Stars Review and Predictions for the Upcoming season

It was one rollarcoaster ride for the Dallas Stars and their fans in the 2010-2011 season. The season came down to one game and it was against the Minnesota Wild who had nothing to play for considering they weren't going to make the playoffs even with a win. In the other hand all the Stars needed was a win in regulation or in overtime to overtake Chicago's 8th place position and make the playoffs for the first time in two years after the Hawks lost to the Detroit earlier in the day in regulation . At the end of the day, Stars never got that win and missed the playoffs for the third year in a row. One thing was clear though, we need a change.

Wild score an empty netter to beat the Stars 5-3 and end their season

Expectations weren't high going into the 2010-2011 season for the Stars, many analyst and fans around the league had the Stars finishing at the bottom three in the West. It was also their first season that the Stars will be without their franchise players Mike Modano (21 years) and Marty Turco (9 years). Stars were quick to respond to the critics who had them finishing in the bottom of the standings. When the All-Star break came a long, Dallas was one of the top teams in the league. Stars were 30-15-5, many were surprised and some were not buying it and was calling it a fluke first half. Although players were having breakout seasons for the Stars, Kari was saving us games, Loui and Brad were making plays and getting us highlight reel goals and Jamie Benn was evolving into a star player for us. Everything was going great and it was fun to watch Stars hockey again, they were playing great hockey and most importantly they were winning. That is until the injury bug hit us. Jamie Benn, Adam Burish, Brad Richards, Nicklas Grossman and key depth players were all out with injuries causing players like Vincour, Williams, Langenbrunner, Ott to step up their game and all play bigger roles on the team. That didn't go so well, and all of a sudden the Stars were playing god awful hockey.


Their record in 10 games after the break was a 1-8-1, all of a sudden the Stars were just free falling.

All of a sudden from battling for 2nd place in the Western Conference they were battling for their playoff lives, getting outplayed, outscored and blowing every lead they had in the finals minutes and seconds of the game.  The slide caused GM Joe Nieuwendyk to pull a trigger on a trade that saw one of our young star wingers James Neal and defensemen Matt Niskanen to go to Pittsburgh for a young offensive defensemen with star potential Alex Goligoski. Almost everyone was calling this a steal for the Penguins, it was a big question mark trade for Stars fans as many of us felt that we could have gotten a lot more in return. But it proved to be a great trade, Goligoski played 23 games for the Stars, he managed to get 5 goals and 10 assists for a total of 15 points. Goligoski is one of the best offensive defensemen we've had since Sergei Zubov. Lossing Neal wasen't as bad as people thought, James Neal was inconsistent at times and was seen on the score sheet every 3 games or so playing on a line with Richards and Loui and with Benn emerging as a top 6 forward there was no use for Neal. Niskanen was basically a salary dump. Little side note, Gogligoski racked up more points in his 23 games with the Stars than Neal and Niskanen combined with the Penguins.

Alex Goligoski celebrates after scoring a goal on the Nashville Predators

As the season was coming to an end, no one could predict which team would make it for how crazy the Western Conference standings were. At one point 5th through 12th was only separated by 4 points. The end of the season was approaching and teams were slipping out of the battle for the last playoff spot, Minnesota, St.Louis and the Calgary Flames. The season for the Stars would be decided at the last day of the regular season on April 10th. With Detroit beating the Hawks in regulation, all the Stars needed was a win over the Wild in regulation or in overtime. The Stars would end up losing 5-3 in an embarrassing effort, they played like they didn't care, they got out played by a team that had nothing to lose. When your fighting for a playoff spot, you shouldn't be playing the way the Stars did. They only have themselves to blame.

With that being said, you can take a break from reading, sit down and relax while you watch some Stars highlights!

TOP moments of the season for me were:
The rising of Jamie Benn

The little preview we got of Alex Goligoski

Kari Lehtonen proved he can be a reliable number 1

The leadership of Adam Burish

TOP 3 games for me:

Negatives during the season:

All the blown leads we gave up in the final minutes of the game and losing in the end

Ownership problem while the season was going on

Brad Richard situation

All the injuries we had that most likely cost us the season
bad coaching?

TOP Highlights:

It was definitely a rollarcoaster 2010-2011 season for the Stars and their fans that ended in a heartbreak. It was tough to see our team end the season the way they did and was frustrating. But it was a great season nonetheless, it was a fun first half to see us being one of the top teams in the league again. Although we should have known at the end all those blown leads in the final minutes it would come back to haunt us....

