Dallas Stars Daily Links: Dickinson Trying to ‘Just Play’

Many fans came into the 2017-2018 season expecting big things from Dallas Stars rookie Jason Dickinson. He might not start in the NHL, but they were confident that he would be a main fixture in the lineup by the end of the season.

Instead, Dickinson has bounced back and forth between Dallas and Cedar Park, appearing in just 14 NHL games so far. His biggest obstacle during his time in the big leagues might very well be himself:

While he’s physically played 25 NHL games in his career, the majority of them have come with an internal struggle. He would overthink things, he’d get caught up reveling over the big name players he’d share the ice with, and throughout the game, he would be overcritical of each play he made.

“Every game I come into up here I try to tell myself, ‘Stop thinking so much, just play,’” Dickinson told The Athletic. “That’s been a problem ever since junior, that I think too much.”

Dickinson was held pointless until Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he scored a primary assist off a Brett Ritchie goal. However, the young forward is trying to not think about the low point total so much:

“It’s so easy to get down on yourself and get frustrated after this season with how many games it took me to get a point. It’s easy to think ‘oh, geez, I’m not doing anything,’” Dickinson said. “So finally I felt like I just had to keep pushing forward and keep doing the little things, I just tried to do that and not get frustrated and got rewarded (on Thursday).”

You can read more in Sean Shapiro’s piece here.

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Stars Stories

It’s game day! Get caught up with yesterday’s practice as the Stars prepare to take on the St. Louis Blues. [NHL]

Particularly of note from practice was this gem:

Is Alexander Radulov the new Brett Hull? Head coach Ken Hitchcock discusses his relationship with the “special player.” [SportsDay DFW]

Scott Burnside sat down for an interview with Devin Shore for his latest On the Fly: [NHL]

Here’s an official update on the availability of tickets for the 2018 NHL Draft:

Sean Shapiro discusses ideal lines, the potential struggles of Jamie Benn, and more in his mailbag: [The Athletic]

The Houston Stars? I don’t think that has quite the same ring to it:

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Central Census

It was a fairly busy night in the NHL on Friday, including four teams from the Central Division taking the ice:

• After soaring into third place, the Minnesota Wild have hit a rough patch, including an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. [Mile High Hockey]
• The Winnipeg Jets, on the other hand, fared much better, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-3. [Winging it in Motown]
• Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators squeezed out a 4-3 victory of their own, beating the Vancouver Canucks in overtime. [On the Forecheck]

Speaking of the Predators, let’s take out the time machine and look back at some memorable David Polie moments:

He may be far from the favorite, but could Pekka Rinne end up winning the Vezina Trophy this year? [The Hockey News]

The St. Louis Blues have been horrible lately (knock on wood), and no one is quite sure why:

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League Links

In his weekly Grab Bag, Down Goes Brown proposes a (mostly) foolproof way to get Henrik Lundqvist a Stanley Cup ring without being traded:

Which team deserves to win the lottery this year and draft Rasmus Dahlin? It’s probably the Edmonton Oilers, with the Chicago Blackhawks as a close second. [ESPN]

Every now and then a team comes out of nowhere late in the season to make the playoffs. Could the Florida Panthers be this year’s team? [Sportsnet]

This was rather unexpected news in my Twitter feed:

Matt Larkin discusses which rebuilding teams will bounce back the fastest in his latest mailbag. [The Hockey News]

Here’s an update on a lawsuit you probably forgot about (I know I did):

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Finally...

Happy anniversary, Radek Faksa: