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Dallas Stars Minor Pro Stretch Drive & Playoff Review Part 3 Thursday, May 29, 2008 By Kevin Wey #7 Marty Sertich, C/LW Sertich scored six goals and one assist in seven for the Iowa Stars in April, on top of the 2 goals and 6 assists he tallied in March, which pushed him to season totals of 27 goals and 25 assists in 79 games. Missing only one game during the season, after missing 34 games in 2006-07 due to a knee injury, Sertich was able to best Toby Petersen’s 51 points (21 goals and 30 assists) to lead the I-Stars in scoring with 52 points. His 27 goals also led the team and placed him 23rd in AHL goal scoring. In addition, Sertich’s game-winning goal in Iowa’s 4-3 victory over Rockford April 11 game helped him finish the season with five game-winning goals, also tops among all Iowa Stars. One of the primary reasons Sertich went on such a tear to end the season was the addition to Raymond Sawada to the I-Stars line-up March 28, who was put on a line with Sertich and left winger James Neal. “I really think he took off at the end of the year when we got Sawada, as well as commensurate with James’ development,” Allison said of Sertich. “You put two big wingers on the flanks of this kid, he’s going to create, and they’re going to push people back and they’re going to create a forecheck. “The competency of his wingers allowed Marty to really flourish and show what he’s capable of doing.” Indeed, Sertich has proven his skill and hockey sense over the past two seasons, but the major knock on the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Sertich that remains, is his size. Sertich isn’t afraid to engage physically, and he is not physically weak, but mass does play a big role in both momentum and force. “[He] has to increase his core strength, he knows it, and just get stronger, because this is a kid that you can’t question his effort or his character or his willingness to get in there, but it’s just physics,” Allison said of Sertich. “You’ve got a 220-poud guy, you’ve got a 165-pound guy; at the end of the day, there’s a little discrepancy. “So, you’ve just got to find ways to compete in those areas, and he can, but I think the biggest thing is just the overall strength, and getting healthy with Marty, because he’s got all the acumen and hockey smarts that you need.” Heading into the summer fairly healthy, especially in comparison to last summer, Sertich will have full opportunity to make the necessary improvements. Whether the results of this summer come with the Dallas organization or another will be determined this summer, as the Stars will need to tender the 25-year-old center a qualifying offer to retain his services in 2008-09. He’s a proven top-six forward in the AHL, now he has to prove to be NHL-worthy and able to overcome the size deficiency that will still remain even if he does gain significant strength and mass over the summer. #10 Marius Holtet, RW Holtet suffered through a 22-game goalless streak Jan. 25 through March 28, when he scored the game-winning goal in a 4-1 victory over the Quad City Flames. That game-winner was his fourth (and final) game-winning goal of the season, which placed him second only to Sertich in game-winning goals for the season, but it also came after being scratched the previous game (March 22 versus Peoria). The 23-year-old did tally three assists between March and April, including assists in back-to-back games April 5 and April 8, but he was leveled April 8 by San Antonio Rampage defenseman Keith Yandle on a boarding call that knocked Holtet out of the game and ended his season early. Unfortunately, it was not the first concussion for Holtet during the season, and the I-Stars decided to be cautious with the Norwegian. “He got another concussion, and the guy was such a competitor he was going to play, but he had a chance to go play in the World Championships with his Norway team and we wanted to make sure he had every opportunity there to compete for his country, and we did what was in the best interest of Marius,” Allison said. So, April 8 was the last AHL game of the season for Holtet, but it wasn’t all bad news that day. Swedish Elite league team Farjestads announced they had signed their former prospect to a two-year contract, as Holtet played junior hockey for Farjestads in 2000-01 and 2001-02 prior to playing two seasons of pro hockey in Sweden’s Allsvenskan League (the second-highest league in Sweden) before coming to North America for the 2004-05 season. Holtet finished with 10 goals and 9 assists in 67 games in 2007-08, his fourth in the Dallas Stars’ system. His offensive numbers were a far cry from the 16 goals and 15 assists he put up in 66 games in 2006-07, and his -17 rating this past season was an Iowa Stars team worst. Even though 2007-08 didn’t go so well for Holtet, Allison still had great things to say of the right winger that he coached for three seasons. “He was a guy whom we asked to play on the point on the power play, he killed penalties for us, he was a guy that just came every day and was a real pleasure to be around,” Allison said of Holtet. Holtet’s signing with Farjestads could easily be interpreted as the end of his pursuit of an NHL career, but it may not be so. “I think that we haven’t seen the best of him,” Allison said of Holtet. “We haven’t seen the last of him in North America. “I know he signed with a quality team in Sweden right now on a two-year deal, but he’s going to do well.” Holtet did do reasonably well for Norway at the 2008 World Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After having last played for Norway at the 2006 World Championships in Riga, Latvia, Holtet was third amongst Norway’s forwards in ice-time (averaging 18:11 per game) and finished the tournament with 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 game’s. The Hamar native’s lone goal of the World Championships was an important one, as it was the first goal in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Germany May 7. On the strength of the win over Germany and a 3-2 overtime loss to Finland May 5, Norway advanced to the qualifying round and eventually finished eighth overall in the tournament out of 16 teams. Whether Allison is correct and fans have not seen the last of Marius Holtet in North America (outside of playing for Norway in a tournament held in North America) is to be seen. If he can regain his confidence offensively and hone his hockey sense, he may have a chance, because he certainly has the skill set to be a good all-around player at the AHL level and contend for a spot in the NHL. #13 Konstantin Pushkarev, RW Pushkarev scored 5 goals and 8 assists in 9 games in March, only failing to tally a point March 22 against Peoria, which broke a 9-game points streak. During the 9-game points streak Feb. 29 through March 21, which was the longest for any Iowa Star during the 2007-08 season, Pushkarev scored 6 goals and 8 assists. What led to this offensive explosion? “I think he shot the puck more,” Allison said of Pushkarev’s play in March. “I think he took the responsibility. “Some guys, you can brush off and say, ‘Well, I’m trying to pass, I want to be unselfish,’ but at the end of the day it’s okay to shoot the puck and get second shots and reward those people going for the net, and I think that’s something he started to understand as time went on and taking that responsibility.” The Kazakh indeed shot the puck more in March. In 9 games, he was credited with 21 shots on net, compared to his eventual season total of 89 shots in 49 games. Pushkarev was out of action for a three-day stretch of games (March 28, 29, and 30) with the