Dallas Stars: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
The Dallas Stars had a very turbulent 2019-20 season.
Despite having a very good team on paper, the Dallas Stars came out of the gate slow and struggled with consistency. Then, in December, the team surprisingly fired head coach Jim Montgomery, which turned out later to be due to alcoholism. Montgomery has since been to rehab and hired on to the St. Louis Blues coaching staff as an Assistant coach.
After the firing, Assistant Coach Rick Bowness took over, and the teams play elevated shortly after. They started off hot in the 2020 Playoffs and continued that play throughout, advancing all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately for them, they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, but it was an extremely successful season nonetheless.
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Given the young talent they have in players such as Miro Heiskanen and Denis Gurianov, as well in veterans Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Alexander Radulov, they will have a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup again next season. While they don’t boast as great of a prospect pool as some other teams throughout the league, they have a couple of high-end players at the top of list who have a chance to become NHL regulars very soon.
As mentioned in every other top 8 prospects series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included on the list.
With that said, here are the Dallas Stars’ top 8 prospects worth getting excited about…
8. Joel Kiviranta
Joel Kiviranta isn’t a prospect who has the potential to come into the NHL and put up high offensive numbers. In fact, he is already 24-years-old and likely would not have been on the list five months ago. However, his performance with the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs opened up a lot of eyes and showed everyone how good of a player he is. The Finnish forward put up five goals, many of which came at very clutch moments, and six points in 14 Playoff games. He was a huge reason the Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
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Kiviranta played in his first 11 NHL regular season games this year, and followed that up with his 14 extremely impressive postseason games. His performances in the Playoffs will more than likely allow him to start the 2020-21 season with the Stars, and if he plays well he should stick for the entire season. Despite his exploits in the postseason, he won’t be expected to put up big totals, but he is a feisty forward who can provide value to the Stars on either the third or fourth line. The undrafted forward, who had previously spent the last five seasons in the SM-liiga before coming to North America for the 2019-20 campaign, looks like a nice find for Dallas.
7. Riley Damiani
The Dallas Stars made what appears to be a nice late round pick at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft when they selected forward Riley Damiani in the Fifth Round (No. 137 overall). At the time of the Draft, he was coming off a fairly underwhelming season with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL with 19 goals and 37 points in 64 games. The Stars clearly believed that he had potential to grow offensively, and they have since been proven right.
The very next season after being drafted, Damiani popped off with 30 goals and 85 points in just 58 games. Most recently, in his fourth season with the Rangers, he put up a team leading 78 points in 61 games. The 20-year-old has proven he can put up points at the junior level, and will have the chance to prove he can do so at the professional level as well once the 2020-21 season gets underway.
6. Nicholas Caamano
Another solid Fifth Round choice by the Stars, albeit two years prior, was when they selected Nicholas Caamano with the 146th overall pick at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Like Damiani, he was playing in the OHL at the time he was drafted, and like Damiani, didn’t produce a ton of offense for a forward. In 64 games with the Flint Birebirds that season, he had a nearly identical 20 goals and 37 points in 64 games.
Caamano spent two more seasons in the OHL after being drafted, and saw his numbers go up to being nearly a point per game player. He then played in his first professional season in 2018-19 with the Texas Stars, where he put up just 24 points in 73 games. However, just as he did in his OHL career, he started to pick his game up offensively. In the 2019-20 season, he had a much more impressive 23 points in 34 games, and was just 21-years-old for the entirety of the season. He also received his first NHL call up, playing in 12 regular season games with the Stars, as well as an additional four in the Playoffs. If he has a good training camp, he has a chance to make the Stars opening day lineup for the 2020-21 season.
5. Mavrik Bourque
The most recently drafted player on this list is Mavrik Bourque, having been selected 30th overall at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old forward has shown through his first two seasons in the QMJHL that he is an elite offensive talent. In his rookie season as a 16-year-old, he put up 25 goals and 54 points in 64 games, which placed him second in team scoring. Not only did he not experience a sophomore slump in the 2019-20 season, but he got even better with 29 goals and 71 points in just 49 games played.
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With the QMJHL being one of the few leagues in all of North America that wasn’t delayed, he and his Shawinigan Cataractes teammates are back at it. In four games so far, Bourque has three goals and six points, both of which lead his team. If the entire season is able to be played out, expect to see new career-highs for the Plessisville, Quebec native once again.
4. Jason Robertson
Yet another former OHL forward to be on this list is Arcadia, California native Jason Robertson. The now 21-year-old had a fantastic rookie season in the AHL this season, as he led his team in both goals with 25 as well as points with 47 in 60 games played. As a result of his great play, he was also able to play in three NHL games, chipping in with one assist.
Robertson, who is the older brother of Leafs prospect Nick, is no stranger to putting up numbers offensively. In his 252 game OHL career, he put up 149 goals and 317 points. He doesn’t seem to shy away from the big stage either, having posted seven points in seven games for Team USA at the 2019 World Juniors. The 39th overall pick from the 2017 NHL Entry Draft has a chance to become a very good NHL player.
3. Jake Oettinger
There have been critics over the years on teams who take goaltenders in the First Round, saying that goalies are the hardest players to predict given that it takes them so many years to develop. Often times, it seems that goalies selected in the mid to late rounds actually turn out to be better than ones that go off the board early. That does not appear to be the case for Jake Oettinger however, who was selected by the Stars 26th overall at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Oettinger had just wrapped up his freshman season for Boston College at the time of the draft, posting a 2.11 goals against average (GAA) along with a .927 save percentage (SV%). Those numbers are incredible for anybody let alone an 18-year-old at the collegiate level. The six-foot-five goaltender went on to play two more seasons at Boston College before turning pro this past season. He appeared in 38 AHL games this season, posting a 2.57 GAA along with a .917 SV%. He doesn’t appear to be all that far away from being an NHL starting netminder.
Dallas fans should be extremely excited about this kid.
2. Ty Dellandrea
The highest forward on this list is Toronto, Ontario native Ty Dellandrea. The 20-year-old was another early pick by the Stars, getting selected 13th overall at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He has spent the last four seasons with the Flint Firebirds in the OHL, and was teammates with the earlier mentioned Caamano for two of them. This past season, which was his last of junior hockey, he was one of the top players in the entire OHL with 32 goals and 70 points in 47 games.
Though he didn’t get much of a shot to perform on the big stage during his time with the Firebirds, playing in only five postseason games, he proved during his time at the 2020 World Juniors that he doesn’t shy away from big moments. He played a huge part in Team Canada winning the Gold Medal, as he put up three goals and five points in seven games. He will likely spend the 2020-21 season in the AHL, but the future is extremely bright.
1. Thomas Harley
Dallas’ top prospect, and the only defenseman on this list, is 2019 first-round pick (No. 18 overall) Thomas Harley. A shockingly reoccurring theme on this list, Harley is yet another prospect who has spent his junior career in the OHL. All three of his seasons have come with the Mississauga Steelheads. While his rookie season, in which he managed just 15 points, didn’t have him looking overly promising, it was his second season that really drew attention. In 68 games that season, which was his Draft year, he put up 58 points in 68 games.
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Despite being born in Syracuse, New York, Harley has duel citizenship and was one of the final players cut from Team Canada at the 2019 World Juniors. He is eligible to play in the tournament again this season, and is as close to a lock as you can be.
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Not only was he able to put up 57 points in 59 games last season, but he also joined the Stars in the bubble for the 2020 NHL Playoffs and even suited up for a game. He will likely play one more final season in the OHL whenever the season begins, but don’t be surprised to see him as a regular on Dallas’ blueline in just a few short years.