In the offseason the first thing the Stars did was signing their affiliate head coach Glen Gulutzan. This was a good choice for a head coach, Glen really knows how to win, his winning percentage in his career is over .500 and has over 300 wins. He brought the Texas Stars the the Calder Cup Finals in their first year in the league only to lose in game 6. I like this choice, he knows some of the players, knows how to win and is young and can relate to the players.


The draft was a successful one. The Stars fans needed something to look forward to after having a disappointing season, and the organization did just that. Stars picked up a monstrous size defensemen at 6'7 with a bright future, Jamie Oleksiak. Jamie is the guy we needed, a good stay at home defensemen, plays good defensively and has a big upside in him. For the first time in awhile Stars fans were happy with their 1st round selection. Other names the Stars drafted were Brett Ritchie, a big 6'3 strong winger who knows how to get on the score sheet and plays hard, Emil Molin who is a creative and skilled two-way forward, Troy Vance at 6'5 who is a good puck moving defensemen with good skating ability and poise, Matej Stransky is a 6'3 forward with great hands and good playmaking abilities and the Stars last pick was Jyrki Jokipakka, a 6'3 late bloomer defensemen from Finland who is a good skater and has good skills. Overall you can tell Nieuwendyk and the staff's goal was going big, i believe they reached their goal on draft weekend and did a great job on picking up players that will help the organization in the future.

July 1st just passed and Joe Nieuwendyk stated that he was going to be active, well he was. GM Joe Nieuwendyk picked up six free agents on July 1st, the biggest signing was Stanley Cup Champion Michael Ryder for 2 years.

Michael Ryder lifts up lord Stanley after beating Canucks in game 7

Michael Ryder - Great signing, Ryder already has chemistry with Ribeiro and is the right handed shot the Stars and Ribeiro wanted and will be a great addition to the powerplay. Ryder could also play with Benn and Loui considering both have pretty good playmaking abilities. Although I rather see him with Morrow and Ribs, that line could produce some damage. Really liking this signing, we needed a top 6 forward and we got it. Not much else to say considering it's a positive signing all around!

Sheldon Souray - Always saw Souray in a Stars uniform for some reason. When TSN said Souray has been signed, I stopped what I was doing looked at the TV and said it's Dallas for sure, low and behold they said Dallas. I was not surprised at all. Good signing, others may feel other wise but I really like this signing. It's only a 1 year deal, it's a low risk high reward type of deal. Will get to see if he still has it, I think this is a very under-rated signing and Souray will have a very good season. Imagine Souray and Gogo on the point for the powerplay? Pretty sweet no? Again, good signing, we have nothing to lose. I like it.

Vernon Fiddler - Good depth signing, another under-rated one from what i'm hearing. Don't know to much about him but he will be a solid 3rd liner with Adam Burish and perhaps Steve Ott. Fiddler is also great at face-offs and penalty kills, he will be a great addition to the team

Radek Dvorak - Dvorak and Fiddler together will improve our PK big time, it's looking good right now. Dvorak will be a good 4th liner veteran presence for guys like Vincour and Wandell. Good depth signing again and could get 10+ goals

Adam Pardy - Like this signing, Pardy will most likely be our 6th-7th defensemen for us, he has good size and can play physical. That's all I know about Pardy

Jake Dowell - Another good depth signing, once again don't know much about Dowell but he is similar to Burish in a way. Will be a good 3rd-4th liner for us and good at face-offs

Overall it was all great signings, we have improved our bottom 6 with guys like Fiddler, Dvorak and Dowell. Our PK has really improved with Fiddler and Dvorak along with our face-off guys. We addressed our need for a top 6 forward with forward Michael Ryder, he know's how to score and will be great with Morrow and Ribeiro. Souray could be a depth defense our a top 4 depending how he plays, he and Ryder have improved our powerplay. All in all it was a very good day and the Stars have improved overall. The question is though, have they improved enough to make the playoffs?

Now that the review is over, the prediction part is next.

Where do I see the Stars finishing this year? Honestly, I think the Stars are the hardest team to predict this year. With Richards gone, many fans see us finishing in the bottom of the standings again. But fans tend to forget we have players like Ribeiro, Morrow, Eriksson, Jamie Benn, Kari, Gologoski and can still compete for a playoff spot. Last year I did something similar to this, just not as much details. But I said the Stars will surprise everyone and will make the playoffs, I was one of the few to predict that. I was doing very well with my prediction up until the injury bug hit us and we just completely fell apart. This year, if we stay away from injuries or avoid the longterm one's I say we finish in anywhere from 7th to 10th. Kari will have a full year under his belt and he did a great job last year, if Stars don't over play him and use Raycroft more he should be find. Jamie Benn is evolving into a franchise player for us and I feel he could put him 60 points with Eriksson. Morrow, Ribeiro and Ryder will all have great years, mostly Ryder. I could potentially see him reach 30 goals if that line stays healthy. Our bottom six is much more improved from last year along with our penalty kill. The defense also improved from last year, Goligoski will play his first full year as a Stars, he could potentially put up 40-50 points if he stays healthy. 

