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In case you need to be caught up, the Dallas Stars went to the 2020 Stanley Cup final and have made the playoffs in three of the past four years.
That generally means that a team’s prospect pool has taken a hit but because of some deft drafting, the Stars have quietly built one of the more intriguing pools of prospects in the league.
The Stars might not have a boatload of “sure things” as far as prospects go. Still, if they can hit on a couple of the swings like cerebral offensive defenseman Christian Kyrou or electric attacking winger Aryton Martino, they could look like geniuses. They clearly bank on upside with their picks, especially outside of round one.
Wyatt Johnston was their first-round pick in the 2021 draft and while some questioned it at the time, his MVP season in the OHL made Dallas’ scouting department look like geniuses. Johnston is a highly skilled center who plays with speed and shiftiness. He was one of the OHL’s most consistent offensive play drivers on any team and was one of the only consistent presences on an inconsistent Windsor team through the first half of the year.
Logan Stankoven would have been a top-20 pick if he was a couple of inches taller, but the 5-foot-8 forward plays with incredible pace and speed to go with his wicked shot and impressive puck skill. He doesn’t play like a smaller player, consistently attacking the inside lanes and forcing his will on opponents. Stankoven is one of the most driven players in junior hockey and has all of the traits to overcome his size.
The Stars’ backend is a bit less impressive but recent first-round pick Lian Bichsel is an impressive defensive presence who loves to crush opponents along the boards and make a clean and efficient breakout pass. Jack Bar is an incredibly toolsy defender who has a great shot and a willingness to take space given to him offensively. He has some work to do defensively, but he positions himself well and uses his instincts to turn defense into offense when the opportunity arises. Artyom Grushnikov is another defender who engages defensively with his puck disrupting anticipation and his body punishing physicality.
Jake Oettinger looks to be the future in net, but Adam Scheel, Rémi Poirier, and the newly drafted Maxim Mayorov are all good prospects in net. They have done a good job of scouting and developing netminders so getting at least one NHLer out of this group isn’t out of the question.
2022 NHL DRAFT CLASS
Round 1 (18 Overall) – Lian Bichsel, D, Leksands IF (SHL) Round 2 (50 Overall) – Christian Kyrou, D, Erie Otters (OHL)
Round 3 (83 Overall) – George Fegaras, D, North York Rangers (OJHL)
Round 4 (115 Overall) – Gavin White, D, Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
Round 5 (147 Overall) – Maxim Mayorov, G, Ladia Togliatti (MHL)
Round 6 (179 Overall) – Matthew Seminoff, R, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Dallas needed to add depth to their defensive pool – a point of focus for them in this draft class – and Bichsel was a very good addition to kick things off. A defensively stout blueliner who will finish with his body and thwart opposing offensive chances before they start, Bichsel was regarded as one of the best defense-first blueliners in the class. His puck skill began to show itself more and more as the year wore on. Still, he will likely lean defensively at the next level, providing an excellent foil to an offensively minded defenseman in the Stars’ future top four.
Christian Kyrou very well could be that offensively minded blueliner down the line. He has some of the most cerebral offensive execution and thinking in the draft class from the back end but doesn’t have the mobility to pull it off all the time. If he can improve his skating ability, there could be some value for the Stars who need young blood to help fill out their blueline. George Fregaras could be in that same vein, too. He has solid puck-moving ability, with passes that hit forwards in motion in transition and playmaking from the blueline that impressed but yet again, skating is an issue. He will be going to the USHL next season and then Cornell University after that, so there’s a long development path ahead that could be perfect for Fegaras.
Maxim Mayorov boasted a .931 save percentage in the Russian junior league this year, good for fifth among all netminders with more than 20 games played, while playing on a fairly mediocre team that missed the playoffs. He has excellent rebound control and moves well in his crease. He could be a stel later in the draft.
Predicted to go much higher, Matthew Seminoff is a winger who has some big boom-or-bust potential. He is an excellent shooter and skilled passer but his skating is more than one or two steps away from pro hockey. If he can work on his skating and at least get it to average, he could be the steal of the draft. If he can’t, then it was thankfully just a sixth-round flyer.