flu, and was still not 100 percent when he did return April 1, but he did tally 2 assists April 4 in a 5-3 victory over Peoria. The next day, Pushkarev was recalled to Dallas under emergency conditions, the only way he could be recalled to Dallas without having to clear waivers after having played in Europe after the start of the NHL season on conditions other than on loan (See Article 13 Section 23 of the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement). Pushkarev did not play and was returned to Iowa April 7, but the emergency recall was a sign that the Dallas organization recognized how well he had played since returning from his aborted stint in Russia in November and December. In the three games after his return from Dallas, Pushkarev added only one more assist, but he did total 13 goals and 27 assists in 49 games for the Iowa Stars in 2007-08. Despite battling through the lingering affects of a broken finger in October and fighting through the lingering affect of a separated shoulder suffered while playing for CSKA in November, and among other significant bumps and bruises, Pushkarev was second amongst all Iowa Stars in assists and first in points per game (0.82) amongst all I-Stars that skated in over 10 games in 2007-08. He also finished with a +4 rating, tied with defenseman Bryce Lampman and behind only the +5 of Tom Wandell, Mark Bomesback, and Raymond Sawada. Not surprisingly, Pushkarev was recalled to Dallas as one of the “black aces” during the playoffs, but he was not sent home after the first round like some others. That sent a strong statement. “I think it’s a statement from the organization that says, ‘We value you. You’re a good player. We think you can play here. We’d like you to see what it takes and we’re going to give you every opportunity as time goes on here to prove us right, to prove yourself right,’” Allison said of Pushkarev’s extended stay with Dallas in the playoffs. Even with that acknowledgement, Pushkarev faces a tough task in cracking the Dallas Stars’ line-up in 2008-09. The highly-publicized signing of Fabian Brunnstrom to a two-year contract adds one more competitor for limited space on Dallas’s roster, and other forwards like James Neal, Chris Conner, and Raymond Sawada will certainly be battling for a spot, as will B.J. Crombeen and Francis Wathier if they are re-signed. That’s a lot of competition, not including the veteran players that will return next season and any other additions made over the summer. As Allison noted when interviewed, “You can’t put 10 gallons of water in a 5-gallon pail.” Like Crombeen and Wathier, the 23-year-old Pushkarev himself is set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but it is hard to imagine Dallas won’t tender him a qualifying offer after the 2007-08 season. As Allison said, “He’s got a beautiful shot, and I think that as time goes on he’s going to take that and really go with it, because he’s got all the attributes and skill you need, and he’s got courage.” #15 Perttu Lindgren, C Lindgren scored 6 goals and 9 assists in 19 games between March and April, behind only James Neal and Konstantin Pushkarev’s 16 points respectively and tying him with Marty Sertich and Chris Conner at 15 points. The rookie pivot centered Iowa’s first line down the stretch, typically skating with Conner and Pushkarev, two players with speed, skill, and offensive awareness. “I thought that there was a lot of dynamic there, a lot of skill there, that they enjoyed playing with one another,” Allison said of the Conner-Lindgren-Pushkarev line. In addition to taking Toby Petersen’s spot as the first line center, Lindgren also took the point on the first power play unit after Petersen left, following in the veteran’s footsteps. With Petersen in Dallas, Dallas suggested the I-Stars try Lindgren in the new, expanded role. “I think it was a suggestion of Andy Moog and Kevin Maxwell that really tweaked us,” Allison recalled of the origins of Lindgren manning the point on the power play. “It gave him a bigger bite of the game and more responsibility and he went with it and grew with it. “He had such great patience with the puck, and he could move the puck, especially the left shot and all the left shooters we had out there, he could roll off and he could find you if you got open.” Unfortunately for the Iowa power play, the move didn’t have the desired results. In the team’s 14 games from March 14 through the end of the season, Iowa went 3 for 72 with the man advantage, which lowered Iowa’s power play efficiency to an AHL-worst 13.2 percent (55 for 418). Allison didn’t fault Lindgren, though. In fact, he has high praise for the young Finn and the progress he made during the season. “As time went on, he was able to adapt and play in more situations, but this is a high-end skill guy,” Allison said of Lindgren. “He’s got as good of vision and shot and offensive instincts as almost anybody I’ve ever seen. “It might take a little longer for him, but this guy’s got elite, elite talent and skill.” Lindgren finished the season seventh in Iowa scoring with 10 goals and 24 assists in 69 games, which only appears to be modest, but it should be remembered that Lindgren had only 5 points in his first 25 games, after which his offensive numbers began to pick up. His team-worst -17 rating might suggest that his defensive awareness is poor, but he’s generally in the right position on the forecheck or on the backcheck, and he had a number of takeaways this past season, but he must improve in a couple areas for his two-way awareness to take full hold in the North American game. “He’s got to improve his battle level in certain areas at times, I think, more consistently,” White said of Lindgren’s needed improvements. “Bottom line, it’s an important offseason to get stronger for him.” Allison agrees that Lindgren needs to add strength, particularly core strength. “I think he’s improved with his speed through the neutral zone, but I really think his core strength will give him more and more confidence to engage in those battles and stay in the battles that you have to be successful,” said Allison. Lindgren went to Dallas after the end of the season for fitness analysis and to help him begin his summer program training back home in Finland, but training isn’t the only thing on Lindgren’s slate this summer. The Tampere native is also due to marry fiancé Karoliina Ylajoki, who gave birth to their first child, Lilian, February 14. Wherever Lindgren ends up in the AHL next season, and the odds are that he will return to the AHL for another season of seasoning, he will add significant playmaking abilities and a hard shot from the slot or from the point to that team. #17 Rich Clune, LW Clune missed 12 games from February 21 through March 21 with an injured hand, and Clune was observed after a game in late March telling friends he basically had only one good hand, but he played in the final 11 games of the season and picked up 2 assists along the way. It wasn’t an offensive turnaround, but he was forced to change his game a little. “I think in the long run it made him a better player, because what Richie likes to do is establish himself with that physical presence, and by having his hand hurt, he had to establish himself as a player, and he’s a pretty good player,” Allison said of Clune. “Usually in the first period he’d be sort of looking to make a statement in the physical manner, but it made him make a different statement and he was capable of doing that.” Clune did not entirely abandon his physical game or his fighting game, as he picked up 47 penalty minutes in those final 11 games, including 5 fighting majors (which gave him 17 fighting