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Dallas Stars Daily Links: From Esa Lindell to Julius Honka, Stars’ Kids Are All Right

Posted on by Melissa Flandreau

Stars hockey may be done for the summer, but there’s still plenty to speculate on. Mike Heika held his regular chat about the team and offered his thoughts on all your burning questions.

Question: Which defenseman prospect do you like the most? I’ve heard really good things about Lindell
Heika: Lindell has already been selected to play in the World Cup of Hockey for Finland, and that’s a high honor. He is big and skilled and can play a solid two-way game.
He still needs to gain experience, but everyone loves him and he seems ready for the NHL next season.
Julius Honka is said to have more upside. He is smaller, but more skilled. He also has a bit of a mean streak. So the Stars have some pretty good defensemen ready to move forward.

Heika also predicted what moves we might see general manager Jim Nill make this summer.

Question: What is the biggest change you see coming to the Stars’ roster this offseason?
Heika: The defense will be bigger, stronger and younger, and I think that will make a huge difference in how they protect the goalie. That said, I think they will try to find a young goalie to compete with Antti Niemi, and that will be the most significant change.

You can catch up on the full chat—which touches on everyone from Valeri Nichushkin to Jason Demers—at the link. [SportsDayDFW]

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Forget about the Stars’ eulogy on Puck Daddy—@damnitjason has you covered. [DWYDN]

Remember: This offseason, our job is to stay positive about the future. [Stars]

Esa Lindell continued his strong showing in the world championships.

And speaking of Lindell… Here are the top prospects for each NHL team. [The Hockey News]

If you’re trying to keep up with Radek Faksa, you can watch him play on Thursday.

Sean McIndoe breaks down what went wrong for each team already eliminated from the playoffs. I’ll give you one guess on what the Stars’ main problem was. [Sportsnet]

Last night in the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks took an early lead, then cruised to a 4-0 shutout of the Blues. [Fear the Fin]

Basically, this is how San Jose’s night went.

It’s hard life out there for the ref who has to make a call in playoff overtime. [TSN]

Meet 12-year-old Wyatt Nelson, who had the chance to call part of the Sharks/Blues game. The Saskatoon native frequently does the play-by-play for his father, Gerry, who’s blind. [NHL]

Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir ranks the top candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy. [Sports Illustrated]

The Jets are sitting pretty with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. [TSN]

Don’t worry, everyone. Corey Perry is still doing Corey Perry things. (Patrik Laine didn’t let the hit get him down, though.)

Trading away defenseman Tyson Barrie would be a bad decision for the Avalanche. [Today’s Slapshot]

The Coyotes‘ new AHL affiliate is officially headed to Tucson. [Arizona Daily News]

The Flint Firebirds have named George Burnett the team’s new general manager. [OHL]

Ad finally, Grandma Pavelski makes a pretty cute argument. (Still not voting, sorry.)

Talking Points