Dallas Stars Daily Links: Getting to Know Anton Khudobin
The Stars’ backup netminder opens up about hockey, Texas weather, and a whole lot more. Plus, Dallas beat Colorado last night, Hintz is a popular breakout candidate this season, and more.
Anton Khudobin wasn’t always a goaltender. Once upon a time, the Dallas Stars netminder instead played defense as a young hockey player. But perhaps it was inevitable that he eventually found his way between the pipes:
I started as a defenseman from seven to 10 (years old) and I kind of like try to catch the puck and block the shot or whatever... One time, maybe twice, we played against another team and puck hit me and went in our own net. On the bench, Coach came to me and said, ‘Maybe do you want to be a goalie?’ I took that as a serious question and after one weekend I was in goal.
After making the shift to goaltending, Khudobin worked tirelessly on his craft in hopes of one day making it to the NHL. People took notice of his excellent work ethic, which just came naturally to Khudobin:
I just didn’t want to lose the battle or whatever. Never lose the battle. I didn’t want to get scored on, right? So it was just normal. Pretty much stays with me right now. As a goalie, you don’t want to have more goals in the net.
You can hear more about Khudobin and both hockey and life in general in Sean Shapiro’s latest goaltender interview here.
Stars Stories
The Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche last night, and goaltending is pretty much the only reason why:
"Incredible isn't it? Oettinger was really impressive his first NHL exhibition experience, boy was he ever good. (Bow) just continued on how good he was last game. Those two won us a game tonight." - Coach Monty#GoStars pic.twitter.com/RKHqxFLb2G
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 20, 2019
Here’s what the primary netminder, Jake Oettinger, has to say about his performance:
"That's all I want to do, is to stay up here as long as I can. Make their decision as hard as possible." - Jake Oettinger#GoStars pic.twitter.com/MUZ9urPtkZ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) September 20, 2019
Take a look at this beautiful pass from Thomas Harley that set up the Stars’ first goal, courtesy of Scottie Upshall:
Here is Upshall's goal, initial breakout pass came from Harley pic.twitter.com/AWM9IAEy5T
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) September 20, 2019
And here’s the game-winner by Michael Mersch. Take what you can get:
Odd fluttering goal for Mersch that makes it 2-1 pic.twitter.com/v23A20Z3rR
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) September 20, 2019
Around the League
The Ottawa Senators locked up Thomas Chabot for eight years at $8 million per year. Miro Heiskanen, take notes...
News Release: #Sens sign defenceman Thomas Chabot to an eight-year contract extension: https://t.co/JpyJK7Pqfo
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 19, 2019
Communiqué : Les Sénateurs accordent une prolongation de contrat de huit ans au défenseur Thomas Chabot : https://t.co/DLvOGAeFGQ pic.twitter.com/a9rwXLH6qq
Roope Hintz is a popular “breakout candidate” according to beat writers across the NHL:
The Athletic’s NHL beat writers give their sleepers, bouncebacks, rookie standouts and more. https://t.co/L4wc2CIrxH
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) September 19, 2019
Speaking of Hintz and Heiskanen, the two Finns lead Dallas’ young core, but how do they stack up to the rest of the league?
Being able to make the jump from top prospect to top NHLer is a massive one. Take a look as @coreypronman ranks NHL teams by their 23 and under core to see which players successfully made that jump. https://t.co/XzeTs1dVH7
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) September 19, 2019
Greg Wyshynski takes us back to the past in his latest Wysh List:
My 1999-2000 NHL Revisionist History column includes this redraft, which would have basically saved the Atlanta Thrashers. Maybe. https://t.co/RdgGglVsVX pic.twitter.com/FWIAtbQWL0
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 19, 2019
Elliotte Friedman discusses Dustin Byfuglien’s potential retirement plus a possible trade suitor for Julius Honka in his latest 31 Thoughts:
31 Thoughts: https://t.co/ELX7Q0mJLx
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 19, 2019
Finally, Ben Bishop is great and all, but maybe don’t draft him too high for your fantasy hockey league:
Top 10 Overvalued Fantasy Hockey Players for 2019-20: @THNMattLarkin on players going way too early in drafts right now.https://t.co/EG5vl5BHnx
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) September 19, 2019