majors for the season). With B.J. Crombeen up in Dallas and Francis Wathier under orders to avoid fighting because of major reconstructive shoulder surgery, Clune knew he’d have to step up to the plate to defend his teammates. “He wasn’t supposed to fight, but circumstances sometimes dictated that he had no choice,” Allison said of Clune’s fighting down the stretch. “We didn’t want him to fight, it was doctor’s order that he didn’t fight, but it didn’t always work out that way.” Despite playing in only 38 games, Clune racked up 137 penalty minutes for the season, second only to B.J. Crombeen’s 158 penalty minutes in 65 games. He also scored 3 goals and 5 assists for the Iowa Stars in 2007-08, in addition to 1 goal and 9 assists in 19 games for the Idaho Steelheads in ECHL action earlier in the season, proof that Clune is not just a fighter. “He’s competitive, he’s got good leadership skills, but at the end of the day, he’s a good hockey player,” Allison said of Clune, who scored 32 goals and 46 assists in 67 games in major juniors with the Barrie Colts in 2006-07. Clune has two years left on his three-year entry level contract. Where he ends up in 2008-09 will be determined come September, but he’ll add his blend of skill, physicality, intensity, and youthful enthusiasm to any team he skates for. #18 James Neal, LW In early October, it was questionable whether Neal was actually of AHL caliber, but he led the Iowa Stars in scoring down the stretch with 8 goals and 8 assists in 19 games for 16 points, tying him with Konstantin Pushkarev during that stretch. Those exploits gave him 18 goals and 19 assists in 62 games for the I-Stars, besting fellow rookie Perttu Lindgren in the rookie scoring race by three points despite playing seven less games. Part of Neal’s offensive explosion was due to being paired with center Marty Sertich and right winger Raymond Sawada down the stretch. With a playmaking center and another power forward on the opposite wing, the trio were able to create sustained pressure around the net, and it showed in the number of shots Neal took. In the team’s seven April games, Neal was credited with 31 shots on goal, including 12 shots on goal against the Quad City Flames in a 4-3 loss in which he scored two goals. Neal was also credited with 31 shots on net in 12 games in March, which helped raise him to 136 shots on net in 62 games for the season, of which nearly half of those (62) were taken in the 19 games between March and April. Not coincidentally, nearly half of Neal’s goals came in those 19 games (8 of a total of 18). The rookie’s improvement also came with the experience of a year of pro hockey. “I think his attention to details of the game and playing within the team structure, that’s been the most beneficial for him, and just understanding what it is to be a pro,” White said of Neal’s improvements. “As soon as all those elements took place, his game moved forward and he’s become a consistent performer for us.” And what are some of those details Neal improved at during 2007-08? “Just being smart with the puck in his zone,” White explained. “When there’s a play there to be made, make it, if there’s not, you’ve got to be responsible defensively and make sure the puck gets into the neutral zone. “Same thing on offense, if there’s nothing there to be had with a clear pass, make sure the puck’s put into areas, things like that.” The strong finish to Neal’s season not only earned him Rookie of the Year with Iowa, it also earned him recall to Dallas for the first round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a “black ace.” Although Neal didn’t play for Dallas in this year’s playoffs, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound power forward once again figures as prominently in Dallas’s future as he did when he was taken in the second round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, because he brings it all. “He’s the full package,” Allison said of Neal. “He’s a big strong guy that can skate, he’s got real good hands, he is physical, and can battle. “He’s a guy that every team is looking for because he’s going to score goals in any circumstance.” Neal figures to be one of a number of Dallas prospects that will battle for a limited number of open spots on the big club next fall, assuming the Stars do not make any sort of major overhaul (and there does not appear to be any major need for that), and Allison is fairly certain the young left winger can impress as long as he does a few things. “He’s a guy with a lot of upside, and I’m totally confident that he’s going to put a good summer in, and then as long as he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself and he defends and he just plays and gains the respect of the coaching staff up there, he’s going to get an opportunity to play, and from there, he’s going to be able to produce,” Allison said. After his development in 2007-08, it’s only a matter of time before Neal is in Dallas. It may not be to start 2008-09, but it’s not too far on the horizon if Neal stays on track. #20 Tyler Shelast, RW The 6-foot-1, 205-pound right winger joined the team after four seasons at Michigan Tech, where he was an alternate captain his senior season, a three-time WCHA All-Academic, and one of the Huskies’ top scoring threats, leading the team in goals with 16 and second in points with 26 in 39 games. Shelast did not light the AHL on fire after signing an amateur tryout with the I-Stars, as he scored only 1 goal and 1 assist in his 11 games with the Iowa Stars, but he did make encouraging progress. “Every game, he got better,” Allison said of Shelast. “It was new for him, I don’t think he expected it all to go, but he just got better and better every game and more physical.” Physicality, size, and presence around the net were commodities Iowa sorely lacked at the beginning of the season, but the return of Francis Wathier and the additions of Raymond Sawada and Shelast helped address that problem for the I-Stars down the stretch. Shelast will bring those and more over the next two seasons. “That presence is an issue that we’ve always wanted to improve on as an organization,” White noted. “He (Shelast) has that, but he also has the ability to come down the wing and blast it.” The next step for the 23-year-old is continuing to adjust to the pro game. “He played in a very defensive system at school, and I think those responsibilities and his attention to detail there will help him in his adjustment to the pro game, but from an offensive standpoint, he still has to develop in terms of the different nuances of not only your new teammates, but just the pro game, it’s a little different,” White said of Shelast and his adjustment to the pro game. “Guys are in their positions a little bit more, it’s not so helter-skelter.” Even though he may not coach Shelast in 2008-09, Allison hopes to see Shelast strive to be “consistent physically, good in his own zone, and then just keep shooting the puck and driving the net.” Like Climie, Shelast would probably be better off if Dallas did have their own AHL affiliate in 2008-09, but a strong summer and a strong training camp in September will help secure Shelast’s place in the AHL next season regardless of Dallas’s AHL affiliate situation. As business philosopher Jim Rohn might say, “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” #21 Janos Vas, LW/RW Vas played in all 80 games for the Iowa Stars in 2007-08, the lone player to do so, and he achieved career best numbers with 17 goals and 24 assists and finished third on the team in scoring with 41 points. He was also awarded the 7th Player Award, an award the I-Stars presented annually “to