Dallas Stars Prospect Update: Ritchie, Smith On Fire, Jokipakka Puts Up The Points, Injuries Hit The WHL

Another week has gone by in the juniors and Dallas Stars prospects have been in action across several different leagues. It's definitely been a good week for those prospects in the OHL, while it's been the exact opposite for those playing in the WHL.

The Texas Stars have gone undefeated in their pre season games and they will start their regular season in San Antonio on the 13th of October. As always for your indepth news on the Texas Stars head over to 100 Degree Hockey.

The Stars NCAA prospects are beginning to start their seasons as well and we will keep you up to date with their progress as the season progresses.

Radek Faksa had a good week scoring a goal and an assist in two games for the Kitchener Rangers, though they would lose both games 4-2 and 2-1 respectively. He's continuing on his point per game pace and hopefully will continue to improve as the season progresses.

Brett Ritchie had another excellent week for the Niagara IceDogs as they won two of their three games this week. In the process Ritchie had four assists. He might not be scoring but its clear that him and Ryan Strome are forming a formidable partnership.

After being held without a point in the last couple of games Gemel Smith made up for it by putting up four points in two games for the Owen Sound Attack. He would score once and assist three times as they won both their games this week against the Sarnia Sting and the Guelph Storm.

In the WHL things haven't been going well for Dallas Stars prospects with Mike Winther and Brandan Troock not having played a game this week. Winther apparently has a lower body injury while I haven't been able to find out why Brandan Troock hasn't played - I assume it's due to injury.

The only prospect in the WHL to play was Matej Stransky, whose Saskatoon Blades are in deep trouble having only won two of their first seven games. They lost all three of the games they played this week including a 10-1 blow out loss against the Swift Current Broncos. If the Blades want to be competitive during the Memorial Cup they are going to have to work out why the chemistry between the team has failed.

Troy Vance had his multi game point streak snapped this week but he still put up two assists in the last four games.The Victoriaville Tigres lost three of their four games this week. Maxime Lagace played two games this week and helped backstop the Prince Edward Island Rockets to two victories.

In Europe there are still ice time issues for Ludwig Bystrom and Emil Molin. Emil Molin did manage to get on the ice this week for a game in the Elitserien. He played just over 11 minutes and registered a single shot on goal. Ludwig Bystrom appears to be in the lurch between playing no or little time in the Elitserien or playing in the SuperElit for Modo J20. John Klingberg is still out recovering from hip surgery from the summer.

Jyrki Jokipakka had an excellent week for IIves of the SM-Liiga, scoring six points in three games for them (two goals, four assists) to help them snatch some victories from the jaws of defeat. He's still getting the big minutes and is averaging over 25 minutes per game.

Esa Lindell played four games this week for Jokerit but was held pointless. He saw a sharp reduction in ice time during his first game this week as lockout signing Erik Karlsson played over 30 minutes. However by the end of the week Lindell was playing just under 20 minutes per game again.