to come. That’s a big win for the Dallas Stars top-six, especially considering the chemistry he has built with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Mats Zuccarello.

Speed kills.

4. Miro Heiskanen

There seems to be a growing trend of young Dallas Stars making up this list, and that’s an encouraging sign. So, let’s talk about the youngest Star for a moment.

On July 3, 2018, the Stars were presented with a significant fork in the road. With the free agency period off and running, word arose that Dallas and the Ottawa Senators were engaged in trade talks. The already-established and elite defenseman Erik Karlsson was the Stars’ main target and they were rumored to be the lead team to land him.

And they probably would have landed him had it not been for the Senators’ unshakable desire to have rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen included in the return package. The defender had just been selected third overall by the Stars in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and seemed to have all the makings of a generational talent, but had never played a game of NHL hockey.

That’s where the debate centered. Karlsson had already proven himself as a rare talent at the NHL level and was entering his best years, while Heiskanen was expected to make his NHL debut at the beginning of the 2018-19 season. There was a lot on the line with the decision.

But Nill ended up sticking with the rookie, and the 19-year-old paid him back handsomely as the season progressed.

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Heiskanen made a monumental splash right out of the gate and added a multifaceted element to the Dallas blue line. His youthful energy was put on display as he skated an average of 23:07 per game. His offensive supremacy was visible as he scored 12 goals and tallied 33 points in 82 games. His dedication to the team was put on display through 71 blocked shots (fifth on the team) and an ability to step in and play a big role when the blue line was hit hard by the injury bug early in the season.

He ended up being the Stars’ lone representative at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose and participated in the Fastest Skater Competition to further show off his speed and abilities.

Heiskanen was an electric piece of both the Dallas blue line and the Dallas offense. The coaching staff raved about him all year, while both local and national analysts began pushing him further into the spotlight. His response? “Oh yeah, it was fun. I’m just playing my game.”

In the playoffs, he tacked on two goals and four points in an average of 25:31 skated per game during the Stars’ 13-game run.

And while you may be wondering why he’s on the surprise list considering the hype that he brought into the season, he’s on the list because he shattered expectations and did so in a relatively quick manner.

Many wondered whether Heiskanen would take some time to adapt and even wondered if he might struggle out of the gate. Even Stars head coach Jim Montgomery talked about his hope to have Heiskanen playing at top speed somewhere shortly after Christmas.

Heiskanen was arguably at top speed before the first month of the season had ended. From there, it was nothing but more positive strides.

The rookie was amazing in his first year in North America and looks to be a cornerstone for the Dallas blue line moving forward. There’s not much more that has to be said.

5. Anton Khudobin

While this one doesn’t necessarily follow the trend that was being established by the younger players, it’s still an important piece of the overall puzzle. That’s the play of Anton Khudobin.

When the Stars first signed Khudobin to be their new backup goaltender on July 1, 2018, they were simply looking for a goalie that could fill a decade-long void. The backup goalie position had long since been one of their weakest areas, with the Stars trying well over 10 candidates for the spot over the previous ten seasons.

And after Kari Lehtonen fumbled down the stretch in 2017-18 and contributed to the Stars missing the playoffs, it was time to look for yet another band-aid.

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But Khudobin didn’t serve as a band-aid this past season; instead, he granted Dallas with a 1A-1B system.

Coming into 2018-19, Khudobin had spent the previous nine years of his career bouncing between four different teams. At each stop, he was always known as the backup and had only broken the 35-game mark once in his career. But that didn’t seem to phase his belief in himself.

“You know, my situation is that, how I know, always everyone was saying, ‘Backup, backup, backup.’ But, if you look at my stats and look at my career, I could always play at the number one,” Khudobin said about his NHL roles on July 1.

In this past year, he proved that he is in fact more than just a standard backup goalie. Not only did he serve the Dallas Stars in a starting capacity for much of the year, but he also became one of the keys to their success.

The Dallas goaltending was electric this season, using a two-goalie approach to push the team forward. In other words, when Ben Bishop wasn’t in the lineup, they knew that Khudobin was going to buy them a chance to win. And on most occasions, he did in impressive fashion.

Khudobin finished the year 16-17-5. That may look as though he turned in a rough performance, but it was very much the play of the team in front of him that often led to an unearned loss for the net minder.

Looking past the records, Khudobin’s numbers set the tone for his admirable season. He posted a .923 save percentage (his highest mark since 2013-14 and second-highest of his career) and 2.57 goals against average (fourth-highest of his career) as well as two shutouts (career-high). Khudobin finished the year with one of the highest quality start percentages of his career and helped make a significant impact.

And while Khudobin saw less than 12 minutes of action throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it didn’t matter. His presence throughout the regular season put a lasting mark on the Dallas crease. From picking up the weight when Bishop was injured, to setting records against the Nashville Predators, to being one of the funniest and most random guys in the locker room, he quickly became a fan favorite and provided the Stars with a two-headed monster in the crease to end their decade-long search. More important than anything, he provided stability.