the player deemed by the coaches and team management to have performed above and beyond expectations throughout the course of the season.” He was also presented the Booster Club Award, which is “presented to the player selected by the Booster Club as their ‘unsung hero.’” So, Vas’s season did not go unnoticed, but the end was not nearly as strong as the beginning. Vas was the hot hand when he went on a 6-game point streak Oct. 30 through Nov. 16, scoring 4 goals and 3 assists, and he had 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 games through Dec. 1; but after that, he put up only 7 goals and 14 assists in the remaining 57 games. In the final 19 games in March and April, Vas scored 2 goals and 5 assists playing on the checking line with Francis Wathier and either Tommy Wandell or Marius Holtet. The placement of Vas on the third line gave it a veteran player with a good two-way game and some size, but the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Vas did not prove to be the power forward needed on the top two lines. That said, even though he was not on one of the top two scoring lines to end the season, he was still a regular on the power play and a mainstay on the penalty kill. “He was a guy that we could count on in every situation and I think that as he gets more abrasive and bold taking the puck to the net and scoring in those hard areas, that he’ll score more and more goals,” Allison said of Vas. Whether Vas will get the chance to adjust and play a more physical game with the Dallas organization is uncertain. When Vas was asked in early April about being a restricted free agent heading into the summer and whether Dallas had given him any indication on what they would do with him, he responded, “They didn’t give me anything specific.” “We will see what’s going to happen,” Vas added. “If they’re not going to give me a chance, then hopefully some other team, because I’m not ready to go back to Europe.” Vas isn’t ready to give up his goal of playing in North America, specifically in the NHL, but he did have to leave to play for Team Hungary at the Division I Group B World Championships in Japan. After the I-Stars’ final game on April 13 and the team’s bus trip home, Vas had to turn around and get to the Des Moines International Airport for a mid-morning flight to begin a day-long process of flying from Iowa to Sapporo, Japan. Having not played for Team Hungary since the 2004 World Junior Championships, Vas was looking forward toward representing his country again. “Three years since I came over, I couldn’t play on the national team,” Vas said. “So, it’s going to be lots of fun again.” Heading into the tournament, Vas was hopeful that Hungary could knock off the two favorites. “This year, it’s Ukraine and Japan,” Vas said of the favorites entering the tournament. “But, I feel like Ukraine, they are very good, but they are not as good as the other teams who always go up and down, so we’ve got a chance. As for team Japan? “Japan is always good on their home ice,” Vas said of the host country. “They don’t have to get used to the time and those other things, the weather and stuff. “It’s going to be tough, but we just have to focus for five games and we’ll do alright.” Vas missed Hungary’s first two games of the tournament, but his countrymen were able to beat Estonia 5-3 and Lithuania 6-0 without him. Hungary had a break in the action April 15, allowing Vas to join the team and adjust from the jet lag a little bit, but the team was back in action April 16 against Japan, and defeated the host nation 4-2 with Vas in the line-up. After skating on the fourth line against Japan, Vas moved onto a line with his brother Marton and Balazs Ladanyi for Hungary’s game April 18 against Croatia, a 3-0 win, which meant the last game of the tournament, a matchup between Ukraine and Hungary, would determine the winner of the tournament. Vas had been held without a point in his first two games back, but he opened the scoring against Ukraine at 10:27 of the first period after receiving a pass and skating the puck out of the neutral zone and firing a wrist shot off the opposite foot that beat goaltender Igor Karpenko over the shoulder glove side. Of note, the play Vas scored on started when Hungary broke a puck out of the zone that had seconds earlier hit the post to Hungarian goaltender Levente Szuper’s left. So, just seconds after coming inches from being down 1-0, Vas scored the first goal. And Hungary went from there, rolling to win the game 4-2, with the fourth goal being a shorthander tallied by Marton Vas with time winding down in the third period while Janos was in the penalty box for a roughing call. With the victory, Hungary promoted to the elite pool for the 2009 World Championships, which will be the first time in 70 years that the Magyar will have played in the elite pool. Without a doubt, Vas’s season ended on a high note, but he has yet to play a game in the NHL. If he ever does, Vas will make history again, this time as the first Hungarian-born player to play in an NHL game. He hasn’t made it yet, but Allison wonders if Vas could just end up a later bloomer. “Each year, this guy got better and better, and he got off to a great, great start, sort of tailed off, but his effort was there,” Allison said of Vas. “He’s a guy that can skate, and may be a Jason Pominville that took four to five years to find his way to the National Hockey League. Pominville played three full seasons in the AHL and part of a fourth before cracking the Buffalo Sabres’ line-up full-time. This past season, Pominville finished second in Sabres scoring with 27 goals and 53 assists. It is doubtful that Vas will ever match Pominville’s success in the NHL, but he still could play in the NHL if engages even more physically than he currently does. “He’s got a long career ahead of him, and I just think that going into those hard areas on a consistent basis is something that he knows he has to do if he wants to score goals and be more productive offensively.” A report out of Hungary in late April quoted Vas as saying he and the Dallas Stars were parting ways, so the odds appear dim for Vas returning to the Dallas organization. However, any NHL team looking for a conscientious two-way player that already has the power forwards it needs might find a solution in Janos Vas, and they’d create one of the feel-good stories of the 2008-09 season if they give Vas a shot in the NHL. #23 Tom Wandell, RW/C The 21-year-old Swede scored 4 goals and 5 assists in 12 games in March and added 3 more assists in 7 games in April to give him 10 goals and 9 assists in 53 games for the season. Add in the goal Wandell tallied February 29, and he scored half of his goals for the season in the final 20 games of the season and all but one of his assists: that’s 5 goals and 8 assists in 20 games. Another encouraging statistic in Wandell’s development was that he was a +9 in those final 20 games of the season, allowing him to finish with a team-leading +5 rating for the season (tied with Mark Bomersback and Raymond Sawada, who both played far fewer games with Iowa). The skilled Wandell displayed an abundance of skating talent and stick skills throughout the season, in addition to some physical play, but what helped Wandell step up his game most was developing the practice habits necessary to become a consistent professional in the North American game. “I think the biggest thing with Tommy was understanding that there has to be consistency, and that every day you come here you’ve got to get a little better, and playing with that awareness, shift to shift, day to day, practice to practice, and that when you have those solid