Takeaways from the opening Dallas Stars press conferences

The Dallas Stars started their journey back to the Western Conference Finals on Thursday as training camp opened at the H-E-B Center last Thursday. Reporters heard from a lot of the players such as Jake Oettinger on what they did over the offseason and what they need to be better during the 2023-24 season. Let’s take a look at some of the press conferences that really stood out to me from the opening days of training camp last week.

Dallas Stars Opening Press Conferences Takeaways: Jake Oettinger is hungry to win

The one thing that really stuck out during Oettinger’s press conference was his desire to win hockey games. He won 47 games last season which definitely shows his desire to win at one of the highest levels of hockey.

However, Otter can not play 81 games this upcoming season. He needs to be in the 45-50 range so that way if the Stars make the postseason, he won’t hit the fatigue wall if they back to the Western Conference Finals again. I cannot wait to see how Oettinger can back up his performance last season as he desperately wants to win every time he takes the ice.

Dallas Stars Opening Press Conferences Takeaways: Joe Pavelski says the team wants to have urgency coming out of the gate to start the season

Joe Pavelski is right here, the Stars do need to play with some urgency coming out of the gate this season. There are 31 other teams in this league that won’t give the Stars a five-game head start out of the gate.

They need to play like they are playing for their postseason lives and make sure to get a comfortable lead on top of the Central Division next season. I know the Stars can do it and win the Central Division next season, they just have to do it beginning with the St. Louis Blues on October 12th.

Dallas Stars Opening Press Conferences Takeaways: Johnston wants to work on getting stronger

Wyatt Johnston is definitely correct as well, players always want to get better and stronger so they can play in the NHL for a long time. A lot of rookies are shocked at how strong and tough some of the players in this league are.

During their first NHL offseason, most of them work on their craft and hit the gym to get stronger so that way they can hang with the players in this league. I know Johnston hit the gym and worked on his craft over the summer. We need him to be at his best if the Stars want to get back to the Western Conference Finals this upcoming season.