2. Ty Dellandrea, Forward
Ty Dellandrea is one of few prospects heading to Friday’s camp with Dallas Stars experience under his belt. Injuries to forwards thrust the former 13th overall pick (2018) into action with the big club last season. Unfortunately, Dellandrea struggled in 26 NHL games, scoring a meager 5 points with roughly 17 minutes of average ice time.
It remains unfair to judge Dellandrea’s potential on his relatively small, NHL sample size. The young centerman was not ready to contribute at the highest level, which is not supernatural for a 20-year old. Stars head coach Rick Bowness admitted such while also praising Dellandrea’s work ethic. It is no secret that Dellandrea needed time at AHL-Texas to develop, but the immediate needs of the Stars came first.
The Toronto native was immaculate in his final season (2019-20) with OHL-Flint, posting 70 points in 47 games. Dellandrea was expected to bring his knack for scoring to the NHL, but not without some time in the AHL. Dellandrea will see plenty of time with the Texas Stars in 2021-22, where we expect him to thrive.
There was some though that, with a strong camp, Dellandrea could crack the Stars opening night lineup. Such is now unlikely with the team adding Michael Raffl and Luke Glendening this offseason. Still, it will only take one injury in Dallas and Dellandrea will find himself in the Stars lineup.
Dellandrea won’t be hard to spot among the Stars prospects during camp. Skills aside, Dellandrea will have the No. 10 sweater he wore in Dallas last season. Virtually all other Stars prospects will skate around, wearing numbers in the 30s through 60s.