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Dallas Stars Blogger •
I just wanted to add a quick note of congrats to Brett Hull. He will join the NHL Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2009.
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It isn't quite Tuesday, but we'll roll with this now. Mike has some thoughts to share about the current state of the Stars system and what the Stars might be looking to do in the draft.
Mike Farkas is a staff writer for HockeysFuture.com who covers the Dallas Stars. He will be covering the draft live for faceoff-factor.com. He agreed to have a little chat about the current state of the Stars system, and to give some insight into Friday’s draft.
Hockeybuzz: Is Beskorowany likely to be able to put himself back on the prospect map, and if so is his 2009 a function of facing 37 shots a game and splitting duties?
Mike Farkas: Beskorowany had a real rough go of it this year. He lost his job to the 2009-eligible Scott Stajcer and that's never a good sign for an NHL prospect in juniors, especially a weaker junior team. At the OHL trade deadline, a lot of teams inquired about both Besko and Stajcer and Owen Sound turned them back. That might not be the case in the offseason, I think we could see Besko moving on to greener pastures...if I recall correctly, Windsor was very interested in a goalie, but we'll see. I'd like for Beskorowany to rebound and I trust a Tim Bernhardt (Stars director of amateur scouting, and former goalie himself) pick. It was a rough year for all the goalies in Dallas' system really - Bachman didn't continue his torrid pace in the WCHA, Besko lost his job, Stephan had a disaster of a season, McCann is the fourth goalie in Quinnipiac of all places, only Climie had a good season in the ECHL, I mean, even Turco was awful this year...
HB: Who do you feel is the biggest sleeper in the Stars system?
MF: After his call-up (albeit a short one) I think the secret is out on Ivan Vishnevskiy. I kind of let the cat out of the bag on this prospect by having him jump up the list from near the bottom all the way up to 5 on my HF Top-20 list but I'm going to stick with him - Philip Larsen from Vastra Frolunda (SEL). This kid is a real winner here and is another 5th round gem found by the Stars. He slid way down right before the draft (injury questions I believe, but don't quote me on it) and the Stars took a chance on him. At 19 years old, he's already a regular at the Elitserien level (17 points in 53 games - only one or two Swedes in his age group had more), represented Denmark at the World Junior Championships (4 points in 5 games), played 25+ minutes per game (most on the team) at the World Championships for Denmark...I mean, this kid is everywhere, he's already an experienced pro before the age of 20. He can skate, he's got the offensive instincts, he's got the vision, he's got the smarts...a lot of people are talking about Ottawa's Erik Karlsson or 2009 eligible Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and I don't want to oversell him, but look out for Philip Larsen.
HB: How much will the Stars regaining an AHL affiliate for 2009/2010 help the development of their system?
MF: Adding a steady, singular affiliate will be so great for the development of the Stars prospects. Prospects being dished out to different coaches, different systems, different linemates isn't a situation you want to be in. Goalies that should be at the AHL level are now at the ECHL level...players that should be on the third or fourth line at the AHL level end up at the ECHL level because other AHL clubs don't want these guys taking minutes away from their own organization's guys. It's a tough situation for all involved. We'll all get a much better, concentrated look at the Stars prospects' progression in 2009-10 for sure, it's exciting to know.
HB: Is there something in the water in the WHL?
MF: The Stars have found a lot of success in the WHL recently. Their NHL team plays a strong, gritty, two-way game and they go looking for that in the WHL. There's a lot of hype around Jamie Benn coming in, I really hope he delivers at the next level. I'm a little cautious about some of the prospects that are putting up big stats, like Colton Sceviour and Matt Tassone and how that will translate to the next level. This is where the Stars new AHL affiliate will really pay dividends though, we'll get to see all these guys in the same place over the next year or two.
HB: You have Dmitry Kulikov going to the Stars at #8. What kind of player can he be in the future?
MF: I do have the Stars picking Dmitry Kulikov at 8. What's not to like about him really. Future power play quarterback just in time for Zubov to hang'em up. Smooth passer, smooth skater, plays a real smart, pro-style game already, he shows that he wants to be in the NHL by making the jump from Russia to Drummondville. There's very few flaws in his game, he's good in his own end, maybe the knock on him is physicality, but Sergei Zubov didn't exactly go around knocking heads in either. As far as I'm concerned, Kulikov is a sure bet and a good fit for the Stars.
HB: If somehow Jared Cowan, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jordan Schroeder are available at #8 where does Dallas go?
MF: I'm going to stick to my guns - Dmitry Kulikov. Although, I'll admit that Jared Cowen is tempting. I've heard that Schroeder had a bad interview with Dallas (unofficially) and that Kulikov had a good one (also unofficial), that might be enough to settle the score there. As for Cowen, boy, that's tough, there's a lot of potential for Cowen. Maybe it would be Cowen if he's there at 8, the only thing stopping them would be his injury. It's as good as a coin flip (in my mind) between Cowen and Kulikov, it's going to vary from scout to scout
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We'll get more into the draft before the picks start rolling. We can do the draft live too if anyone is interested. Send me a message or leave a comment if you are.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It isn't quite Tuesday, but we'll roll with this now. Mike has some thoughts to share about the current state of the Stars system and what the Stars might be looking to do in the draft.
