Even after the latest round of cuts from Dallas Stars training camp, there are still 32 players trying to make a case to be on the opening-day roster.
Colton Sceviour may be among the most surprising of the forwards left. Of the 20 still in camp, he has the fewest games of NHL experience – one.
The 22-year-old forward did finish third on the Texas Stars with 41 points in 77 games last season, but he took a real leap forward once the 2011-12 preseason began. He’s scored a pair of goals and added an assist in three preseason appearances, making an impression he told ESPN Dallas he’d set out to make.
“Coming in this year that was my goal, to come in and make a statement in camp. I want to be up here and I want to be up here all year. That was my mindset going into the camp,” Sceviour said. “I think I’ve made a little bit of a statement so far, but obviously it takes more than a couple of decent games, a couple of good games to prove that. I just want to keep playing like I’ve been playing and prove that I have the ability to play at this level full time.”
With only one forward roster spot really in play at this point, Sceviour may be the victim of a numbers game as camp comes to a close, and as of this writing, it’s unclear whether he will be in the lineup for today’s 7:30 p.m. preseason game against the Florida Panthers. But his strong play may very well have moved him up the list for potential call ups.
Also of note in the ESPN Dallas article are updates on Brenden Morrow (knee), Jamie Benn (groin) and Adam Burish (groin), who have all resumed skating but are still considered day-to-day (aren’t we all?).
After the jump, Eric Godard’s favorite word, Dale Hansen actually talks hockey and Sean Avery might have a new league to annoy.
- Okay, so this article is really about the Stars adding sizable players with mean streaks in Eric Godard and Sheldon Souray, but the thing that stuck most with me was the following quote. I wonder how Godard thinks things are going so far? [DallasStars.com]
“It [the vibe here] seems good, yeah. The town seems good. The people are nice. The team’s been pretty good. The guys are good. Not a lot of the guys have given me their phone numbers yet, so I’m not sure if that’s a hint or something,” he said. “It’s been good. Guys are good. Everyone’s been good. It seems like a good team. Everyone’s pretty tight, ready to play and wants to work. Coming into a good situation is always a good thing.”
- I don’t know when Dale Hansen last had a one-on-one with a hockey player, but my suspicion is it was sometime around the Stanley Cup win. But he broke that streak Wednesday when he sat down with the recently retired Mike Modano. [WFAA]
- We noted how well Kari Lehtonen has played in the preseason Wednesday, and apparently the Dallas Morning News was on the same page. [DallasNews.com]
- I don’t know why this fantasy hockey writer seems to think Jack Campbell had a shot at the NHL roster this year, but other than that odd quip, it’s a pretty solid roundup of some of the fantasy players to watch in the Western Conference. [ESPN]
- Former Stars player, co-general manager and Ambassador of Fun Brett Hull is in limbo at the moment, waiting for the ownership situation to get settled before he makes a decision on his future. There are some interesting quotes at the end of the article where he reflects on his time as GM. [Fox Spots Midwest]
- Another big part of that Stanley Cup team, the Little Ball of Hate that was Pat Verbeek, is being inducted into his local sports hall of fame. Unintentional comedy alert: Check out the last sentence. [Petrolia Topic]
- And for your flash from the past for today, here is Razor’s daily posting of the 1999 Stanley Cup team commercials. This was the one I could only vaguely remember. [Razor With An Edge]
- Finally, in the “it couldn’t happen to a nicer player” category, Sean Avery may be on the outs with the New York Rangers. For an agitator, he’s mostly agitated the television censors who had to reach for the bleep-out button instead of opposing players, and he’s sliding further down the depth chart. [ProHockeyTalk]