New Stars Keep Future Bright In Dallas

Heading into any season with injuries is frustrating, especially after the promising playoff run this team had last season. The veterans keep falling. Missing key players such as Mattias Janmark, Ales Hemsky, and Cody Eakin, who played all 82 games last season, the beginning of the 2016-2017 season seemed foreboding.

The team last year capped off an amazing first half of the season, starting out 31-19, an impressive feat, which propelled the team to become Central Division Champions.

The beginning of the season this year has started slow, and with more injuries to Patrick Sharp and Jason Spezza. The Stars have relied on their depth from the Texas Stars to prevail.

Curtis Mckenzie (LW) has been impressive. After leading the Texas Stars in goals and penalty minutes, the Dallas Stars got a player that is aggressive and finds the puck. Mckenzie is second among Cedar Park players with shots and leads the team in hits.

Gemel Smith (C) stood out the most in the first game this season against Division rivals, Chicago Blackhawks, in which he scored his first two NHL goals. Smith is also holding his own in faceoffs, an area which the Stars have struggled in without their primary faceoff player Eakin. At only 22, Smith has a lot of potential and a lot of time.

Esa Lindell (D) does the small, dirty work and he does it well. His game is not flashy; he thrives on the little things in the game that often go unnoticed. He has spent time on the top pair with Klingberg and spent among the highest amount of time on ice for his stretch in Dallas. The technical skills Lindell has exemplified excites both coaches and fans.

Devin Shore (C)  plays right up there with the big boys. When he is on the ice, he draws penalties, in which the Stars have been able to capitalize on, scoring 13 PPG this season (League Average 10) and gets points in his own right with 7 primary assists. Shore is fast and another young skilled player.

The depth of the Texas Stars has protected the Dallas Stars in the points race and kept them in the conversation, despite what could have been a catastrophic start to the season.