|
|
Bloggers 
My HockeyBuzz
 Hockeybuzz on Versus
Cap Central
Fantasy
Forums
Store
Chat
RSS
|
Season Ticket Login Free Registration! |
Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 |
 |
|
Dallas Stars Blogger •
In one week the Stars get to experience the consolation prize for a terrible 2008/09: the 8th pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. There is no telling how many options presently exist for pick #8. Without a doubt numerous trade ideas are out there. Upheaval at the top of the board could slide an unexpected player down to #8. Maybe a player drops to 5, 6, or 7 allowing the Stars to trade up.
Theoretically the Stars could trade down as well. The draft is very deep from pick 15 through pick 40. Dallas will get a chance to snatch 2 very solid players. To figure out where the Stars are going let’s look at how they reached this point.
Success and dealing has kept the Stars from drafting higher than 25 overall since 1996 when they selected Ric Jackman at #5. Since 2003 the Stars have compiled quality depth throughout the organization. Roster mainstays Loui Eriksson, Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman and James Neal have all been brought in since 2003. Jamie Benn, Tom Wandell, Ondrej Roman, Philip Larsen, and Ivan Vishnevskiy headline the talent in the system since 2003.
The core of the NHL roster is very solid. The defense is young and developing. The most glaring need defensively is for a top pairing defender or two. Marty Turco, coming off a down year, should rebound some. He’s aging a bit though. The forward depth is impressive. The Stars can probably go 13 deep with solid NHL forwards. The problem up front is tri-fold. There isn’t a right shot anywhere to be found in the top 9, there are few natural right wings, and the skilled depth pushes players into roles they aren’t suited for.
I’m personally a firm believer that you take the top player in the draft regardless of the current roster. Ideally that player will be right handed and play either right wing or defense in this case. The Stars will likely avoid trading down unless they feel they can still get one of their targets a few picks later in the 1st round. With the forward depth they have they are in a great position to consider dealing up, but that isn’t likely. The goal is to get an impact player at #8. Here are the three main possibilities:
D Jared Cowen, 6’5 220lb
Cowen is a big left handed defender from the WHL. If not for a knee injury January Cowen’s stock would probably be higher. He’s been compared to anyone from Zdeno Chara to Jay Bouwmeester. He has a shot to be a shutdown NHL defender with solid offensive potential. The Stars are known for mining the WHL. Stars prospect Ondrej Roman is on Spokane with Cowen. If Cowen is healthy the Stars surely know it, and he would be penciled into the Stars top 4 defenders within a couple of years.
D Dmitry Kulikov, 6’1 183
Kulikov is another left handed defender. Kulikov patrolled the rinks of the QMJHL this past season. He tied for 2nd among QMJHL defenders in scoring for 2008/09. The general feeling about Kulikov is that he is a defense first offensive defenseman with good hockey sense. He knows when to jump in with a rush and has the speed to make up for any mistakes. Sound familiar? It should. He has a similar game to Sergei Zubov. Two different mock drafts have had Kulikov ending up in Dallas.
C Jordan Schroeder , 5’8 175
Jordan Schroeder is a small right handed center with big offensive potential. He owns elite hockey sense, a solid defensive game, and a complete offensive package. In 2009 he led all NCAA rookies in scoring. He’s small, but he’s as strong as any player in the draft class. At the NHL combine Schroeder threw up 17 reps of 150 lbs. The leaders put 150 lbs up 18 times. Jordan also generated 351 lbs on the push-strength test which was 1 lb behind the leader. He’s small, but he packs a punch.
So who will it be? It’s hard to tell. This is the first draft Joe Nieuwendyk has presided over. Les Jackson is back in his old post so theoretically the draft philosophy is the same, but who knows? I’m all for taking the best talent you can take. If pick #8 gets there with Jordan Schroeder on the board then he should be wearing a Stars uniform. Ultimately though I think they will take one of the defenders with Jared Cowen being the target.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming up Tuesday is an interview with Hockeys Future writer Mike Farkas. He covers the Stars for HF. He shared some insights into the Stars system and the draft with me yesterday. Everyone will get a chance to see those on Tuesday.
Theoretically the Stars could trade down as well. The draft is very deep from pick 15 through pick 40. Dallas will get a chance to snatch 2 very solid players. To figure out where the Stars are going let’s look at how they reached this point.
Success and dealing has kept the Stars from drafting higher than 25 overall since 1996 when they selected Ric Jackman at #5. Since 2003 the Stars have compiled quality depth throughout the organization. Roster mainstays Loui Eriksson, Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman and James Neal have all been brought in since 2003. Jamie Benn, Tom Wandell, Ondrej Roman, Philip Larsen, and Ivan Vishnevskiy headline the talent in the system since 2003.
The core of the NHL roster is very solid. The defense is young and developing. The most glaring need defensively is for a top pairing defender or two. Marty Turco, coming off a down year, should rebound some. He’s aging a bit though. The forward depth is impressive. The Stars can probably go 13 deep with solid NHL forwards. The problem up front is tri-fold. There isn’t a right shot anywhere to be found in the top 9, there are few natural right wings, and the skilled depth pushes players into roles they aren’t suited for.
I’m personally a firm believer that you take the top player in the draft regardless of the current roster. Ideally that player will be right handed and play either right wing or defense in this case. The Stars will likely avoid trading down unless they feel they can still get one of their targets a few picks later in the 1st round. With the forward depth they have they are in a great position to consider dealing up, but that isn’t likely. The goal is to get an impact player at #8. Here are the three main possibilities:
D Jared Cowen, 6’5 220lb
Cowen is a big left handed defender from the WHL. If not for a knee injury January Cowen’s stock would probably be higher. He’s been compared to anyone from Zdeno Chara to Jay Bouwmeester. He has a shot to be a shutdown NHL defender with solid offensive potential. The Stars are known for mining the WHL. Stars prospect Ondrej Roman is on Spokane with Cowen. If Cowen is healthy the Stars surely know it, and he would be penciled into the Stars top 4 defenders within a couple of years.
D Dmitry Kulikov, 6’1 183
Kulikov is another left handed defender. Kulikov patrolled the rinks of the QMJHL this past season. He tied for 2nd among QMJHL defenders in scoring for 2008/09. The general feeling about Kulikov is that he is a defense first offensive defenseman with good hockey sense. He knows when to jump in with a rush and has the speed to make up for any mistakes. Sound familiar? It should. He has a similar game to Sergei Zubov. Two different mock drafts have had Kulikov ending up in Dallas.
C Jordan Schroeder , 5’8 175
Jordan Schroeder is a small right handed center with big offensive potential. He owns elite hockey sense, a solid defensive game, and a complete offensive package. In 2009 he led all NCAA rookies in scoring. He’s small, but he’s as strong as any player in the draft class. At the NHL combine Schroeder threw up 17 reps of 150 lbs. The leaders put 150 lbs up 18 times. Jordan also generated 351 lbs on the push-strength test which was 1 lb behind the leader. He’s small, but he packs a punch.
So who will it be? It’s hard to tell. This is the first draft Joe Nieuwendyk has presided over. Les Jackson is back in his old post so theoretically the draft philosophy is the same, but who knows? I’m all for taking the best talent you can take. If pick #8 gets there with Jordan Schroeder on the board then he should be wearing a Stars uniform. Ultimately though I think they will take one of the defenders with Jared Cowen being the target.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming up Tuesday is an interview with Hockeys Future writer Mike Farkas. He covers the Stars for HF. He shared some insights into the Stars system and the draft with me yesterday. Everyone will get a chance to see those on Tuesday.
Join the Discussion:  |
 |