The NHL regular season if officially over, and the "also-rans" like we Stars faithful are left pondering and pondering until our ponderers are sore. We're going to start tearing this thing down and examining just what the heck happened this year to a very healthy team, but we have to look forward a little bit too, which brings us to the draft.

The NHL will hold the draft lottery this Tuesday, April 13th at 7:00pm CDT on Versus (or TSN if you're lucky enough to get it.)

Now that the action has wrapped up, we can see that Dallas finishes 11th in draft order, and it's pretty unlikely to change as they have only a 1.5% chance of winning the lottery. Should that unlikely feat be realized, they could move up a maximum of 4 spots.

Here are the standings:

11th isn't as good as 8th last year, but once you get past the first few picks (and sometimes not even then) players can be kind of a crap shoot. This, however, is expected to be a pretty strong class. Not as strong as 2003, but close.

We haven't exactly heard what the draft strategy will be this year and if GM Joe will be looking for some defensive help (my personal preference) or just taking the best player available at the time.

Here are some early draft projections for the 11th spot...

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When we were gearing up for the 2009 NHL Draft last month here at Defending Big D, we featured a number of profiles on players we thought would be most likely to be chosen by the Dallas Stars at #8. In my mind, there was only about five or six players whom I thought we really needed to concentrate on, depending on who might get selected ahead of the Stars. The first five draft picks were actually fairly easy to determine, but it was the six through ten spots which really seemed to be up in the air.

I was a firm believer that if any of Oliver Ekman-Larrson, Magnus Paajarvi or Jared Cowen was available at #8, the Stars would pick one of the three. I know there was some fairly intense debate leading up to the draft about how high OEL would go, but that argument was clearly settled when he was pick at #6 by Phoenix. The next surprise was to have Nazem Kadri go at #7 to Toronto, leaving Dallas with their choice of MPS or Cowen. Everyone, except for Art, was surprised when the Stars selected Scott Glennie, from the Brandon Wheat Kings. Initial response to the pick among Dallas Stars fans was less than warm; many felt that the team had passed on some of the top draft choices still available and really reached for a player some thought would go much lower.

One of the advantages of being in Montreal for the draft was that I had the chance to talk with numerous writers, journalists and scouts about the various draft prospects, and about the Dallas Stars' selections in particular. It really gave me a different perspective on some of the players drafted and gave me insight into why they passed on the other players.

Follow the jump for chat with Red Line Report scout Mike Remmerde and his thoughts on Scott Glennie, as well as the thoughts of other scouts on the Stars' top draft pick.

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It's time to take a look back at the Dallas Stars past weekend in Montreal, analyze the picks they've made and then do what I kind of do best - make knee jerk reactions and guess what kind of player they'll end up being only for months and years down the road to look totally out-of-touch!

Scott Glennie - 1st Round / 8th overall

RW - 6'1" 177lbs - Brandon WHL

Pros: Has great speed, can play all three forward positions, outstanding puck handler.

Cons: A little on the small side, not the most physical player.

Pick Grade: (A) - I've been saying for a couple of weeks ago that no matter who the Stars picked, it was likely to be a solid pick as long as it was one of the players generally thought of to be in the top 10 to 15 players available, so this could have been any number of players and I would have given the same grade. Expect him to travel down the same path as James Neal and Jamie Benn - a year in junior, a year in the minors then a possible jump to the NHL where he could be a top six forward. Personally, this is the guy I wanted the Stars to pick from the start so it would rank as an A+ pick to me, but I'll leave personal feelings out of it and give it a solid A.

(Follow the jump to see my take on the other four draft picks as well as a final overall team grade.)

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Stargazing is a daily assortment of Dallas Stars news, as well as a look at what's happening around the Pacific division and the rest of the NHL.

The 2009 NHL entry draft is in the books. Life long dreams for a lot of young men came true, a plethora of deals were made, the salary cap was set, and a LOT of French was spoken. Let Defending Big D recap the Stars draft weekend for you and get you caught up on news from around the league as we now look forward to free agency on Wednesday.

Stars Draft Recap:

1st Round: Scott Glennie, RW, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

Defending Big D was live on the draft floor and collected some quotes from Mr. Glennie himself, such as which player he patterns himself after:

More of a Jeff Carter type of player. He's got a good shot coming off the wing and has a good snap and uses his body to his advantage to lean into guys, and definitely a pretty intelligent player in the National Hockey League.

