The 2024 NHL Draft is right around the corner, and the Dallas Stars are now shifting their focus towards that. They will have pick #29 at the bottom of the first round. With no need to focus their draft on a specific position, the Stars can choose who they want. There are certain positions that they should avoid drafting a right-handed defenseman. The Stars have so many of those that drafting another would be overkill.
Goalie would be another position that the Stars can avoid. With Jake Oettinger being named the franchise goaltender for the foreseeable future, that's another position the Stars don't need in the first round of the draft. The NHL released their first-round mock draft and have the Stars taking Sam O'Reilly from the Ontario Hockey League or Julius Miettinen from the Western Hockey League. Let's look at what the Stars need in the first round of the 2024 NHL Mock Draft.
Wish Upon A Star: Left-Handed Defensemen
The Dallas Stars should focus their efforts on drafting a left-handed defenseman in the first round of the NHL Draft. Fans remember the Twitter war of wanting Jim Nill to trade for a left-handed defenseman at the Trade deadline last season. The Stars should look at left-handed defensemen who are as agressive as Chris Tanev is. You can already scratch Artyom Levshunov off your list since he will be the first defenseman off the board.
E.J. Emery would be the perfect draft replacement for Chris Tanev. He is expected to be drafted in the lower part of the first round. He is one of the best shut-down defensemen in the draft and would be like a third-place trophy for missing the Stanley Cup Finals. He wouldn't make the roster next season but would get to develop into the defenseman that the Stars are looking for. Once Emery finds his offense, Dallas could strike gold again in the first round.
Wish Upon A Star: Left Wing
The last position the Stars should consider is the left wing position. It's a position that the Stars haven't focused on in a couple of years, so expect them to draft some players for that position. The only name the Stars should focus on is Ted Stiga. Stiga is a left-handed wing projected to go early in the second round, so expect the Stars to take him if he falls to #29. His draft profile is in the same link as Emery's.
He has a motor and work effort like Logan Stankoven. He is going to Boston College in the fall, and Nill will let him develop there. This would be a no-brainer for the Stars if they don't like the selection of left-handed defensemen at #29.