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Star Gazing: Ribeiro trade, Draft |
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The Stars' decision to trade Mike Ribeiro to Washington for 21-year-old center prospect Cody Eakin and a second-round pick seems to be a pretty clear indication the Stars are going into a bit of a rebuilding mode now that the club has narrowly missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Eakins developed into a fine offensive player at the junior level but projects to be more of a second-liner or, more likely, a useful role-playing type who is a pain to play against -- think Vernon Fiddler with better hands -- than a top-line sort of forward. As an AHL rookie this past season, he tallied 13 goals and 27 points in 43 games.
The departure of Ribeiro creates a need for another center who can distribute the puck and receive power play time. I also wonder what impact it will have on Michael Ryder's production next season, because he had tremendous chemistry with Ribeiro both in Montreal and this past season with the Stars.
With the 13th overall pick of the first round, Joe Nieuwendyk made a somewhat conservative, but easily defensible pick in Czech-born Kitchener Rangers forward Radek Faksa. He is a big center with a high compete level and promising offensive upside, albeit likely not superstar potential.
When the Stars make their next pick tomorrow -- the 43rd overall pick -- one has to wonder if they'd be tempted to take local product Nicolas Kerdiles if he's still on the board. He was one of the better offensive forwards on the US U18 team this past year (20 G, 42 PTS in 50 USHL games) and will join a traditionally solid hockey program at the University of Wisconsin next year.
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