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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Think About The Future!

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts
Aug 3, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; USA’s defenceman Aram Minnetian (17) skates up ice with the puck against Canada during the first period of the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports
"YOU DOUBT MY SKILLS?!" - Aram Minnetian, probably | David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Is the Stars’ prospect pipeline running dry? David Castillo considers the cases of two up-and-comers.

For the past several years, the Dallas Stars have enjoyed a great run of promising prospects who have evolved into productive full-time professionals. But for the near future, the cupboard appears increasingly bare. Are there hard times ahead?

David Castillo took a good look at the issue in his latest Substack piece, focusing on the most prominent Stars-related names at the just-completed IIHF World Juniors tournament: silver medalist Emil Hemming of Team Finland and gold medalist Aram Minnetian of Team USA. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who already takes a dim view of Dallas’ prospect pool, was unimpressed. Dave begs to differ.

If you saw these highly touted prospects in action in their first few games, you might have been…underwhelmed. So was Castillo. And then he watched them closely them in the Games That Mattered. Here’s his assessment of Hemming, who’s already been projected as the next member of the Finnish Mafia:

Hemming was far too invisible for my liking early on, and not just because he went pointless through the first five games of the tournament. But boy did he turn it up several notches when it got down to the marrow. All of his tournament’s four points came against Sweden, and USA. Beyond just making it count in the boxscore, his improvements along the wall, and playmaking really shined. Again, this early in a player’s development, it’s better to see them develop new facets to their game than watch them inflate their point totals with already-established skills.

He was also impressed with the improvement shown by the New Jersey native from Boston College:

The same was true for Minnetian. He didn’t look great early, which is why he ended up getting scratched. But he got better as the tournament went on, and looked downright fantastic, activating intelligently and outwitting forecheckers with his defensive zone movement, in the Gold Medal game. Obviously, you’d like to see more consistency from both players, but while I agree with Wheeler, I was encouraged by their final run when it mattered most.

As always, Castillo has much, much more. Visit his site, if you dare. [Stars Stack]

Stars Stuff

We know for a fact that you’ve already read Brad’s gameday preview – but the how-to-watch info always bears repeating.

There was a Mason Marchment update yesterday. It…wasn’t great.

Stars HC Pete DeBoer gave a Mason Marchment update on @thehardline3to7.bsky.social today: “He had fractures in his nose and facial area. I don’t believe it was the orbital bone, but in his face and he had surgery." The recovery estimate is 4 weeks & he is probably "a week-to-10-days into that."

— Owen Newkirk (@owennewkirk.bsky.social) January 8, 2025 at 9:12 PM

In On The #Kill Taker

There was just a tad of #MDK action last night, but it did involve some Central-on-Central violence:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks gave the home crowd something to cheer about, beating the ascendant Colorado Avalanche 3-1. [Second City Hockey]
  • And Utah Hockey Club became the latest victims of the reigning Stanley Cup champs, losing 4-1 to the Florida Panthers in Salt Lake City. [Deseret News]

Around The Leagues

Big D fans are kind of used to the idea that all these skin-of-their-teeth games are just the Stars…Starsing. Wysh suggests it may be a leaguewide trend.

Some really interesting midpoint 2024-25 season stats from the NHL, illustrating how close and unpredictable games have been this season (thanks in part to historically bad goaltending).

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— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski.bsky.social) January 8, 2025 at 12:27 PM

McKeen’s Hockey lives by the principle that it’s never too early to start thinking about the next NHL draft…or the next NHL rookie class. Here, they give you some names to remember.

After an exciting tournament and a fantastic finish for Team USA, the team at McKeen's Hockey has compiled our list of MVPs and all-star players from the world juniors. How does this line up with your own list? #mckeenshockey #worldjuniors #iihf #mvp #ottawa #canada #teamusa

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— McKeen's Hockey (@mckeenshockey.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM

“[C]anceling plans to watch Blues–Blackhawks is a great way to lose friends and gain regrets.” The Winter Classic took place on New Year’s Eve, and Barry Petchesky just wants to know why.

The NHL has given up on New Year’s Day: defector.com/the-nhl-has-…

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— Defector (@defector.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park, And Beautiful Boise!

Three of your favorite Texas Stars are going to the AHL’s big party next month. Send your congratulations!

Stars turned All-Stars 💫 Congratulations to Justin Hyrckowian, Lian Bichsel and Curtis McKenzie on their selection to the 2025 AHL All-Star Rosters presented by FloHockey! The trio will represent the Central Division at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in Coachella Valley.

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— Texas Stars (@texasstars.bsky.social) January 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM

Elsewhere, the Idaho Steelheads lost the first round of a three-game rematch with their 2023 Kelly Cup Final nemeses, the Florida Everblades.

Finally

They do like to have fun, don’t they? (Insert mandatory Midnight Cowboy riff here.)

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