The Dallas Stars will begin their training camp next Thursday. It will be fun to have hockey back in the DFW Metroplex once again and see the Stars back on the ice. The one thing that fans love to keep an eye on is surprise training camp stories. I know recently the Dallas Stars had a surprise one with Wyatt Johnston passing his nine-game tryout three seasons ago. Most people thought he was going to spend a season with the Texas Stars, but he really wanted to room with Joe Pavelski.
While it's nice to see these kinds of storylines, I'm not expecting any of them to happen this season with the Stars. While it would be nice to see a player like Emil Hemming make his way onto the Stars' roster, the Stars aren't going to do that with Glen Gulutzan and his first year returning to coach the team a second time around. The prospect pool has undoubtedly changed since the last time he was the head coach of the Dallas Stars, but an experienced team is something he will want this upcoming season.
Now, I could be completely wrong and Gulutzan has no choice, but to cut a player to make it work if someone shows out at training camp. However, i'm expecting the Stars front office to keep it calm for him as they are trying to compete for the Stanley Cup. They don't want Gulutzan to have to hold the rookie's hand as he continues to make mistakes at the NHL level. That's something I don't think he signed up for as they are in their Stanley Cup window.
I can't wait to see what Emil Hemming and Cameron Schmidt look like in Victory Green sweaters, and I'm sure other fans do as well; however, it won't be this season. The Stars will have a veteran-heavy team and will look to strike fear into the eyes of the NHL. I hope the prospects know that going into training camp this season. I also hope they can prove me wrong and force Gulutzan to add them to the Opening Night roster next month. It's about to be a fun month of training camp coming up.