So its been a month and a half since I decided to write my last Dallas Stars Draft Board. Things have changed in the order since then and there has been a lot of shifts up and down this list. Will it look like this in the lead up to draft day? Its unlikely.
This draft board is based on how the Stars have drafted in the past, though with a new General Manager that could change significantly, and what their organisational needs are currently. This was my last attempt to write a Draft Board for the Dallas Stars.
This is only my opinion and its highly unlikely that the Stars have a draft board which looks anything like this. Their scouts have been able to see many of these prospects in person and therefore will be able to pick up factors which I cannot see through my investigations online.
Again, I’d like to remind people that this is not a mock draft. This is a draft board which is the order that I think the Stars should order these prospects.
| Position | Player | Explanation |
| 1 | Seth Jones (D WHL) | Best player in the draft and an incredibly well rounded defenseman. |
| 2 | Valeri Nichushkin (RW RUS) | With the news that Nichushkin is willing to go to the NHL next season he jumps up the draft board as the Russian factor decreases. He’s, in my opinion, the most talented forward in the draft. |
| 3 | Nathan Mackinnon (C QMJHL) | Extremely talented and in previous years would have been a shoe in for the top spot. |
| 4 | Aleksander Barkov (C FIN) | Very talented well rounded forward with top sniper skills. |
| 5 | Jonathan Drouin (LW QMJHL) | Excellent hands and possibly the best play making forward available in the draft. |
| 6 | Elias Lindholm (LW/C SWE) | Talented typical Swedish forward, good two way play and though lacking physicality good in his own zone. |
| 7 | Sean Monahan (C OHL) | Good sized, well rounded two way forward. Has high end hockey awareness. |
| 8 | Darnell Nurse (D OHL) | Big smooth skating all around defenseman. |
| 9 | Hunter Shinkurak (LW WHL) | Fast but smallish talented forward. Predominantly a goal scorer. |
| 10 | Ryan Pulock (D WHL) | Smooth skating, big, offensively talented blueliner. |
| 11 | Alexander Wennberg (C/LW SWE) | Typical two way Swedish forward with high end hockey skill. |
| 12 | Max Domi (C OHL) | Very talented playmaking centre though on the small side. |
| 13 | Rasmus Ristolainen (D FIN) | Big, mean Finnish defenseman who can skate well for his size. |
| 14 | Bo Horvat (C OHL) | Well rounded centre, high floor moderate ceiling player. Leadership potential. |
| 15 | Curtis Lazar (C WHL) | Fast skating forward who is a natural goalscorer but also has the smarts to be a good playmaker |
| 16 | Josh Morrissey (D WHL) | Intelligent smooth skating defenseman with high end offensive potential. |
| 17 | Nikita Zadarov (D OHL) | Extremely physical large defenseman who can skate well for his size. Offensive instinct is limited but reasonably productive when its kept simple. |
| 18 | Anthony Mantha (LW QMJHL) | Physical top end offensive forward with consistency issues |
| 19 | Andre Burakovsky (LW SWE) | Excellent skater with top offensive talent but who needs work in his own zone. |
| 20 | Adam Erne (LW QMJHL | Physical power forward whose defensively responsible. Erik Cole style player. |
| 21 | Frederik Gauthier (C QMJHL) | Big scoring centre, not a playmaker. Physicality is a big part of his game. |
| 22 | Nicholas Petan(LW WHL) | Extremely talented, if small, offensive forward. 120 points in 71 games in the WHL. |
| 23 | Artturi Lekhonen (RW FIN) | Another extremely talented, but small, offensive forward. Needs to work on his defensive game however. |
| 24 | Robert Hagg (D SWE) | Two way defenseman, Intelligent and composed player who did well at the WJC. Not overly physical but he can clear the crease when needed. |
| 25 | J.T Compher (C USHL) | Two way forward with agitator potential. Got the offensive talent however to be an effective responsible forward |
| 26 | Valentin Zykov(RW QMJHL) | Good two way forward and not a typical ‘Russian’ player. |
| 27 | Pavel Buchnevich (LW RUS) | One dimensional offensive forward, some question marks over attitude. Whether thats simply because he’s Russian is questionable. |
| 28 | Kerby Rychel (LW OHL) | High end sniper with good skating ability. Defensively not so good and very much a one dimensional player. |
| 29 | Madison Bowey (D WHL) | Excellent skater with creative vision. Defensively responsible as well. |
| 30 | Morgan Klimchuk (RW WHL) | Smooth skating natural sniper with some defensive issues. A Michael Ryder style player. |