The Rookies are Ready

The season kicked off immediately when Hyry won the opening face off and proceeded to score a goal in the first 16 seconds. A rebound off Anderson’s shot demonstrates a continued improvement from last season as a rookie who’s name quickly made its way through the fan base. He’s a player with a naturally high IQ for the sport as his stat sheet shows he deserves to at least make the bottom 6 in Dallas this season. Known for his versatility on the ice, he’s more than just a speed skater and consistently on the ice for PKs, he’s a player you can count on to win a face off and put a noticeable amount of points into the season for a defenseman. Can Hyry continue getting consistent ice time in a Dallas jersey- proving he’s capable of giving Dallas the upper hand against rival teams through any stage of the season. To me it’s clear he was the star of the game with shots on goal and winning face offs- strong stats for such a young defenseman.

Game one was defense showing they’re ready to fill the roles in traditional ways too, Becker was sure to do more than just ensure Dallas the game winning goal- he was the first to throw gloves down in the scrap at the end of the 1st period. Burroughs’ presence in the 3rd period had a smile across every Stars fan with his fight against Peterson; the aggressive hit and refusal to back down that led to an impressive fight given the size difference. The team as a whole stepped up to help Poirier with 17 blocked shots, the players knows where to be on the ice without disrupting his flow in keeping 27 of the 28 shots blocked. It’s refreshing to see the grit coming through in the improvements Gulutzan has been stating since coming back to the franchise.

Moving into game 2 against the Blues, the player that caught the most attention, unexpectedly, is Taylor. Already showing he’s NHL ready, this is a player with naturally high hockey IQ. It’s unheard of how Dallas can keep finding undrafted players who can come on the ice and immediately know where to be alongside veteran players. Taylor was an absolute beast when Dallas was down by 2 men on the ice for over 3 minutes, his impressive shift of 2 minutes 32 seconds should be what has you wide eyed, but that’s if you didn’t see the huge block he had that definitely kept Dallas in the lead. His ability as a rookie to show such an extent of endurance while keeping multiple opponents on the ice under control and puck in sight, one has to wonder how high up on the list he is when a player goes on IR. Although Dallas has no shortage of lefties on the blue line, let’s hope he will continue shaking preseason and be occasionally tossed on 4th line for home games.

Shifting over to some more familiar names, I couldn’t help but get excited to see Harley back in his element. Scoring the first goal of game 2, assisted by Robertson, it was a wrister straight to the back of the net, a real work of art and the #55 we all fell in love with 2 seasons ago. Pairing him with sharp shooter players who allow him to control the speed and grit could be what transitions his game back into a 50 point season. Another player back in his groove on the ice is Rantanen. After an Olympic injury, he did return before the end of season last year, but he wasn’t consistently the moose he’s been nicknamed. Monday night was a clear demonstration that his left knee is no lingering issue, his speed on the ice looked effortless and showing full force hits that knock an opponent out of their play. Paired with Hryckowian, the two have perfect aggressive speed that confuse opponents and allowed Lundkvist to score the second goal of the game to once again defeat the Blues. Although I won’t say that’s the game winning goal, I will point out the game winning save DeSmith had was undoubtedly in the 2nd period- 3 shots from 3 players in 2 seconds, a step past high danger shots and a thrill to see defeated. Yes Cedar Park has goalies ready to step up into the NHL but with DeSmith showing improvement every season, he definitely deserves the steady ice time Dallas has been giving him.

This set of games has undoubtedly shown that Dallas’ main concern, our IR/LTIR, may finally have a stacked backup to pull from. Already having a couple players out on maintenance days, will some of our veteran players come back with the same strength in their game post injury, or or will we continue seeing rookies slide onto the bottom 6. It’s clear to see the eagerness in so many of them, and how proud they are to get a chance to play for this great franchise. After seeing the blue line step in and be the goal scorers of both games, we can see what the focus in off season has been towards, and how this blue line cleanup is key when we get into post season. Winning a majority of face offs and getting in front of the crease to block shots, it has any fan hopeful we can make it well into our usual standing in post season, if not, finally further.