Mike Farkas is a staff writer for HockeysFuture.com who covers the Dallas Stars. He will be covering the draft live for faceoff-factor.com. He agreed to have a little chat about the current state of the Stars system, and to give some insight into Friday’s draft.
Hockeybuzz: Is Beskorowany likely to be able to put himself back on the prospect map, and if so is his 2009 a function of facing 37 shots a game and splitting duties?
Mike Farkas: Beskorowany had a real rough go of it this year. He lost his job to the 2009-eligible Scott Stajcer and that's never a good sign for an NHL prospect in juniors, especially a weaker junior team. At the OHL trade deadline, a lot of teams inquired about both Besko and Stajcer and Owen Sound turned them back. That might not be the case in the offseason, I think we could see Besko moving on to greener pastures...if I recall correctly, Windsor was very interested in a goalie, but we'll see. I'd like for Beskorowany to rebound and I trust a Tim Bernhardt (Stars director of amateur scouting, and former goalie himself) pick. It was a rough year for all the goalies in Dallas' system really - Bachman didn't continue his torrid pace in the WCHA, Besko lost his job, Stephan had a disaster of a season, McCann is the fourth goalie in Quinnipiac of all places, only Climie had a good season in the ECHL, I mean, even Turco was awful this year...
HB: Who do you feel is the biggest sleeper in the Stars system?
MF: After his call-up (albeit a short one) I think the secret is out on Ivan Vishnevskiy. I kind of let the cat out of the bag on this prospect by having him jump up the list from near the bottom all the way up to 5 on my HF Top-20 list but I'm going to stick with him - Philip Larsen from Vastra Frolunda (SEL). This kid is a real winner here and is another 5th round gem found by the Stars. He slid way down right before the draft (injury questions I believe, but don't quote me on it) and the Stars took a chance on him. At 19 years old, he's already a regular at the Elitserien level (17 points in 53 games - only one or two Swedes in his age group had more), represented Denmark at the World Junior Championships (4 points in 5 games), played 25+ minutes per game (most on the team) at the World Championships for Denmark...I mean, this kid is everywhere, he's already an experienced pro before the age of 20. He can skate, he's got the offensive instincts, he's got the vision, he's got the smarts...a lot of people are talking about Ottawa's Erik Karlsson or 2009 eligible Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and I don't want to oversell him, but look out for Philip Larsen.
HB: How much will the Stars regaining an AHL affiliate for 2009/2010 help the development of their system?
MF: Adding a steady, singular affiliate will be so great for the development of the Stars prospects. Prospects being dished out to different coaches, different systems, different linemates isn't a situation you want to be in. Goalies that should be at the AHL level are now at the ECHL level...players that should be on the third or fourth line at the AHL level end up at the ECHL level because other AHL clubs don't want these guys taking minutes away from their own organization's guys. It's a tough situation for all involved. We'll all get a much better, concentrated look at the Stars prospects' progression in 2009-10 for sure, it's exciting to know.
HB: Is there something in the water in the WHL?
MF: The Stars have found a lot of success in the WHL recently. Their NHL team plays a strong, gritty, two-way game and they go looking for that in the WHL. There's a lot of hype around Jamie Benn coming in, I really hope he delivers at the next level. I'm a little cautious about some of the prospects that are putting up big stats, like Colton Sceviour and Matt Tassone and how that will translate to the next level. This is where the Stars new AHL affiliate will really pay dividends though, we'll get to see all these guys in the same place over the next year or two.
HB: You have Dmitry Kulikov going to the Stars at #8. What kind of player can he be in the future?
MF: I do have the Stars picking Dmitry Kulikov at 8. What's not to like about him really. Future power play quarterback just in time for Zubov to hang'em up. Smooth passer, smooth skater, plays a real smart, pro-style game already, he shows that he wants to be in the NHL by making the jump from Russia to Drummondville. There's very few flaws in his game, he's good in his own end, maybe the knock on him is physicality, but Sergei Zubov didn't exactly go around knocking heads in either. As far as I'm concerned, Kulikov is a sure bet and a good fit for the Stars.
HB: If somehow Jared Cowan, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jordan Schroeder are available at #8 where does Dallas go?
MF: I'm going to stick to my guns - Dmitry Kulikov. Although, I'll admit that Jared Cowen is tempting. I've heard that Schroeder had a bad interview with Dallas (unofficially) and that Kulikov had a good one (also unofficial), that might be enough to settle the score there. As for Cowen, boy, that's tough, there's a lot of potential for Cowen. Maybe it would be Cowen if he's there at 8, the only thing stopping them would be his injury. It's as good as a coin flip (in my mind) between Cowen and Kulikov, it's going to vary from scout to scout
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We'll get more into the draft before the picks start rolling. We can do the draft live too if anyone is interested. Send me a message or leave a comment if you are.
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