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Dallas Stars Minor Pro Stretch Drive & Playoff Review Part 2 Tuesday, May 27, 2008 By Kevin Wey #3 Trevor Byrne, D “We tried to move it around after we lost B.J. [Crombeen] and “Petey” (Toby Petersen), because it’s nice to recognize those guys, because they’re looking for contracts,” Allison said of Byrne, and others, wearing the “A” alongside captain Dan Jancevski and full-time alternate Francis Wathier. Byrne scored 1 goal and 4 assists in 17 games down in March and April to finish with 3 goals and 13 assists in 73 games for the season. Playing some of his best hockey of the season down the stretch, the 27-year-old Byrne helped his standing some heading into unrestricted free agency this summer. But, it could also have gone better. “I think you can look at it two ways,” White said in early April of Byrne’s play entering free agency. “He’s playing better, but he’s also playing for a team that’s not in the playoffs. “From a standpoint of being seen like that, ultimately, the players want to be seen in the playoffs, and that’s where I saw Trevor last year for an extended time, as well as the [Chicago] Wolves down the stretch, and he was a mainstay back there and he did a good job.” On top of missing the playoffs, Byrne also missed games April 11 and 12 because a nagging shoulder injury became too much. “It just got to the point that he needed to get an MRI, they saw it, they said it couldn’t get any worse, so we tried to get through the last weekend without him,” Allison said of Byrne’s torn rotator cuff. “But, for the last game, we needed him and he was there for us.” Byrne was there for the I-Stars in a pinch, playing through an injury, but there’s a good chance he won’t be playing in the organization in 2008-09. With the distinct possibility that Dallas will not have one sole AHL affiliate next season, given recent developments around the AHL, it is very possible that Trevor Byrne will not be re-signed by Dallas, as the Dallas organization would not be primarily responsible for providing depth for one particular AHL team in such a situation. #8 Jussi Timonen, D Timonen returned to action from an injured hand that kept him out of most of February, but he was also a frequent healthy scratch in March and April. Of the 19 games Iowa played in March and April, Timonen only played in 9 games, adding two assists during those games and finishing with 11 assists in 33 games with the Iowa Stars and 18 assists in 47 games when including his time with the Philadelphia Phantoms. After Dallas added defensemen Trevor Ludwig and Matt Stephenson to amateur tryouts, Timonen was the one who lost ice time. “I’m sure he’s not completely happy with it,” said White in early April of Timonen being a regular scratch. “Hopefully he wouldn’t be; if you’re happy to be out of the line-up, you’re in the wrong job.” The 24-year-old blueliner, who was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, eliminated all doubt that he was unhappy not being in the line-up when it was announced April 17 that he had signed with KalPa Kuopio of the Finnish Elite League. Thus, it was certain Timonen would not be returning to the Dallas organization in 2008-09, or North America. The smooth-skating Finn was not bad, but he found himself the odd man out in numbers games, both with the Philadelphia Phantoms and the Iowa Stars. One area where Timonen struggled to be consistently effective was the physical game, as too often opponents were able to fight through his checks, even though the effort and positioning were generally there. “There was a bit of injury there and it was just numbers and we were trying to incorporate Stephenson and Ludwig into the line-up,” Allison said of the frequent scratching of Timonen down the stretch. “I think that some teams took advantage of us physically, and we wanted to see how these other guys would react.” The I-Stars did not question Timonen’s effort, though. “You never questioned his work ethic,” Allison said of Timonen. “There were times where, especially, he busted his butt to get back from injuries and he gave us some quality minutes.” Given his skating, reliable passing, and sound positioning, Timonen should be able to play in Finland’s top league for years to come. #22 Trevor Ludwig, D After four seasons with Providence College, and scoring 2 goals and 13 assists in 115 games for the Friars, Ludwig was signed by Iowa to an amateur tryout March 26. Unlike Raymond Sawada, Matt Climie, and Tyler Shelast, Ludwig did not join the team with an NHL contract in hand for 2008-09. What Ludwig did have was an opportunity to experience the pro game prior to next season and show what he can do. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound blueliner made the most of his break from school. “He’s a good-sized man, put together well, and I think he’s just finding his way,” said White in early April of Ludwig. “From what I see, he shows some signs, it’s just a matter of getting him experience and some time.” In his 7 games with the I-Stars, Ludwig put up 3 assists; but more importantly, he was a +3. A defensive defenseman who moves the puck better than his college stats would indicate, Ludwig was conscientious in maintaining a small gap in his limited time with Iowa and played a fairly physical game, including some big hip checks. In fact, Ludwig’s defensive abilities and attention to sound defensive play were often superior to those of his veteran teammates. However, Ludwig does need to improve his skating forward and needs to add some power and lengthen his stride. In addition, Allison said that Ludwig needed to continue “getting used to playing at this pace, and this level, and getting to places quicker so you have time and space, whether it be defensively or offensively.” What happens to the son of former Dallas Star defensive defenseman Craig Ludwig is up in the air, especially with Dallas likely to carry less players in the minors in 2008-09, but there is hope for Trevor. “It’s just a question of improving, getting sure that we find and put him in situations where he’s going to be successful, and that he finds his game and he establishes his game, which is a physical defenseman, and get used to