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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Revisiting the 2017 Draft

Posted on by Tyler Mair

With the 2022 NHL Draft tomorrow, let’s take a moment to look back at the 2017 Draft from five years ago, when the Dallas Stars selected what might be the greatest draft class in franchise history.

The Stars’ haul was headlined, obviously, by Miro Heiskanen with the 3rd overall pick. Heiskanen has already emerged as a number one defensemen, but the Stars were almost scared off from him due to back concerns:

“It was about a week before the draft. I spoke to some people around (Heiskanen) in his Finnish league. They were starting to say that he has some back problems… It puts a big question mark on the player so high up. It turned out to be, when our doctors in Dallas got the X-rays and everything, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s going to be something you have to take care of but it’s not going to destroy your playing or your career or anything. That was a big relief…”

The Stars’ also had a second first round pick thanks to the trade deadline deal that sent Patrick Eaves to the Anaheim Ducks. The Stars ultimately used that pick to trade up to select Jake Oettinger, which was another slam dunk:

“Any time you’re moving up, you’re giving up assets to move up,” [General Manager Jim] Nill said. “Our staff had a good feel for him. … He had lots of exposure. He was known as a top prospect. We felt we had a void and then you get to that part of the daft. We needed a goalie in the system and, as a group, we worried that if we didn’t get him there, he might slip. It was time to step up and grab him.”

And, of course, there was also Jason Robertson in the second, as well as Jacob Peterson in the fifth. You can read about them, and more on Heiskanen and Oettinger, in Saad Yousuf’s piece here.

Stars Stories

Okay, back to the present: what can we expect from this year’s draft? The Stars staff discusses:

The Stars may not be picking until 18th, but that doesn’t mean they can’t draft a great player:

Not draft related, but the Stars’ preseason schedule was also released:

Around the League

ICYMI, previous Stars head coach Rick Bowness is the new man behind the bench for the Winnipeg Jets:

Speaking of hirings, the San Jose Sharks have made Mike Grier the first black general manager in NHL history:

Adding to history, Jessica Campbell will be the first full-time female coach in AHL history:

Let’s keep the train going: the Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Hayley Wickenheiser (among others) to the role of Assistant General Manager:

And today, the New Jersey Devils also named a female AGM, Kate Madigan:

Back to the draft, Corey Pronman has released his final prospect rankings of the year:

Greg Wyshynski tries his hand at mocking the first round:

Not all first round picks work out, however. Case and point: the Ottawa Senators are buying out 2015 first rounder Colin White:

Finally, there might not be a first round goalie this year, but teams are starting to draft them higher and with better results these days:

Talking Points