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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Near Future of Miro Heiskanen

Posted on by Tyler Mair

Last night’s game was not fun. Let’s not talk about last night, okay? Instead, we should focus on something positive, like Dallas Stars prospect Miro Heiskanen:

The #3 overall draft pick in 2017, Miro Heiskanen has been spending his year playing for HIFK in Finland, and more recently has been suiting up for Team Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics. And so far, he’s been doing pretty well for an 18-year-old:

“He looks on big ice that he’s a pretty good player,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said after watching Heiskanen on television in the Olympic opener. “For a young guy, he plays a very mature game. He doesn’t get himself into trouble, he moves the puck well, he plays a very low risk game.”

After missing training camp this year with a concussion, Heiskanen will have a chance to make the NHL squad next season. There is a chance he could come to North America sooner and finish the year with the Texas Stars, but don’t hold your breath:

…Nill said Team Finland will get first dibs for the World Championships. While he didn’t say it was impossible for Heiskanen to get a head start on North American hockey this year, he did say it was unlikely.

“Plus, he’s on a pretty good team in Finland, so he might go a long ways in the playoffs over there,” Nill said. “However it works out, he’s going to get a lot of different experiences this year, and we think that will be great for his development.”

You can read more in Mike Heika’s piece here.

About Last Night…

Okay fine, I guess we can mention it briefly. But I don’t have to like it.

The game was all but over when the Stars went down 5-0 to the San Jose Sharks, but they at least didn’t go quietly. Here’s Gemel Smith finally putting the Stars on the board:

And here’s Tyler Pitlick chipping one in to make it slightly less embarrassing:

Here’s what Ken Hitchcock had to say about the game:

Here’s Tyler Seguin’s take:

…And Ben Bishop’s:

Other Stars Stories

Yesterday marked an important anniversary for the Dallas Stars:

At least not every Stars team was on the losing end last night:

Everyone Else

There were a handful of other games last night, two of which involved division rivals:

  • Proof that last night’s loss could have been worse: the Florida Panthers got clobbered 7-2 by the Winnipeg Jets, who move into the top spot in the Central. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
  • Nathan Mackinnon’s first game back from injury was spoiled, as the Colorado Avalanche fell to the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 while losing defenseman Erik Johnson. [Copper N Blue]/

Speaking of the Oilers, I think we can all agree that hockey fans would boycott the NHL if the Oilers won the lottery again this year:

They may not be getting a lot of attention, but the Minnesota Wild are having a decent year, and Eric Staal is a big reason why. [FanRag Sports]

The NHL has given an official press release on the incident in Chicago two nights ago where four fans were kicked out for directing racial taunts towards Devante Smith-Pelly. [NHL]

Meanwhile in South Korea, the men’s hockey tournament bracket has been set:

New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood has been suspended two games for boarding. [NBC Sports]

It’s this sort of stuff that reminds me why I love hockey so much:

Finally…

As we’ve been mentioning lately, the UNT Ice Hockey team has a bid to go to Regionals, and their alumni have set up a fundraiser to help them go. As a club team, they have to pay for everything out of their own pockets, and the alumni are only a few hundred dollars away from their goal. So if you’re able, please send a few extra bucks their way. [Go Fund Me]

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