With their 5th rounder the Dallas Stars go back to defense and select an intriguing young man out of Canadian Juniors in 17 year old Troy Vance. Once again, let's talk about size! The 17 year old is listed at 6'5' or even 6'6" depending on where you look and his on his way to being well over 200 lbs. He could be quite a bit larger when he fills out.
He started last season in a lower Canadian Junior league and then impressively made the leap to major-juniors in mid-season, that's why he only played 23 games with the Tigres last season, though he did collect a +8 rating in that brief time.
Here's an interesting note, found via In Lou We Trust, from The Hockey Spy...
While Troy thinks of himself as an offensive defenseman, it is his defense that really paid dividends for Les Tigres as they made it to the 2nd round of the QMJHL playoffs after some serious struggles on the blueline earlier in the year. In addition to his monster mash and his defense, Troy has a nice shot, is a good skater and has good hockey sense. I have him as a 4th rounder but I think if NHL scouts take one look at that "monster mash" he could easily be a 3rd.
The 6’5 monster masher otherwise known as Troy Vance almost escaped the NHL draft this year playing in the EJHL but Alex LePore, a scout for the Dallas Stars, recommended the Pennsylvanian to the Victoriaville Tigres halfway through the year and the other NHL scouts are glad he did.
We always like to hear that big men are good skaters. That's a wonderful sign, and even more interesting is that he considers himself to be an offensive defenseman. We'll have to see how he does with a full year or two in major-juniors before can judge the truth in that, but even MORE interesting is that it was a Dallas Stars scout that recommended him to the QMJHL. That's the Dallas Stars doing their homework at very low levels, seeking out diamonds in the rough. They've clearly had their eye on him for some time.
He's got a fight on hockeyfights.com
Here's In Lou We Trust with a good profile.
What do you think about another defenseman?