Dallas Stars: Three Things To Watch For In 2019 NHL Entry Draft
By Josh Clark
1. Will The Stars End Up Trading Back In The First Round?
Alex Tuch, Thomas Chabot, Logan Stanley, Urho Vaakanainen, and Liam Foudy.
What do these five players have in common? They each serve as the 18th overall selection in the past five NHL Entry Drafts. And if you’ve only heard of one or two names on the list, that’s okay.
That’s because owning the 18th overall selection puts the Dallas Stars in a first-round limbo of sorts. Considering they sit in the middle of the pack, it’s hard to judge what their selection at 18 could end up doing. He’s probably too late in the round to make an NHL impact next season, but is early enough to where he could be a solid prospect that is close to crafting an NHL future for himself.
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And so, there’s an interesting line that must be followed. Will the Stars be able to find a rock-solid selection at 18? After all, 17 teams have an opportunity to take from the crop of prospects before them and might end up taking some of the names at the top of the Stars’ list.
With that being said, should Dallas look into trading back in the draft? It’s certainly an option.
Let’s step back to the 2017 NHL Entry Draft for a moment as an example. After taking Miro Heiskanen at third overall, the Stars also owned the 29th overall pick. But with goaltender Jake Oettinger still on the board at pick 26, the Stars dealt the 29th pick and the 70th pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for 26th so they could guarantee themselves the opportunity to draft the goalie.
This time around, the Stars could find themselves in the Blackhawks’ shoes in that scenario. If a team sitting anywhere between 19-31 sees a prospect on their list fall to 18th, they could offer Dallas their first-round spot as well as a second or third round pick in return for 18. And if Nill was looking to add some more picks to his arsenal (which he has mentioned in a handful of interviews), trading back could be a feasible way of doing so.
In order for that to happen, a few things need to be true. For one, there would need to be no prospect on the board at the top of the Stars’ list. If there is, it’s obvious that they would draft him instead of letting someone else take him and moving back. In addition, the offer would need to be tempting enough. If Nill were to trade back, he would likely be looking for a second or third round pick in addition to the other team’s first round selection considering the Stars don’t currently own a presence in either of those rounds.
Still, this could very well end up happening and the Stars should be open to making a deal. This year’s draft class is full of prospects with solid potential, especially throughout the first round. With that being said, the Dallas Stars could add an extra pick or two in their collection and still get a strong prospect 6-8 picks further back in round one.
But, if the Stars do hold onto their pick and get on the clock at 18th overall…