I would like to see us get another top 6 forward to play with Benn and Loui, I don't feel Ott would be the best fit. Perhaps using Fistric and plus should get us a good top 6 forward who can score and put us in better position to make the playoffs.

For now with the team we have, playoffs isn't out of the picture but it will be a tough road ahead. I wouldn't count them out though. 

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Go Stars Go!!

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

MB

Dallas Stars Take Oleksiak with their 14th pick

"This year, I think the theme was size, we went big" said Joe Nieuwendyk after he and the Stars organization finished picking in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Going into the draft many Stars fans didn't have high expectations with our 14th overall selection. In fact almost every Stars fan including myself was expecting a disappointing choice with our 14th overall pick considering the past two first one selections for the Stars didn't go as expected, it was an automatic I guess you can say. 195 picks later, those expectations were gone.


After the Calgary Flames picked Swiss star Sven Bartschi 13th overall, the Stars were up next. The players I had in my top three from my Draft Preview were all still there. McNeil, Oleksiak and Klefbom. Other notables available were Beaulieu, Armia and Miller.


"The Dallas Stars are pleased to select, from Northeastern University Jamie Oleksiak " said GM Joe Nieuwendyk . Many Stars fans took a sigh of relief  (while I jumped off the couch and yelled YES) after hearing those words from their GM, since most of us expected Stars to make a bad pick for the third straight year in a row. Jamie Oleksiak with his monster size at 6'7 (still growing) was the tallest player in the draft. Jamie Oleksiak played for the Northeastern University, he played 38 games and had 13 points. Jamie moves very well for his size, he's got great agility and athleticism, Jamie could also deliver big hits at any time of the game. Jamie is also known for his great hands, he handles the puck well with great puck control and his able to move the puck up ice smoothly. Oleksiak is also a good reliable player, good shut down defensemen, will drop the gloves to stand up for a teammate and knows how to use his size. Although Jamie does need to work on his hockey sense, his offensive skills and add some muscle.

Jamie Oleksiak was selected 14th overall by the Dallas Stars

"He moves well for a big man. We’ve seen the impact over the years that big men can have on the game, and it goes back with us with Derian Hatcher and the success that he had. He has Chara-type size and he skates well and moves the puck. The offense is probably not overwhelming, but he plays an all-around game, and the important thing is he’s a guy that size who skates that well, he’s hard to play against.” (Stars.nhl.com) That was said about Oleksiak by Nieuwendyk after making his pick. 


Oleksiak has already expressed that he tries to model his game after players like Zedno Chara and Tyler Myers.
“Obviously, I try and take away as much as possible from a lot of players in the NHL, but if I had to narrow it down to one player, I’d probably say Zdeno Chara,” Oleksiak said. “He’s a guy I really look up to and someone I really enjoy his style of play and try and model my game after. I think he’s had great success and that’s something I want to do." Oleksiak definitely  has the size to model is game after Chara, but he needs to work on his offensive ability to play more of Chara's style. Oleksiak could also have a similar playing style as Hal Gil, a big, shut down defense who plays the body and uses his size to clear the net and make the big hits.

“I think it’s a good fit for me,” Oleksiak said of being chosen by Dallas. “I’m really looking forward to it and it’s a real honor to be selected by the Stars and it’s a great experience.”

Personally, I really like this choice, he was one of the two players I wanted the Stars to draft all along, like i mentioned on my 2011 NHL Draft Preview article. He was one of the best fits for the Stars organization, he is the defensemen the Stars were looking for, big, good two way defensemen, physical, can lay massive hits to change the momentum of the game, reliable shut down guy, good hands and puck handling abilities along with agility and athleticism. Overall one of my favorite picks the Stars have made in the first round in a long time and i'm really excited to see him make an impact on our future.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Go Stars Go!!

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 

MB

Nieuwendyk Chooses Gulutzan for the Job

The Dallas Stars and General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that they have hired Glen Gulutzan as their new head coach for the next two seasons. Glen Gulutzan will become the 21st head coach in their franchise history. 

