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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Stars Take Stock As They Prepare For Their Next Level

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

You always stop, save and check your inventory when you level up. The Dallas Stars, who won 50 games in the regular season and fell out in the second round of the playoffs last year, are gearing up for the tough job of meeting expectations in 2016-17.

Mike Heika writes about what needs to happen in this newly charged environment:

“You look at how we came into camp last season, and we were very motivated because we missed the playoffs. We got off to a great start, and I think a lot of that was built from our motivation,” center Jason Spezza said. “You look at this year, and I think we’ll be even more motivated. We know what we can do, we’re disappointed in the season ending the way it did, and we want to be better. We know what we have here.”

But growing pains will be part of the Stars’ next evolution, Heika warns:

…Stephen Johns, 24, looked good in his playoff run last season, but he’s played only 14 NHL regular-season games. Esa Lindell, 22, is good enough to be chosen to play for Finland at the World Cup of Hockey, but he has played only four NHL games. Patrik Nemeth, 24, and Jamie Oleksiak, 23, have great pedigrees but struggled to gain regular ice time last season.

“It’s part of the process,” [Jim] Nill said. “You have to earn your spot in the league, and we know that younger players have to mature. What we hope is we have the leadership to balance that out.”

There’s much more at Mike’s place. [SportsDayDFW]

Heika also took a look at five big questions facing Jamie Benn and the Stars as they prepare for training camp. [SportsDayDFW]

And depending on when you’re reading this, there may still be time to send in questions for Mike’s Monday chat at 2 p.m. Central time. [SportsDayDFW]

You’ve heard about the Tyler Seguin injury – here’s Jim Nill’s statement on the hairline fracture Segs sustained

And Radek Faksa is “day to day” with his own World Cup-related troubles.

After a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild team and a tough shootout loss to the New York Rangers squad, the youngest Stars will play the Carolina Hurricanes prospects for the chance to go to the final in the Traverse City Tournament.

Puck drops at 5:30 p.m. Central time. You can watch live at DallasStars.com or via the FOX Sports GO app.

Among several strong Stars performances so far, ESPN’s Corey Pronman singles out Devin Shore for extra praise.

And while we’re talking about Texas Stars, the Cedar Park squad has released its 2016-17 promotional schedule – and Heroes and Villains night is just in time for Halloween. [Texas Stars]

Over the weekend, at the World Cup of Hockey:

  • Team Czech Republic wants to be better – and defender Zbyněk Michálek knows it can be – after a 6-0 loss to overdog Team Canada. [WCH2016]
  • Chris Peters offers five takeaways from Team USA’s gobsmacking 3-0 defeat by Team Europe. (Spoiler alert: Root really hard for Aleš Hemský and the Czechs.) [CBS Sports]
  • A disallowed goal by Alex Ovechkin proved the margin of victory for Team Sweden as they edged Team Russia, 2-1. [Puck Daddy]
  • And Team Finland (and Esa Lindell) endured a tough loss to media darlings Team North America, 4-1. [TSN]/

If you’re feeling cynical about the whole WCoH shebang, maybe this won’t help: The tournament schedule could interfere with some NHL teams’ training camps. [Sports Illustrated]

Former Star Shawn Horcoff has joined the Detroit Red Wings as director of player development. [Red Wings]

Blackhawks backup tender Scott Darling pays tribute to two of Chicagoland’s finest with his worthy new mask. (If he were a skater, he would be Babe-riel Landeskog.)

Finally: Other teams have some pretty good prospects too. Here’s Auston Matthews with Team North America, just messin’ around. Enjoy.

Talking Points