practice habits, you don’t have to think about doing the right thing, it just comes natural,” Allison said of Wandell. “Tommy got better and better at that as the year went on and really became, first and foremost, more consistent, and had fun. “As time went on, it was okay to get better. It’s fun to come to the rink and improve and have fun doing it.” A fairly hot hand in the AHL for the Iowa Stars down the stretch, and experiencing his first 80-game schedule, Wandell could have played two games for the Idaho Steelheads in the final weekend of their season and been eligible to play for the Steelheads in the playoffs, but he opted to finish the season in the AHL and go home to Sweden a bit earlier. In the end, it made little difference, as the Steelheads were eliminated April 13 after the Alaska Aces swept Idaho in four straight games, the same night the Iowa Stars ended their season. In the three games Wandell played for Idaho in 2007-08, he scored a total of three goals. With a full season of North American pro experience behind him, Wandell will know what’s necessary to perform over a full season of AHL hockey in 2008-09. Unfortunately, like all other Dallas prospects, he will likely have to get used to a new team, new teammates, and a new city once again, and probably new coaches and new systems. #25 Chris Conner, LW Conner led the team in scoring in March with 4 goals and 9 assists in 12 games and added 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games in April. His production in the final weeks of the season gave him 13 goals and 26 assists in 55 games for the Iowa Stars in 2007-08, and his 39 points were only one behind Konstantin Pushkarev’s 40 points and only two behind Janos Vas’s 41 points, and his 0.71 points per game average was behind only Toby Petersen and Pushkarev among players that played over 10 games for Iowa. The 24-year-old also played 22 games for Dallas in the first half of the season, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists and averaging 11:59 of ice time while with the big club, as well as one playoff game for the Stars (Game 3 against Detroit, the first game Jere Lehtinen missed after going down with a leg injury). Even before 2007-08 was over, Dallas had seen enough of Conner to know they wanted to re-sign him and did so March 12, ensuring his return to the Dallas organization in 2008-09. Under the terms of his contract, Conner’s NHL salary for next season is $500,000, a raise from his $475,000 NHL salary in 2007-08. When asked in mid-March about re-signing with Dallas prior to the end of the season, Conner said, “It’s nice to have it done with, not waiting until the summer. “I’m very excited about it. I’m looking forward to next year.” There is little doubt what the 5-foot-8, 180 pound Conner needs to work on to stick with Dallas next season, and it’s not size. “In order for him to make it to the next level and stick, he’s got to learn to be able to finish a little bit more around the net,” White said of Conner. “He knows that, he’s working at it, and we’ll see how that all plays out for him.” Allison’s assessment concurs with White’s. “I think capitalizing on his opportunities,” Allison said of Conner’s need to finish more. “With his speed, he provides some great offensive scoring chances, and I think that you don’t want to be a guy that just creates, you want to be a guy that finishes. “I think that’s the next step and more of the logical step for him, a finisher.” Down the stretch, Conner played on the first line with center Perttu Lindgren and right winger Konstantin Pushkarev. Although the line did not have great size, it did have an offensive dynamic (especially in March), and it also helped Conner’s game. “I think it’s helped Chris’s game offensively,” White said in early April of Conner playing with Lindgren and Pushkarev. “He’s trying to create a little more and things like that and maybe not so one dimensional in terms of speed, he’s switching up his speed.” Speed is the diminutive left winger’s biggest asset. Few players in hockey have Conner’s speed, let alone in the AHL, and his effort on the forecheck and his willingness to engage physically are very consistent. “His game doesn’t change,” White said of Conner. “He’s the easiest player, I think, to coach, because you can throw him out and you know he’s going to give it his all every shift.” Whether those shifts are in Dallas or elsewhere in the AHL in 2008-09 will be determined in September and early October, but Conner is definitely in the mix to compete for a spot in the “Big D” next season. If he improves his ability to finish chances around the net, it’ll be hard not to put him on the roster. #28 Raymond Sawada, RW Sawada signed a two-year entry level contract with Dallas on March 28 and concurrently signed an amateur tryout contract with the Iowa Stars to finish out the season in the AHL after scoring 10 goals and 16 assists in 36 games with Cornell. The 23-year-old right winger scored a goal in his first game with the I-Stars, a 4-1 victory over the Quad City Flames the same day he signed his contract, and laid down a number of big hits on the forecheck. His remaining games were not played with the same extreme intensity as the first one, but he still put up great numbers and made a big difference. “He added that (physical) element that we were lacking, and other guys fed off of it,” Allison said of Sawada. “James [Neal], ‘Wats,’ it just bred more physicality throughout our whole line-up.” Sawada’s physical element also translated into an offensive element. Skating on the second line with James Neal and center Marty Sertich, Sawada scored 2 goals and 7 assists in 10 games and was an impressive +5. Iowa’s other late-season additions, both at forward and defense, saw somewhat limited ice time, but Sawada quickly earned prime ice time and proved he was as good as advertised. “He had 9 points in 10 games, killed penalties, out there in the last minute, either a goal ahead or a goal behind, he’s on his way,” Allison said. “We were very, very encouraged in the short time we had him.” The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Sawada made a big impact with the Iowa Stars, but the fact his contract with Dallas did not officially begin until next season meant he was ineligible to be recalled to Dallas as a “black ace.” He is, however, now a contender for a spot in Dallas at training camp. Scott White puts him in a class of players on the cusp of the NHL duty. “The transitional player that he basically is, he’s a prospect, but I’d say he’s in more of a transitional stage into getting into the next level,” White said of Sawada. Known as a physical player and defensively responsible player in college, Sawada will still have to concentrate on adjusting to the pro game and strengthening his strengths even more. When asked about some of the details Sawada needed to work on for next season, White answered “his board play and decisions.” “Players at this particular level have better uses of their sticks, whereas in college he might have gotten away with a couple of things along the boards,” White added. “You don’t get away with it here.” Allison would like to see Sawada get more shots off, as he was only credited with a modest 15 shots on goal in those 10 games. The veteran coach knows how Sawada could do that, too. “I think one of the biggest things with [him] is pulling the puck, because defensemen, people block so many shots that you’ve got to be able to pull the puck in two to six inches and get your shot through so you can play for second shots,” Allison explained. “He’s a guy that does go to the net, so there’s no question that he’ll go into those high-traffic areas, but just find ways to get pucks to the net and to get your shot through.” Sawada is still a bit of a long shot to earn a spot in Dallas straight out of training camp next season, but he does have a legitimate chance. Even if he does start 2008-09 in the AHL, whatever team that gets him will have a two-way power forward that adds a physical presence on the forecheck and around the net. Long term, Sawada is looking like a strong candidate for third line duty in the NHL, and would certainly be fully capable of starting out on the fourth line and working his way up. #58 Francis Wathier, LW/C “He’s an ought-ness hockey player,” Allison said of Wathier. “He ought not be able to do some of the things he does, being as good as he is, but he finds a way to get it done.” Returning to the Iowa Stars line-up March 1 after missing 61 games, Wathier scored 2 goals and 3 assists in his first 10 games back, and even though he went without a point in his last 9 games of the season, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound third-line center still made a big impact.
