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Dallas Stars Daily Links: On to the Draft

Posted on by Tyler Mair

After a rather uneventful lottery, the Dallas Stars are heading into the offseason knowing they hold the No. 14 overall pick for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

It may not have been the outcome Jim Nill wanted, but it still gives the Stars a relatively high pick. And Nill knows all about needing to make those picks count:

“There’s uncertainty everywhere, but I truly do believe you need your first-round picks to make it,” Nill said. “We’ve had misses in the first round, and they’ve hurt, but I feel good about our ability in recent drafts to get players to come through, and I do think you see that on our roster.”

Of course, complicating this year’s draft is the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out hundreds of junior hockey games (the OHL didn’t even play this year). That makes identifying the best players much trickier than usual:

“It’s going to be a different year,” Nill said. “It’s wide open. I think when you look back on this five years from now, it’s going to be a great study. In a normal year, kids change a lot between December and the draft, and we didn’t have that this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how the scouts have adjusted and who will be a surprise out of this class.”

You can read more from Mike Heika here.

Stars Stories

Jason Robertson might not win the Calder Trophy, but Riley Damiani has won the AHL’s Rookie of the Year:

Speaking of Robertson, he has been one of the team’s best players at this year’s World Championship:

Around the League

Last night treated us to a pair of overtime hockey games:

  • The Boston Bruins took the series lead over the New York Islanders with a 2-1 win in Game 3. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
  • Meanwhile the Carolina Hurricanes avoided going down 3-0 on the series with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Canes Country]/

The verdict is in: Mark Scheifele has been suspended four games for his hit on Jake Evans:

One would hope such a hit and the subsequent punishment will deter players from making similar decisions in the future:

Every year, people suggest the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to blow things up, and every year we see that it won’t happen:

What have we learned from the NHL playoffs so far? Greg Wyshynski takes a crack at it:

All eyes are on the NHL draft this offseason, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the junior leagues’ drafts as well:

The NHL still hasn’t given up hope on letting the North Division winner stay in Canada for their semifinal home games:

Finally, some more NHL Awards finalists were announced, this time for the King Clancy:

Talking Points