Development camp for the Dallas Stars opens today with on-ice sessions slated for 3 PM this afternoon. Prospects both new and old (relatively speaking) are in town for the week to familiarize themselves with the Stars organization as well as to better understand the style the team plays and what they can do to get themselves to the next level.
Among the prospects that will be at development camp this week, there are a few that we will be keeping a particular eye on.
Denis Gurianov (F)
The big forward was drafted in the first round last year, and hasn’t been seen much on this side of the pond. Gurianov struggled last season in the KHL, and is expected to start this season with the Texas Stars of the AHL. It will mark the start of his North American professional career, and it will be interesting to see how he looks on the smaller ice compared to other prospects around him in development camp.
Riley Tufte (F)
Tufte is another big forward, and the Stars’ most recent first round draft pick. Scouting reports on Tufte include strong skating and soft hands, remarks commonly associated with skilled scoring forwards as opposed to the stereotypical power forward. It will be interesting to see those skill sets in person this week. Just look for the tall guy (not that tall guy, no the other tall guy….wait, when did the Stars prospects hit growth spurts?)
John Nyberg (D)
I picked Nyberg out of the defensive prospects for two reasons. 1) He plays in Sweden and isn’t often talked about much. 2) His development has become a bit of a question mark. Nyberg is considered a decent two-way defenseman, representing a different kind of defenseman to add variety to the prospect pool. However, he’s been fighting for consistent ice time and has been bounced around from league to league. Without an entry level contract to date, it will be interesting to see how he stacks up in terms of other defensive depth and where his future may be.
Goaltenders Landon Bow, Colton Point, and Phillippe Desrosiers
This trio represents probably the biggest question mark in the Stars organization: who is the next goaltender for the Dallas Stars? As in, who is likely to be a home-grown talent that is good enough to be the eventual starter? Personally, I’ll be watching Desrosiers a little closer only because he’s a more known quantity to me. He had an excellent junior career, and now has a clearer chance to push for the starting job in Texas after playing a bit of all roles with the AHL team last year with Jack Campbell and Maxime Lagace. Both Bow and Point appear to be further down the development curve, but what I’m curious to see is if the Stars have improved their organizational depth at this position with these two in the system.
The full development camp roster can be found here. Development camp continues this week and caps off with a prospect scrimmage on Saturday. Times are subject to change, and on-ice sessions below are open to the public as well as the scrimmage Saturday morning.
Wednesday, July 6
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM – Skills
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Practice
Thursday, July 7
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM – Skills
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Practice
Friday, July 8
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – On-ice Session
Saturday, July 9
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Scrimmage