“All year we were looking for that guy that could put the other people in positions where they could have success, and by that I mean, I think it was unfair for us to ask Marty Sertich or Perttu Lindgren to go head-to-head with some of these more experienced, bigger, stronger centermen,” Allison said. “When we got ‘Wats’ back, it gave us a guy that was going to be able to push back and create a forecheck, and that got even better with Sawada, and we incorporated Clune more, and Shelast, and these bigger guys. “It changed the complexion of our team and put these other guys in positions where they can have even more success. So, ‘Wats’ was the first guy back that had that ability within our group and as we got these other guys, it became contagious and it helped everybody.” After sustaining a significant shoulder injury early in training camp, and the resulting surgery to repair it, Wathier worked hard to get his shoulder back in shape to return to the line-up, but he also continued to focus on his lower body, because he did not want to lose the improvements in his skating that he had made under the tutelage of David Cruikshank and Curtis Brackenbery of DC Hybrid Skating. Over half a year removed from the two months he spent in Milwaukee at DC Hybrid Skating, the improvements in Wathier’s skating were still readily evident and a vast improvement from the 2006-07, not to mention his rookie pro season. “It just shows you there’s methods to improve in skating, it doesn’t matter what age you are,” White said of Wathier’s example. “If you really want to invest in your future, he’s shown that that’s what’s gone on and he’s invested in his future and it’s paying dividends for him, because his skating has improved and that was an element where it needed to improve and it has, and it’s well-noticed.” The former sixth-round pick’s dedication toward coming back from injury and improving his game earned him a recall to Dallas at the end of the AHL season as a “black ace,” a just reward for a player of high character. “Wathier earned the recall the same way he earns everything, he just works,” Allison said. “I mean, what a credit to him that he would spend the summer looking to get better and two to three days into training camp he gets hurt and is out for over 60 games and comes back and has that type of input within our team just speaks volumes as to the type of person the kid is” Another thing that speaks volumes for the type of person Wathier is, is the fact that he was presented with the Community Service Award, making him a finalist for the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award named after the late Yanick Dupre. Wathier earned the same recognition in 2005-06, his rookie season with in the AHL. In 2006-07, he was selected as the Iowa Stars’ fan favorite for his team-first attitude and willingness to do what it takes. Wathier was advised not to fight down the stretch because of his healing shoulder, taking away a well-known part of his game (although he picked up a fighting major April 1 against Quad City’s Brandon Prust), but he was still a fan favorite for his physical play, big hits along the boards, and his work in the community. A restricted free agent heading into the summer, the only way Wathier will return to Iowa is if Dallas doesn’t tender him a qualifying offer and he signs with the NHL team that does have Iowa as its affiliate or he is traded to that team. Iowa hockey fans wouldn’t mind a Wathier return, but it is hard to imagine Dallas not re-signing a player who could potentially be a depth player in the NHL starting next season and consistently does whatever it takes or whatever is asked of him. Idaho Steelheads#19 Aaron Gagnon, C Gagnon missed much of the second half of February with the flu and then was trying to get back into the line-up. When he did get back into the line-up on March 7, he played five more games with the Iowa Stars before being sent down to Idaho March 18 for the remainder of the season. The rookie center did, however, score his first AHL point of the season on March 14 when he tallied an assist in Iowa’s 4-1 victory over the Quad City Flames, giving him 1 assist in 25 games for Iowa in 2007-08. Upon his return to the Steelheads, Gagnon centered the second line with Mark Bomersback on his left wing and Taggert Desmet on his right. The 21-year-old rookie pro scored 1 goal and 5 assists in 7 games upon his return and finished the season with 7 goals and 14 assists in 22 games during the regular season for Idaho, showing he did have some of the scoring touch he displayed in major juniors. After generally playing on the fourth line in Iowa, Gagnon worked on regaining his consistency in Idaho. “He did not have a lot of ice-time up in Iowa,” Idaho Steelheads Head Coach Derek Laxdal said of Gagnon in an early April interview. “I think the biggest thing for him is trying to find that consistency game-to-game. “Obviously, the first game coming back he had a lot of intensity and a lot of adrenaline in that first game and then he dropped off the second game and now he’s starting to kind of build back to get into that everyday situation.” It was hoped that Gagnon would be able to work on his consistency well into April and even into May after Idaho finished the season with a 40-22-5-5 record, but the fifth-seeded Alaska Aces swept the fourth-seeded Steelheads in four games and ended Idaho’s season on April 13. Among those four Kelly Cup playoff games, Gagnon scored 1 goal and 1 assist, but more impressive was the fact that he fired 24 shots on goal during the playoffs, which exceeded the already impressive pace he established for Idaho down the stretch with 26 shots in 7 games. Gagnon was at least getting chances. Still, the early exit from the playoffs was the end of a frustrating season for Gagnon that was marred by injuries. “I think what ‘Gags’ did was he got frustrated at times, and as our team psychologist, Scott McFadden, says, ‘You can either get depressed or you get determined, because he was probably our best player, one of our best players, in Traverse City,” Allison said, referring to the September prospects tournament where Gagnon suffered a high ankle sprain and missed the first part of the season before being assigned to Idaho. Gagnon also suffered a shoulder injury in mid-December that kept him out of the line-up until early January and saw him re-assigned again to Idaho upon his return, and the affects of the injuries took a toll on Gagnon’s game mentally. “He never really recovered, and he was tentative, and I think that’s the biggest thing