At the age of 39, Gulutzan is the second youngest head coach in the league.

Exactly 2 years and a days ago the Texas Stars General Manager Scott White announced the hiring of the first ever head coach in the clubs history Glen Gulutzan. 2 years and a day later he is now the head coach of the Dallas Stars. Gulutzan was serving as the head coach of the Dallas Stars farm team in the AHL the Texas Stars these past two years. In the Texas Stars inaugural season back in 2009-2010 he and the Stars finished in second in their division posting a  46-27-7 record (.619 winning percentage). When the playoffs came around, the Stars were ready, Gulutzan and his Stars made it to the Calder Cup Finals against the former Calder Cup champion the Hershey Bears. Gulutzan and the Stars would end up blowing a 2-0 series lead and lose four straight to end their season losing in the finals. It was definitely an impressive season by Gulutzan and the Stars considering it was their first season in the AHL. Just last year was his second season behind the bench with the Texas Stars and the second year the Stars were in the league, and once again had another solid season. Texas posted a 41-29-10 record. Although Texas would end up being beaten in the first round of the playoffs in six games in the hands of the Milwaukee Admirals.


Gulutzan so far has succeed in every opportunity he has gotten. Gulutzan first coaching job was back in 2003, he coached in the ECHL for the Las Vegas Wranglers in their inaugural season all the way to the 2008-2009 season. Gulutzan and the Wranglers posted tremendous numbers for those years Gulutzan was behind the bench. In six seasons, they made the playoffs five times, made the Kelly Cup Finals in 2007-2008, and the National Conference Finals in 2008-2009. The team also had three straight 100+ point seasons with Gulutzan. 


Former owner of the Las Vegas Wranglers Charles Davenport who had hired Gulutzan back in 2003 said "This was a matter of time, nobody is more prepared then Gully is. No matter what circumstance was thrown Gully's way, he was ready. Gully's a leader, and I look forward to watching him enjoy huge success in the NHL." (www.lasvegaswranglers.com/).

His last season with the Wranglers was in 2008-2009. When the season ended he packed his bags said his goodbyes and that's when he accepted the coaching job for the Texas Stars. His record in the ECHL is very impressive, he had 254 wins, 124 losses and 55 ties/extra time losses resulting in a .650 winning percentage. In the playoffs he was 67-36-31.

Back to present day, there was speculation going on since last week about the Stars hiring Gulutzan, but GM Joe Nieuwendyk didn't wanna say nothing since the Dallas Mavericks had just won the champions in the NBA. So today wasn't much of a surprise for Stars fans when it was made official today by Nieuwendyk, most of us knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when it was going to come.

"I am very excited to hire Glen Gulutzan as a head coach of the Dallas Stars. Glen is a young, exciting coach who we believe has a bright and long future in the National Hockey League. We were pleased with his development skills and the leadership he brought our young player at the American League level. We fee; he will bring energry and winning attitude to our club. I look forward to working with him as we plan for the future of the Dallas Stars," (www.stars.nhl.com) is what GM Joe Nieuwendyk had to say about his hiring today.

"I am thrilled to be the head coach of the Dallas Stars," said new Stars head coach Glen Gultzan. "Having worked with the organization over hte last two season, I am very familiar with our personnel and that will be a big advantage for me. I look forward to working with Joe Nieuwendyk and his entire staff to build a hockey club that will win and compete for Stanley Cups." (www.stars.nhl.com)

The Stars new head coach spoke to the media earlier today, he mentioned that he wants to make the Stars a two-way hockey club with some tempo. He feels that's the way hockey is today, that defensive hockey is really tough to play against, which is why he would like to make his new team a two-way hockey club.

Now that the Dallas Stars have their head coach, they could move on to the Draft which is held next week on the 24th and 25th and Free Agency on July 1st. And from these quotes from Nieuwy, expect some moves to improve the team "We'd like to improve our defense for sure.... it may be through trade" (defendingbigd). Nieuwendyk mentioned on the topic of improving the defense.

"I think we need a top six forward. Maybe we get there through a trade, too. I think the opportunity through trade is probably more likely scenario than overpaying through free agency" (defendingbigd). This time addressing the situation upfront. So even with no owner Nieuwendyk is doing everything he could to improve the team.

But who could we possibly trade? Grossman? Fistrict? Prospects? Picks? I just hope he doesn't make a lopsided trade on our part. I do have a bad feeling our 14th overall pick is up on the trade block, really hope those feelings are wrong. Whatever happens though, these next few weeks will be very exciting for Stars fans and fans from around the league.

