Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: Stars Prospect Chris Martenet Lifts the 2016 Memorial Cup

Dallas Stars blueline prospect Chris Martenet has plenty to celebrate this Memorial Day. His junior team, the London Knights, defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-2 in overtime to win the 98th MasterCard Memorial Cup on Sunday night.

Martenet, whom the Stars drafted in the fourth round (103rd overall), has spent this season with a team that includes 2015 No. 4 overall Mitch Marner (the Memorial Cup MVP and 2016 CHL Player of the Year) and projected 2016 first-rounder Matthew Tkachuk. The 19-year-old defender from Indianapolis took on more responsibility as the season progressed – and as his game continued to grow into his 6-7 frame.

The playoffs experience should help boost Martenet’s stock with the Stars organization, which signed him to an entry-level contract on May 18.

Seventeen consecutive victories later, it’s photo time. Read the recap here. [CBC]

*****

Mike Heika’s weekly Stars chat is taking Memorial Day off. You can still send questions for the rescheduled chat, which starts tomorrow, May 31, at 11 a.m. Central time. [SportsDayDFW]

Tonight’s the night: Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks begins at 7 p.m. Central time on NBC, CBC and TVA Sports. A little light reading to tide you over:

Here’s a Pens fan’s perspective on why the Pens-Sharks matchup could be the greatest Stanley Cup finals in maybe ever. [Pensburgh]

Via Fear the Fin, a Sharks fan describes the team’s journey from perennial disappointment to the cusp of greatness. [It Is Yay]

You’ve read the positional analysis and pored over line match-ups. You know how these teams play, but you’re probably wondering: Who looks better doing it? Jen Neale provides an exhaustive comparison of everything from fan participation to in-arena presentation. [Puck Daddy]

Also at Puck Daddy: Trevor Daley and Pascal Dupuis won’t play in the SCF for different reasons, but the mental and emotional adjustments they’re making are similar.

Jared Clinton names the players who deserve more credit for the Sharks and Pens making it this far, including Joonas Donskoi, Brian Dumoulin, Carl Hagelin, Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. [The Hockey News]

ICYMI: Jo PAW-velski, the tiny stray who became an internet sensation as the Sharks’ rally cat, has been adopted (along with a companion kitten) by a Silicon Valley family. [NBC Bay Area]

Auston Matthews is the only player on Team North America who has never played an NHL game. Is his appointment an earned distinction or a cash grab? Ken Campbell asks, and apparently without irony, too. [The Hockey News]

North Texas’ own Allen Americans started their 2016 Kelly Cup finals with a bang, netting a 5-3 victory over the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday night – then dropped a high-scoring Game 2 to the West Virginia team, 7-6. (Read what you will into the futures of the Sharks and Penguins, their respective NHL affiliates.) [SportsDayDFW]

Finally: Okay, so you’ve memorized the 2016 World Cup of Hockey rosters. Now it’s time to squawk about the players who were jobbed out of a spot. John Klingberg and Valeri Nichushkin co-star with P.K. Subban, Roberto Luongo, Phil Kessel, Justin Faulk and so many more on the TSN/BarDown All-Snubs team. Enjoy venting.

Talking Points