For a couple of years, Ty Dellandrea would get sick rather often, to the point that it was affecting his performance on the ice. But thankfully for the young skater, Dellandrea wasn’t just naturally frail or anything like that; he just needed a diet change:
“Went off gluten and felt loads better,” Dellandrea said. “Felt like I had way more energy. Everything comes a little bit easier… I felt like I had more energy the full 60 minutes. Every shift I felt stronger.”
After changing his diet over Christmas break, Dellandrea had a great second half of the season, as he scored 15 goals and made 18 assists for a total of 33 points across 34 games. And given that the Flint Firebirds were heavily struggling at the time, the timing couldn’t have been any better:
“I just think I took my game to a new level. We had some players that left around the trade deadline, and I just put some more responsibility upon myself,” Dellandrea said. “Sometimes it’s just about finding something else in yourself that you didn’t even know about. I just dug deep and did whatever I could to help the team. Even though the team was going through a rough situation, it was a big year for me personally, and I just tried to leave it all out there every night. It worked out pretty good.”
You can read more about the Dallas Stars’ first round draft pick in Mark Stepneski’s piece here.
Stars Stories
Here is some recent video from the Stars prospects from this year’s development camp:
Development camp day 3 https://t.co/hrcXXNT4TZ
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) June 28, 2018
Stars development camp https://t.co/0e6g2T5nrY
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) June 28, 2018
Sean Shapiro discusses John Tavares, the impact a head coach has on the roster, and much more in his weekly mailbag. [The Athletic]
Free Agency Frenzy
Two current Stars land on Joey Alfieri’s list of free agents who won’t make headlines, but will be sneakily good additions to their new teams:
5 under the radar free agents https://t.co/IcPX6njB2u
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 28, 2018
Jared Clinton made a similar list, listing the biggest potential “bargain” deals of this year’s free agent crop. [The Hockey News]
And here are even more free agents that will be quality signings, as well as some who might give their teams buyer’s remorse. [Sportsnet]
Where will the top tier UFAs end up? No one really knows, but we can at least guess:
Six free agents. Four trade targets. Where will they be after July 1? I have no idea but I did a thing anyway. https://t.co/ekobbW7LLW
— DL (@davelozo) June 28, 2018
Some big news concerning Rick Nash: the veteran forward doesn’t expect to sign with a team on July 1, and may even sit out the 2018-2019 season out of health concerns. [ESPN]
Other League News
Here’s a fun look back on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Quebec Nordiques blockbuster trade 24 years ago:
On this day in 1994, a blockbuster trade stunned the hockey world.
Read the backstory 👇https://t.co/gjE3XLq4ly
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 28, 2018
The Montreal Canadiens could use a center, and the Buffalo Sabres are looking to trade Ryan O’Reilly. Should the Canadiens pull the trigger, even at a high cost? [NBC Sports]
There was no question that Rasmus Dahlin would be the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, and it’ll be the same with the 2019 draft for center Jack Hughes. [Sportsnet]
Finally…
Here’s an amazing story on newest Stars prospect Jermaine Loewen, detailing his path from a Jamaican orphanage to being selected in the NHL draft:
A tale of love, adoption, and hockey: @seanshapiro on how Jermaine Loewen became the first Jamaican drafted in the NHL: https://t.co/hzLh8KsfPE
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) June 27, 2018