The Dallas Stars are at a crossroads in their franchise cycle. They are on the verge of having a new owner, but that is not in place yet. They are on the verge of losing their best player, Brad Richards, to UFA because of the uncertainty of ownership. Yet, they were also on the verge of being a playoff team, remaining in contention until the last weekend of play. It will be interesting to say the least what direction the Stars take based on my preview from yesterday and Blackout Dallas’ own preview of the pick.
Selecting on behalf of the Stars is Austin, Lead Writer Blackout Dallas.
"With their pick, the Dallas Stars proudly take Nathan Beaulieu (defenseman from Saint John in the QMJHL)."
Future PP QB
Jared’s Analysis – Not the direction I necessarily would have went, but the Stars get a solid skating, puck moving defenseman who will be an offensive catalyst for the Stars in the future. He is picked right where he was slotted by ISS in their season ending rankings. Dallas obviously must have some faith that they can resign Brad Richards long term and they don’t need to have a replacement for him anytime soon.
Blackout Dallas‘ Lead Writer Austin sent along these comments on why Beaulieu was the man of choice for them:
"The Stars need defensemen, of all sorts. While Siemens would be more ideal, he is not here at 14th. (Beaulieu) is a great skater & puck mover, and immediately becomes our best blueline prospect."
I encourage fans and followers of the Stars to check out further information on the club and this pick in particular at Blackout Dallas.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Here are the Mock Draft results so far (click on the team name to go to the post about that pick):
| Pick | TEAM | PLAYER |
| 1 | EDMONTON | Adam Larsson |
| 2 | COLORADO | Gabriel Landeskog |
| 3 | FLORIDA | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins |
| 4 | NEW JERSEY | Jonathan Huberdeau |
| 5 | NY ISLANDERS | Sean Couturier |
| 6 | OTTAWA | Ryan Strome |
| 7 | ATLANTA | Ryan Murphy |
| 8 | COLUMBUS | Dougie Hamilton |
| 9 | BOSTON (FR TOR) | Duncan Siemens |
| 10 | MINNESOTA | Sven Bartschi |
| 11 | COLORADO | Jamie Oleksiak |
| 12 | CAROLINA | Joel Armia |
| 13 | CALGARY | Mika Zibanejad |
| 14 | DALLAS | Nathan Beaulieu |
Now on the clock for the #15 selection, on behalf of the New York Rangers, is Blueline Station. Visit the site to see their preview for this pick.
PREVIEWING THE RANGERS
2010-2011 Record: 44-33-5 (18th Overall)
League Rankings:
Goals for: 16th
Goals Against: 5th
Power Play: 18th
Penalty Kill: 10th
TOP 5 Prospects in the system: Chris Kreider (LW), Ryan McDonagh (D), Christian Thomas (RW), Evgeny Grachev (C), Mats Zuccarello (LW)
NEEDS: The Rangers are the first playoff team to make an appearance in the draft. They are also one of the deeper teams in terms of top-end prospects, as the group listed above will in all likelihood be legitimate NHLers sooner rather than later. If the Rangers had one weakness it might be the power play has not lived up to billing, and they lack real top-end talent. They will not get the franchise player here, but they will get a solid contributor down the road. They should take the best player on the board in their best estimate, and not worry about drafting for position.
TOP 5 PLAYERS ON THE BOARD (per ISS):
1. Oscar Klefbom, D, Farjestad (SWE ELITE)
2. Rocco Grimaldi, C, USA Under-18 (USHL)
3. JT Miller, LW, USA Under-18 (USHL)
4. Mark Scheifele, C, Barrie (OHL)
5. Connor Murphy, D, USA Under-18 (USHL)
Check back on TOO MANY MEN ON THE SITE tomorrow evening to see who “Blueline Station” chooses to take for the New York Rangers, as the Fansided mock draft continues!