Bill Meltzer: Star Gazing: Expectations for Nichushkin, Camp Updates

Nice write up Bill.

Been listening to Stars camp segments on the Ticket all day, starting to get stoked about the season. I really hope Val sticks with 14 and 91. IMO you keep Hemsky and Spezza as a more veteran 2nd line and get a kids 3rd/4th line to rotate with a Fiddler shutdown/grinder line.

There are still alot of questions. Mostly on the back end and on the physical side. While we have agitators and people to stir the pot (like the rooster or Garbutt) I think Dillon is the only one that could drop the gloves with the heavy weights and since he's your most dependable D you'd like to keep him out of the box for 5 at a time.

I see Nichushkin having a big year, maybe 25g 65-70pts... He is a beast and I still can't believe he fell to what, 9 in the draft that year? He looked scary good last year being his rookie season and all

Bill, I am looking forward to your coverage of the Stars again this season.

Training camp and preseason games should be interesting. It is too bad that Ritchie broke his pinkie and will miss a lot of the activities making it tougher to make an impression. Also, you didn't mention Rynnas in the goaltender discussion. I believe that Campbell will play in Cedar Park again where he will hopefully continue his strong play and lose his injury bug, and can be called up at times throughout the year.

Nichuskin should be much better prepared this year and I look for a much improved year playing on either of the first two lines.

I see Nichushkin having a big year, maybe 25g 65-70pts... He is a beast and I still can't believe he fell to what, 9 in the draft that year? He looked scary good last year being his rookie season and all
- RobitailleFAN20

I think the 2013 draft , in the first round at least, will turn out to a very good one. All the first 10 players picked look to be stars in the league.

I see Nichushkin having a big year, maybe 25g 65-70pts... He is a beast and I still can't believe he fell to what, 9 in the draft that year? He looked scary good last year being his rookie season and all
- RobitailleFAN20

If he wasn't Russian, he'd have been taken much earlier due to real concerns that he might not play in N.A. or, if he didn't like it here, he'd go to Russia.
Will be interesting to see who he plays with and then there's always the dreaded "sophomore slump". But I think he's done well so far & there really won't be anything but progress from here on in. I'm expecting that he'll play with the first line, so the question is, who joins Spezza & Hemsky on line 2?