the quickness and awareness that you have to have, because he’s got the pedigree and he’s got that passion, and he’s got the competitiveness that you need to be successful,” Allison said of Ludwig. Whether Dallas signs Trevor Ludwig or not, he acquitted himself well with Iowa and definitely has a future in pro hockey in at least the “Double A” level, if not higher. #26 Bryce Lampman, D It wasn’t enough, though, as Lampman often found himself frustrated with how his season was going. For the future, Allison recommended Lampman remember “the enjoyment, that this is a privilege to play this game and I think you just come and you get better and you enjoy and each day is an opportunity to get a little bit better.” “I think that he’d like to be a guy that wouldn’t worry about things that he didn’t control, but there were a lot of positives in his game down the stretch,” Allison added about Lampman. One of those positives was that Lampman found himself on a bit of a point-scoring tear in March when he tallied 6 assists in 7 games from March 11 through March 29, including two-assist performances March 15 against Quad City (a 2-5 loss) and March 29 against Rockford (a 4-3 victory). It was definitely a good stretch for someone entering Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. April did not go as well as March, though. Lampman added only 1 goal, and 0 assists, in six games in April, giving the sixth-year pro 4 goals and 11 assists in 53 games for the Iowa Stars, in addition to his 3 goals and 3 assists in 16 games with the Norfolk Admiral prior to being acquired November 19 from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization in exchange for Mario Scalzo. (Of note, Scalzo will not play in the Tampa Bay organization next season but will instead play for Red Bulls Salzburg of the Erste Bank League, Austria’s top league.) On a definite positive note, Lampman was a +2 in his 12 games in March and a +4 in his 6 games in April, which boosted his plus/minus with Iowa to a +4 rating for the season, the highest plus/minus of any Iowa Star defenseman. As noted above, the 25-year-old Lampman is an unrestricted free agent heading into the summer, and opportunity will likely be plentiful for him, if not in the form of two-way NHL contracts, then in the form of contracts in European elite leagues, where his puck prowess would be a definite strength. #27 Dan Jancevski, D Dan Jancevski did not have the plus rating in March and April that Bryce Lampman did, but he did stop the statistical bleeding down the stretch, even if it came at the sacrifice of his own body on a number of occasions. After coming to the Iowa Stars with a -25 rating in 37 games with the Norfolk Admirals, Jancevski entered March with a -9 rating in 17 games with Iowa. However, in his 16 games for the I-Stars down the stretch, he was even. Jancevski also put up 1 goal and 5 assists for Iowa in March and April, putting him at 3 goals and 7 assists in 33 games for Iowa, in addition to his 4 goals and 16 assists in 37 games with the free-wheeling Admirals. As the season wound down, it was not uncommon to see Jancevski taking pucks or sticks to the body during his efforts at defense, including an incident March 11 where he took a puck to the face and lost two teeth. Jancevski went to the locker room but returned for to start the second period in an eventual 7-3 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters. The I-Stars would have expected no less of Jancevski, which is one reason he became the team captain after Toby Petersen was recalled to Dallas. Only two days prior to losing the two teeth, Jancevski was recalled in emergency to Dallas to play March 9 against the Colorado Avalanche when Matt Niskanen went down with a sore foot. Jancevski only skated for 7:55 of Dallas’s 3-0 shutout win over Colorado and was returned to Iowa the next day, but he was once again the I-Star defenseman called upon in a pinch. The recall to Dallas caused Jancevski to miss Iowa’s 3-4 road loss to Rockford, which added to the three games he missed Feb. 29 through March 2. Those three games missed were for a good cause, though, as Jancevski’s wife, Lisa, gave birth to their first child on March 2. Dallas called on Jancevski again after the season, recalling him as a depth defenseman for the playoffs. It’s fairly obvious to Allison why Dallas called upon the seventh-year pro. “He had experience and has gone right to the end of the Calder Cup Playoffs, and played well with them (Dallas) before,” Allison said of Jancevski, captain of the 2007 Calder Cup Champion Hamilton Bulldogs. “He’s more experienced than some of the guys that are there now.” Some of those guys would include NHL rookies Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric, and Nicklas Grossman, all of whom went to the second round of the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs with the Iowa Stars last season. However, to stick in the NHL like those three younger Dallas defenseman, Jancevski is going to have to invest in his development. “I think that if he invests in the same type of skating program that “Wats” (Francis Wathier) did, then he’s going to find his way into the NHL,” Allison said of Jancevski. “I think that’s (skating) the knock on him, but he can dispel that knock.” Jancevski is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it’s unknown whether he’ll re-sign with the Dallas organization or sign elsewhere. Last summer he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization but did not get much of a chance with the Bolts and was subsequently traded to the Dallas organization January 15 in exchange for Junior Lessard and, indirectly, Paul Szczechura, the latter of whom turned his stint with Norfolk into a two-year, two-way contract with Tampa Bay announced April 24. Jancevski has historically been an eighth or ninth defenseman on NHL depth charts. With improved skating, the 26-year-old (27 in June) might finally be able to become a steady sixth or seventh defenseman in the NHL. He certainly has the character.
Kevin Wey is a correspondent with McKeen’s Hockey that scouts/covers that American Hockey League and the United States Hockey League.
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