Ever since arriving in Texas, the Dallas Stars have done their best to try and grow the sport of hockey. That starts with public outreach towards kids, which most recently took the form of fellow Finns Miro Heiskanen and Joel Kiviranta playing ball hockey at St. Philip’s School and Community Center in Dallas:
“It’s great for everyone, it makes everyone feel good, so it really is good,” said Heiskanen… “We actually had something similar in school. We had players come to our school and say ‘Hi,’ and that was great then. Right now, in this situation, it brings back memories, and it’s a lot of fun for me. Lots of smiling and everyone is happy.”
This is nothing new for the Stars — they’ve interacted with St. Philip’s in the past, and many Stars players have engaged in community service and outreach programs over the years. That includes Stars legend Marty Turco, who still works with the organization via the Dallas Stars Foundation:
“There’s a reason why sports is so important, maybe now more than ever,” Turco said. “It allows you to connect with other people. We’re deepening our roots in the community, we’re connecting with people, but bottom line, we’re just having fun. I think when you boil it down to that, the rest of the stuff just happens.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Around the League
The Tampa Bay Lightning out-defended the New York Islanders last night, winning a tight 2-1 game to take the series lead:
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap: Bolts surge ahead to lead series 2-1 #GoBolts https://t.co/TNim7jRujO
— Raw Charge, a Champa Bay Lightning web site (@RawCharge) June 18, 2021
This Stars season wasn’t “successful” by any means, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have enjoyed it along the way:
Friday Grab Bag: Are fans allowed to be happy even if their team doesn’t win the Cup? Plus Conan O’Brien vs. the Maple Leafs and lots more.https://t.co/oPdvxSIxd4 pic.twitter.com/Ve4GxR7E5V
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) June 18, 2021
After signing an extension yesterday, Rod Brind’Amour celebrated by winning the Jack Adams. How will he celebrate that?
Brind’Amour Wins Jack Adams in Busy Day for #Canes Coach
On the same day he signed a three-year contract extension, Rod Brind’Amour has been named the winner of the 2021 Jack Adams Award. @mikeystephens81 has the scoop: https://t.co/8BZ71NMsTZ
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) June 18, 2021
Speaking of the Carolina Hurricanes, should Dougie Hamilton stay or should he go now?
The Dougie Hamilton Derby is on! A look at potential suitors, the @Canes strategy and how Seth Jones complicated things. #NHL https://t.co/3I47hBqRj6
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 18, 2021
And while on the subject of awards, the finalists for GM of the Year were… surprising, to say the least:
How do the three finalists for GM of the Year measure up? Who could be put in the “snub” category?@RoryBoylen breaks down the accomplishments of Bergevin, Lamoriello and Zito, as well as other names that could have been included in that Top 3.https://t.co/8RbreJmVq7
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 18, 2021
Finally, who might the Stars lose in this year’s NHL Expansion Draft? Well Riley Tufte is exempt, but the other two choices are possible!
The Seattle Kraken expansion draft is a month away and we’re taking another stab at predicting how it might go.@ryan_s_clark, @eduhatschek and @domluszczyszyn make their picks to project what the 32nd NHL team may look like in October ⤵️https://t.co/SCXfmzHXHL
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) June 17, 2021