Stephane Robidas interview after an October game with HIFK.
The NHL lockout shows no sign of ending, so five Dallas Stars play on internationally in Jamie Benn, Jaromir Jagr, Tom Wandell, Philip Larsen and Stephane Robidas. More figure to follow in the coming weeks as European leagues resume play after breaks for national team camps in mid-November.
| Team | GP | G | A | P | “+/-“ | PIM | |
| Benn | Hamburg | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Jagr | HC Kladno | 14 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 10 |
| Wandell | Severstal | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Robidas | HIFK | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 6 |
| Larsen | Lukko | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 14 |
Jaromir Jagr was sidelined with what was assumed to be a groin injury though the exact nature went, as far as we could tell, unreported. He returned to score a hat trick last weekend and is dominating that league with much better than a point per game. It’s a performance that’s not exactly against NHL competition, but one Stars fans would like to see here rather than there.
The issues with Jagr are age, mileage and endurance. He exploded out of the gate with the Flyers last season but was a passenger down the stretch as he faded. It’s possible that a similar “good” (productive) part of his season this year is being used up overseas. It will be interesting to see what he has left if the lockout drags through the first of the year.
- Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk flew to Europe last week to watch Jagr, and it was rumored he went to see Benn play as well.
- Benn, playing in a lesser league, seems to be adjusting well enough, scoring a point a game. The highlight of his efforts so far can be seen here, as Erin shared in Daily Links on Tuesday.
- Check out all this Jamie Benn crap available in the Hamburg online store.
- Tom Wandell continues to underwhelm in the context of the KHL, but to be fair he’s facing far better competition than Jagr or Benn in their respective leagues. In nine games he’s managed four assists. It’s tough to know what kind of minutes he’s seeing or what his role is. Any additional info that can be passed along from knowledgeable sources would not go un-thanked on that front.
- Stephane Robidas potted his first goal of the year for HIFK in Finland but has seen his plus/minus drop in a handful of games there. You can take a look at Robidas in his IFK jersey here on the team’s official website.
- Philip Larsen is also playing in the SM-liiga, outperforming his elder teammate in the points and plus/minus departments witih Lukko./