for him, that he can’t play tentative,” Allison said of Gagnon. “This is a game of boldness and going into those areas where you have to compete both offensively and defensively.” The frustrations of the injuries were easily equaled by the frustrations of tallying points at a pace that was exceeded by some goaltenders in pro hockey, but it is important for Gagnon to remember going forward that he is a talented two-way player regardless of whether the puck is bouncing for him or not. “He was an excellent scorer in the Western Hockey League, and what he’s got to realize is that there’s a lot of competition here, so grab it, and don’t get frustrated,” Allison said. “Get determined that you’re as good or better than the majority of them, because he does have ability.” With two years left on his entry-level contract, Gagnon still has time to show Dallas that he has an NHL future, as he did in Traverse City before he got hurt. He’s certainly a player with AHL-caliber talent, and he’ll have a chance to prove that in 2008-09 if he stays healthy and stays strong. #20 John Lammers, LW After a huge February, for which Lammers was named the ECHL Player of the Month, the second-year pro scored 9 goals and 5 assists in Idaho’s first nine games in March. He only had one assist amongst the Steelheads’ final five games of the season, but the sharp-shooting winger still finished the ECHL season with 27 goals in 36 games, good for 27th in the league, and his 13 power play goals placed him 11th in the league. Lammers also tallied 16 assists, giving him 43 points for the season and earned himself an Idaho team-best 1.19 points per game average. Also impressive was the fact that Lammers was credited with 183 shots on goal in his 36 games, which is over five shots per game on average. Of some concern, though, was the fact that Lammers was held without a goal in four playoffs games, although he did add three assists. Adding those four goalless playoff games to the five-game goalless streak Lammers had to end the regular season, and that’s a nine-game stretch in which Lammers did not score. So, what happened? “He tore up the month of February there and what happens when you start scoring lots of goals like that, you expect it every night,” Laxdal said in an early April interview. “I think the biggest thing for him is sometimes it can be easy when it goes in and when you have it easy, when you don’t score, he gets a little frustrated. “So, that’s a really good character builder for him to understand that you’re not going to be able to score every night, but on the other side of it, his work ethic is really improved and he understands that he has to work for everything he gets.” Also problematic for Lammers is the fact that he sometimes gets to too fancy. “He’s got such a quick release, and when he gets confident he tries to do things that make him unsuccessful and he’s got to remember to stick to what’s got him there,” Laxdal said of Lammers. “He’s skating straight lines, shooting the puck, driving the net, stopping at the crease.” Lammers had also been working on his defensive game and physical game, but that effort was somewhat complicated by injury at the end of the season. “He’s playing with a bit of a nagging injury, so we give him a little bit of leeway on that one,” Laxdal said of Lammers’ engaging physically and finishing his checks. “He’s continued to suck it up and keep on playing,” Laxdal added. “So, it’s a little bit tougher there, but we want him to finish his checks and get to the areas and engage in the battles.” Despite a disappointing finish to the season, Lammers had a strong season after his return from Finland. The former third round pick (2004 NHL Entry Draft) will enter the third year of his entry-level contract with Dallas in 2008-09, and he’ll be looking to crack the AHL full-time. Whether that task is made easier with Dallas changing their AHL affiliate and potentially splitting their prospects and minor league depth players between two teams will be seen in September in October. If Dallas can find a way for Lammers to start the 2008-09 season as a top-nine forward on an AHL team, that’d be a good start, because he’s not a fourth-line player. Re-assigned to Bakersfield#15 Alexander Naurov, F Naurov was re-assigned by Dallas from Idaho to Bakersfield on March 4 (his 23rd birthday) after the Russian had scored only 1 goal and 6 assists in 40 games with the Steelheads. After receiving a change of scenery as a birthday present, Naurov went on to score 1 goal and 9 assists in 13 games for Bakersfield to end the regular season and was a fixture on the top two scoring lines after struggling for ice time with Idaho. “He has a lot of skill, and I think with [Idaho], maybe he didn’t fit in, exactly, to the first two lines.” Bakersfield Head Coach Marty Raymond surmised. “We certainly had no problem about playing him as a top-five forward, and I think he was happy to come to us and was more willing and was a lot more comfortable with the structure of our hockey team at that point.” When Naurov was re-assigned, Idaho was still battling with Victoria to win the West Division; Bakersfield was still battling just to make the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Even before Mark Bomersback and Aaron Gagnon were re-assigned to Idaho in mid-March, Idaho still had John Lammers, Lance Galbraith, Marty Flichel, Taggart Desmet, and Andrew Martin all averaging near or above a point per game, so the Steelheads had the luxury of being more strict with Naurov in terms of playing a more North-and-South style of hockey. The Condors were not bereft of scoring talent, but they weren’t as deep as Idaho, and Naurov was able to play in a skill role. “I think his game was more suitable for us at that point, because we need the skill, and that’s the main thing for us,” Raymond said in an interview just before the Kelly Cup Playoffs. “We kind of ask Alex to do what he does best, provide us with some skillful plays. “We don’t ask him to be a grinder or a mucker, and that’s not what he is. I think maybe that’s why he’s adapted well with us.” Adapt well Naurov did, and his infusion into the Bakersfield line-up helped the Condors secure the seventh seed in the National Conference on the strength of a 7-2 record in the team’s final nine games of the season. In those playoffs, Naurov scored 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 game and helped Bakersfield almost take the second-seeded Victoria Salmon Kings to Game 7, as the Condors’ lost Game 6 in overtime on a shorthanded goal by Ash Goldie at 7:59. Even though Bakersfield lost in the first round of the playoffs, it was a better end than could have been predicted for the Condors prior to Naurov’s arrival, and Naurov’s season ended on a much higher note, overall, than the off-key tune of sporadic offensive contributions with Idaho. That said, Naurov still has to improve on the same things he needed to improve on while with the Steelheads, such as engaging physically, attention to defense, and attention to the offensive subtleties of the North American game. “I think he’s got to learn to put everything together, because he’s got skills,” Raymond said of Naurov. “He’s got to learn to play defensive hockey at all times and use his ability to be the best player he can be. “He’s just got to add a little more to his game to be able to play at the next level a regular shift, and once you do that, you never know what’s going to happen as far as playing in the NHL.” On the plus side, Naurov enters the summer of 2008 with renewed confidence heading into 2008-09. “I think he kind of lost his confidence by not playing too much early on and