• Winnipeg Sun on Glennie
• Pegasus News on Glennie
• Dallas Morning news: Stars fill a need for speed with Glennie
• Will play in this years Traverse City Prospects tournament (Dallas Morning News)

Follow the jump for more in depth looks at each Dallas Stars draft pick, as well as a look around the league.

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The Dallas Stars second round draft pick knows what it takes to make it to the NHL.

In the time leading up to the NHL draft, some hockey players get the feeling they know exactly who is going to draft them. It's either a gut feeling, a hopeful wish or just plain logic but eventually it becomes a waiting game to find out when, not who.

Alex Chiasson (pronounced shay-SAWN), the 38th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, had that exact feeling and he knew it would be the Dallas Stars that drafted him.

"I went through everything with them," Chiasson said, with a knowing smile. "They talked to my teachers, they talked to my parents, they talked to my housing parents, coaches, my friends. I went through a lot, more than with any team.

"I knew it would be Dallas."

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I'm working on some posts (A few interviews, a feature article on Scott Glennie) for tomorrow and Monday, but in the meantime I wanted to hear what your thoughts were on how the Stars drafted this weekend.

My initial thoughts:

Overall I think it was a good draft for the Stars and for Joe Nieuwendyk. It's obvious they held speed and skill at a premium in this draft and they wanted to bolster the depth in the system at right wing. I'm surprised they didn't go after a defenseman, especially since there were some decent ones available in the second round but Alex Chiasson was a good value pick at #3. The Stars really liked him and payed him a lot of attention during scouting and they were intent on getting a player they wanted. I'd rather have that than have them settle on a guy they're unsure of. They know exactly what they're getting with Chiasson and they have to be excited about his potential.

I know that the selection of Scott Glennie at #8 is going to be one of much frustration and anger for some Stars fans until he proves them otherwise. With Jared Cowen and Magnus Paajarvi on the board it's tough to see Dallas pass them up and get a player not as popular. Yet the more I talked to scouts today and the more I heard from people around the Bell Centre, the more I was convinced this was a good pick for the Stars.

I was hearing that there were concerns about Cowen by teams in the top ten, and that these concerns were not related to his injury. And I kept hearing that MPS has some attitude issues and worth ethic issues that led to him falling past where most thought he would go. The Stars came into the draft with Nazem Kadri and Glennie ranked higher than Cowen and MPS, and they picked the player they thought was the best.

The most encouraging stuff I heard about Scott Glennie (and I'll have more on this on Monday) is just how great a player he is, independently from linemate Brayden Schenn. There were some who thought that perhaps Schenn helped Glennie appear to be better than he actually is; according to the scouts who watched him day in and day out Glennie is a special player in his own right. He's extremely fast, has great skill and projects to be a damn good player in a few years at the NHL level.

And for those of you that scoffed when I picked Oliver Ekman-Larsson at #8 in the mock draft: Phoenix drafted him at #6, and everyone I talked to this weekend is convinced the kid will be a superstar.

What did you guys think?

2nd Round:

38th overall: Alex Chiasson, RW - Des Moines (USHL)

Good skill level and good value for the Stars in the early second round. He has great potential to be a top six forward but needs some time to develop and build muscle and strength. He has a big frame and should be able to bulk up enough to build upon his skills as a power forward. 

I was really impressed by his attitude. He knows that he has a lot of work to do to make before he makes it to the NHL, but he also realizes there's more than just hockey to focus on. He's excited about going to Boston University so that he can get a great education along with playing in one of the best hockey programs in North America.

You can read my interview with Alex Chiasson here.

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Team: Edmonton Oil Kings
Position: Right Wing/Center
HT/Weight: 6-3, 202
DOB: November 19, 1990
Shoots: Right.

Continuing the trend of selecting skilled forwards, the Dallas Stars pick Tomas Vincour from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL.

He's a big (6-3, 202) forward who has good hands and a great shot. Above average stickhandling ability along the boards and is good in tight spaces.

Not that great of a skater and didn't really improve in his second season in the WHL.

From Mike Remmerde's profile:

Short skating stride is a real problem. First step quickness is just not there at all. Takes a long time to stop and re-start. Doesn't turn very well and poor balance. Only plus about his skating is some okay speed once he finally gets going.

I like that he's not afraid to throw the body around, but he just isn't physically effective at all. Lack of strength and poor balance usually means he ends up on the ice even when he's initiating the contact.

Here's his Hockey's Future profile.