Welcome to the NHL and the Dallas Stars Glen Gulutzan! Glad and excited to have you on board, wish you the best!


Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts and feedback! Hope you enjoyed it! Go Stars Go!

Friday, June 17, 2011

MB

Dallas Stars 2011 NHL Draft Preview

With the 2011 NHL Entry Draft around the corner, the Dallas Stars are looking at their options of who to pick with their 14th overall pick this year in Minnesota. Players that come to mind that will fit the Stars needs and their organization would be players like Mark McNeil, Jamie Oleksiak, Joel Armia, Mark Scheifele, Duncan Siemens and Oscar Klefbom. When the Stars go up to make their pick on June 24th, chances are most of these players will be available. The only question will be, which one will they pick?


 If you ask any Stars fan, the past two first round picks GM Joe Nieuwendyk and the Dallas Stars management have made have been real head scratchers. In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft the Dallas Stars had the 8th overall pick in the draft. When the Stars staff including new GM at the time Nieuwendyk went up to make their pick, Magnus Paajarvi and Jared Cowen surprisingly were still available. Stars fans were hoping for either one, little did they know we would be in for a surprise. "The Dallas Stars select from the Canadian hockey league, Brandon Wheat Kings, Scott Glennie." Those were the exact words that came out of Tim Berhhardt mouth. That's when Stars fans were confused and frustrated after being sure they would see Paajarvi or Cowen putting on a Stars jersey instead of Glennie. 

Dallas Stars select Scott Glennie 8th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft

A year later the Stars had the 11th pick in the 2010 NHL draft and once again two big names dropped, Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley. Both were available when the Stars went up to make their pick, and every Stars fan watching was excited because they knew that one of the two players would be a great fit to the Stars organization and would help their future. But once again the Stars staff made another head scratching move by picking Jack Campbell 11th overall passing the opportunity of drafting Fowler or Gormley when it was clear that either one would have made more sense to draft considering they had just signed goaltender Kari Lehtonen last month to a four year deal.

Dallas Stars select Jack Campbell 11th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft

Don't get me wrong here, both Glennie and Campbell are both very talented prospects and will be a big part of our future in Dallas if not, in another organization. Although as a Stars fan Paajarvi and Cowen would have been the better choice over Glennie, while the same could be said about the Campbell situation and how Fowler and Gormley would have been the better choice over Campbell. But that's just speaking in the present, it could change in the future. You never know with prospects. Just hope that the Dallas staff and management see something in Glennie and Campbell that we don't and they'll turn out to be something special for the Stars.

With all that behind us, we look ahead at the upcoming draft. Stars fans are hoping the management won't make another head scratching pick and if a big name player drops on the draft board when were up on the stage ready to announce our pick that this time we pick him. Wouldn't be surprise seeing Murphy dropping down, Siemens is another name that comes to mind. Both those players could help the Stars significantly in the future if they do fall in the draft.

If that doesn't happen Stars could really use a good stay at home defensemen, know's how to play physical and could kill a penalty.  First name that would come to mind is Jamie Oleksiak, a huge 6'7 defensemen who has terrific strength, moves well for his size and has great agility and athleticism. He knows how to deliver huge hits and could turn into a solid two-way defensemen. Oscar Klefbom is another potential pick for the Dallas Stars. Klefbom could become a physical defensemen, has great strength and his able to win battles. He's very calm when he has the puck on his stick, makes good decision and could move the puck up the ice well.

Besides defense, Dallas could really use a good center who knows how to play physical, not afraid to go to the net, and is able to play in key moments of a game. Mark McNeil is the guy for the Stars. He fits the Stars needs perfectly. McNeil is a right handed center who you can relay on in key moments of the game to get goals, kill penalties, win a faceoff and play against certain players on the opposing team. McNeil with his size and agility is hard to stop when he's driving to the net. He could win battles infront of the net and in the corner, know's how to use his size and isn't afraid to drop the gloves.

Center Mark McNeil is projected to go somewhere in the middle of the 1st round

Those are the top three players I feel would fit the Stars needs and could help the Stars get better in the future. McNeil the center the Stars are looking for, Oleksiak a good two-way defensemen and Klefbom another solid defensemen, who knows how to play physical and can win battles. Some honorable mentions would be Joel Armia, Mark Scheifele and Jonas Brodin. 


NHL Entry Draft 2011 will start on June 24th and will finish June 25th. Really looking forward for it, and can't wait to see who the Stars will draft this year with all the talent!


Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Go Stars Go!!!


Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

MB