Early Returns: 3 Players Impacted Most by DeBoer’s System Changes
Now that we’re at the 10% point of the season we’ve got a solid, savory taste of what Pete DeBoer is cooking up here in Dallas. With the regime change, we’re seeing an uptick in production on the offensive end and the goal total per game feels like it’s doubled overnight. There are new items on the menu, with a dash of Marchment and a hint of Dellandrea, but there’s also a revival among the mainstays.
With 78% of this year’s points coming from members of last year’s team, the Stars’ core has been activated to create the depth scoring that left much to be desired in years past. Here we’ll take a look at the players benefitting the most from Pete DeBoer’s systematic changes; thus, providing the secret sauce to this brand-new dish.
3 Players Impacted by DeBoer System Changes: Appetizer, Joel Kiviranta
Now allowed to play with speed, Joel Kiviranta’s quickness is being properly valued by the style of play DeBoer is allowing him to employ. After scoring his second goal of the season the Senators last Monday, we all raced to Twitter to quip that he had doubled his goal total from the previous season.
As much fun as it is to be sarcastically optimistic, I imagine it’s even more fun to play your favorite game the way that you want to play. Objectively Kivi is a relatively smaller NHL player at 5’10” and 170 lbs., limiting his capabilities in a primarily dump-and-chase mindset that Bowness bestowed on him and his linemates in the past. Muscling the puck away from larger opposition puts Kivi behind the 8-ball nine times out of ten.
To the point of Kivi’s fellow Finn Roope Hintz, “we don’t just dump it in every time” and the players are now able to find space and play with speed. This mindset is what allowed Kiviranta to emerge during the bubble run with his hat trick against Colorado. The Avs forced us into a track meet and Kiviranta’s game flourished to the tune of 3 well-timed scores, propelling the boys in victory green to the Western Conference finals.
After drying up in the year since then, Kivi’s early returns under DeBoer should inspire hopeful optimism for Stars fans. He’s played well enough to earn top 6 minutes alongside Seguin and Marchment and will ideally continue to provide solid depth on the right at a position of need.
To put Kivi’s start into perspective, he’s on pace for close to 30 goals. The goals he’s netted occur naturally and in the middle of the ice. His 3rd goal of the season came from pure effort and a wicked backhand after a determined forecheck. Aside from the pure will, Kivi looks much better when he doesn’t have to dig everything out of the corner in order to facilitate offensive output. If DeBoer can maintain this system that’s tailored to the talents of the roster, we’ll continue to see depth players having offensive revivals as the season progresses while Joel Kiviranta currently serves as the poster child for this concept.
3 Players Impacted by DeBoer System Changes: Entree, Nils Lundkvist
Recently benefitting from surplus ice time, Nils Lundkvist may be seeing the largest positive swing in play. After Jim Nill burned a first-round pick to add a young defensive wild card to the offseason equation, Lundkvist has justified the show of faith by registering 4 apples and seizing a bulk of power play responsibilities. Nils’ emergence may have been understated to this point without the glaring absence of Miro in the lineup, hence the demand for his presence has given us the opportunity to see more of his game.
He’s stepped his second PP unit QB role up into the top spot, with Heiskanen sidelined, and chipped in close to 21 minutes of ice time per night. However, his offseason relocation circumstances highlight the impact of DeBoer’s system on how he’s able to leverage this opportunity to a mutual benefit.
Unfortunately for Nils as a New York Ranger, he was born right-handed. Behind a few talented and more established righties, Nils’ development became contingent on finding a situation more conducive to fostering young talent. Fortunately for Nils as a Dallas Star, recently hired bench boss Pete DeBoer is a staunch believer in playing defensemen on the side of their strong hand.
Returning Miro Heiskanen to his strong side on the left and failing to recapture John Klingberg as 1RD opened up the perfect spot for Nils to slot right into a role that gives his game room to grow. Thus far, the investment that the team has put into him has not been lost on Nils.
After matching his point total from last year, and doubling his career point total, the most important stats for Nils this season is much simpler. Tonight will mark 10 games played and he enters this matchup plus-1 on the stat sheet. To kick last year off, he only made it 7 games before getting scratched and eliminating any traction he was getting at the top level.
Everyone knows that you need to let the dish cook all the way through before removing it from the oven. Needless to say, any relative continuation of his success to start the campaign would warrant, nay require, a permanent residency in the top 4 of this defense core.
3 Players Impacted by DeBoer System Changes: Dessert, Tyler Seguin
The sweetest and most validating of resurgences lies at the feet of the most expensive player on the roster, Tyler Seguin. “He hasn’t been healthy the past two seasons,” we all spoke through gritted teeth with dampened brows, staring down the barrel of a $9.85 million AAV for the next 5 years. I’m being sheepishly facetious, of course, but a healthy Seguin has benefitted from the faster play and open space that his game demands since the years prior to Bowness’ tightening the leash on every line below the first.
Turns out the best way to get depth scoring is to allow your depth players to score, letting things breathe. While this concept may be foreign to some coaches, DeBoer is proving that he knew what he was talking about when speaking on “unlocking the offensive potential” of this team’s key players.
Through 10% of the season, Seguin has served up the second most assists on the team while peppering 2+ shots on net each game. Close to a point per game, Tyler’s newfound chemistry with offseason acquisition Mason Marchment has brought forth a second layer of scoring that has long been absent from this team.
Beyond that, Seguin’s power play positioning has made it possible for Wyatt Johnston to play with a bit more space and cement his position as a lineup regular despite his youth. To top it off, Dellandrea has come into his own right on Seguin’s right side and completed the trio of fresh face facilitation that Seguin’s veteran presence is positively impacting.
When Seguin can play his game naturally, his production goes beyond his individual accolades. Aiding in the integration of Mush, Delly, and Johnny into the lineup holds more value than Corsi or Fenwick can quantify. Quite frankly, the ability to shorten their learning curve makes up and possibly surpasses, the value lost by any forwards that departed the team from last season. I would love for Seguin to keep up the scoring pace that he’s shown to get this season started, but the winning we’ve seen as a result of his play silences any calls for extra effort from those watching through a screen or from the stands.
Resurgence: A Dish Best Served Hot
Each of these players symbolizes a sample of the different ways DeBoer is driving better results from a roster that saw relatively little turnover. Kivi is the face of the depth grinders filling the gaps on the lower half of the roster that can elevate their game in a faster-paced system. Nils shows how the fundamentals of the team’s defensive mindset allow us to maximize our backend talent without sacrificing defensively. The old goat Tyler Seguin shows the return to form that past Stars are exhibiting with a more trusting, cohesive attack from end to end. The proof is in the pudding that the early season success is more than just a flash in Chef DeBoer’s pan.