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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Grading The Stars’ 2019 Draft

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

The Dallas Stars came into the 2019 NHL Draft without much to work with, and arguably they did the best they could with their four picks.

Meanwhile, there are guys like Corey Pronman who have made careers out of ranking drafts. His Stars evaluation is up right now, and he gives the Victory Green gang a solid “C” for Strictly Average.

Pronman projects that this year’s prospect crop will be judged almost entirely on how well No. 18 pick Thomas Harley turns out:

Harley’s development curve spiked this season. One of the youngest players in the draft, Harley progressed from a decent prospect to a 25-30 minutes a night defenseman with impressive tools for the Steelheads. When he was on the ice, his team had control of the puck. He’s big, mobile, skilled and smart. That combination is attractive. Harley skates with the quickest forwards in the OHL due to the strength of his stride and his wingspan….

Defensively he’s a bit of a work in progress. His feet and stick allow him to make stops and close gaps, but he needs to bulk up a lot and be better at times in his own end. Harley makes a lot of plays but tends to get too cute and make costly turnovers. Some scouts argue that was just the byproduct of the massive and arguably excessive minutes he played.

As for the Jamie Benn Round, he expressed only guarded enthusiasm for left wing Nicholas Porco:

Porco is a speedy winger with good skill who competes well at both ends of the ice. The main issue with him is whether he sees the game well enough to make plays when he isn’t going in a straight line with the puck.

Agree? Disagree? Read the whole thing behind the paywall. [The Athletic]

Stars Stuff

First things first: Prospect Development Camp begins today, and Stephen Johns is out there working.

In case you missed it, the Stars and the Philadelphia Flyers have swapped Tyler Pitlick and Ryan Hartman – or at least they’ve swapped their rights.

Here’s what Heika makes of the trade:

And Sean Shapiro shows you the money:

Stars social media also came up with this cool scrapbook GIF for their four shiny new draft picks.

Around The League(s)

What’s it like not to be chosen at the NHL Draft? In case you’ve forgotten how that galvanized players like Antoine Roussel, here’s a list of top un-drafted prospects who may have the same fire now.

Also at THN: The NHL has a head-injury problem. Here’s what coaches propose to do about it.

The league has an officiating problem, too. How do they plan to fix it?

Might as well take William Karlsson off your wish list. Wild Bill is staying in Sin City, and the Vegas Golden Knights gave him eight years at $5.9 million per to do it.

Finally…

Here’s an offseason challenge most of us can get behind. Enjoy.

Talking Points