when he got with us and he started playing, and playing, and playing, I think he got better and better and I think he understands what he needs to get done,” Raymond said. By all accounts, Naurov has, at the least, AHL-caliber abilities in skating and stick skills, now he needs to get the proverbial tool box for his considerable tools. Recalled by Dallas#19 Toby Petersen, C Petersen was named the Iowa Stars Most Valuable Player (as voted by his teammates) at the team’s Season Ticket Holder Awards Banquet on April 9, over one month after he had been recalled by Dallas on March 4. The eight-year veteran led the I-Stars in assists with 30 and added 21 goals to give him 51 points for the season, one point behind Marty Sertich’s team-leading 52 points (achieved in 79 games). When he was recalled by Dallas, Petersen was in the midst of a five-game point streak for Iowa, on the strength of 3 goals and 3 assists from Feb. 22 through March 2. Even though his absence left shoes that no one Iowa Star could possibly fill, the team was happy to see him rewarded for his consistent two-way play and leadership. “When they called him up, it was well-deserved, and I don’t think anybody in our organization was surprised and [everyone] understood that that’s what he deserved,” Allison said of Petersen’s recall. It wasn’t that Petersen wasn’t worthy of recall sooner, but the veteran pivot had to clear waivers in order to be recalled, and in the midst of the NHL season, with teams facing injury problems, that wasn’t likely to happen. But, after the NHL trading deadline and subsequent roster freeze, any team that claimed Petersen off waivers could not have used him until next season, and because Petersen is an unrestricted free agent this summer, no team could have dressed him this season. In essence, the only reasons a team would have taken Petersen off waivers after the roster free was to screw over Dallas. Nobody did that, and Petersen played in 8 games down the stretch for Dallas and added 3 assists and averaged 7:50 minutes of ice time. Petersen also played in 16 of Dallas’s 18 playoff games before the team was eliminated by Detroit in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. A scratch in Game 2 and Game 3 against San Jose in the Western Conference Semifinals (Sergei Zubov’s first two games back since January 17 and games in which Dallas dressed seven defensemen), Petersen took on a larger role in Games 4 and 5 against Detroit, skating on a line with fellow former I-Stars Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist and receiving 19:56 and 22:33 of ice time respectively in those two games respectively. It may have been coincidence, but those were the two games Dallas won in the series. Once again, Petersen proved he was NHL capable, but he had shown it the whole time he was in Iowa, too. If Dallas wants a bargain third or fourth line center next season, Petersen would be a strong candidate, because he’ll do what it takes. “He was willing to do anything for the benefit of the team,” Allison said of Petersen. “He played defense for us for three to four games when he was the leading scorer. He moved to wing and helped, immensely, with Perttu [Lindgren]’s development and confidence. He would be a guy that I would rely on in the dressing room just sort of to keep in check with the pulse of the team, was everything going well? He was a guy that could get along with everybody, brought a professional attitude to the team.” Iowa came to expect nothing less of their team captain, and that professionalism has made him a huge asset to the Iowa Stars the past three seasons and with the Dallas Stars organization in 2007-08. Few other veterans in the AHL provided the daily example for an NHL team’s prospects of what it takes to get to the NHL, how to be a professional in the AHL, and how to get back to the NHL, that Petersen did. “There was an article two years ago about Toby just saying, ‘I’m a proud guy, whether I’m playing in the American Hockey League or the NHL, I’m going to do the best I can,’ Allison recalled. “And that’s what he did. “That’s one of the biggest reasons that he is such an asset to this organization, whether it’s here or up there.” An unrestricted free agent, as he was last summer, Petersen will have some options this summer, no doubt from NHL teams and from European teams interested in his speed, skill, leadership, and two-way play. Even though he’s probably worth more than the $500,000 NHL salary he signed for in 2007-08, don’t look for Petersen to get too demanding, because as Allison noted, “You can’t price yourself out of the market, and Toby won’t do that.” Whether 2008-09 brings a full season in the NHL, or another split season, or a full season in the AHL (or perhaps somewhere in Europe), he’ll be the same player he always is. “He’s capable (of playing in the NHL), he knows it, and wherever he is, he’s going to be a professional,” Allison said. “He’s going to be Toby Petersen. “That’s a wonderful attribute.” #44 B.J. Crombeen, RW Yes, Crombeen played in the ECHL to end the 2007-08 season because of playing for Assat in the Finnish Elite League and was ineligible to play in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs for the Iowa Stars, but the 22-year-old was not named the Iowa Stars’ Most Improved Player without reason. Crombeen had no goals and only 2 assists in his first 13 games of 2007-08 before being scratched for two straight games while Loui Eriksson was assigned to Iowa; he finished the season with 14 goals and 14 assists in 65 games for Iowa, including 6 goals and 3 assists in 9 games in March before being recalled to Dallas March 23. Of note, those March totals included a 3-goal, 1-assist performance against the Lake Erie Monsters in a 7-3 I-Stars victory March 11, one of Iowa’s two hat tricks for the season (Toby Petersen tallied the other Nov. 6 in a 4-3 shootout victory over Peoria). Allison thought Crombeen could have had many more goals had the puck fallen the right way. “I’ve never seen a guy so snake bit in terms of scoring goals and having goaltenders make great saves, or posts, or whatever, as B.J. Crombeen,” Allison exclaimed. “He could have had 25, 30 goals.” To score the goals he did score, Crombeen fired a fair number of shots with 151, but he also threw a fair number of punches during the season. Iowa’s lone fighter during portions of the season, Crombeen led the team in penalty minutes with 158 and led the team in fighting majors with 21 (Clune was second with 17, Westgarth third with 11, Sawada fourth with 2, with 10 others tied for fifth with one). It’s just part of Crombeen’s game. “He’s up and down the wing, goes to the net, he finishes his checks, plays the game hard,” White said of Crombeen. “If there’s a situation where an altercation presents and he’s needed, he’s there, he’s the first one there. “He defends his teammates well and plays the game hard, just the way we like it, and I think he plays it honest.” It was more of the same in the NHL, too, where Crombeen added 2 assists in 8 games but also racked up 39 penalty minutes on the strength of five fighting majors, a 10-minute game misconduct, and an instigator penalty. Crombeen was especially a thorn in the San Jose Sharks’ side, fighting defenseman Kyle McLaren, skilled forward Milan Michalek, and hulking blueliner Douglas Murray. But, he also stayed out of the penalty box entirely in his 5 playoff appearances for Dallas, showing he knows when to say when. “He took that opportunity up in the National Hockey League and has found his niche, playing physical, dropping the gloves, but still competent defensively and chipping in offensively,” Allison said of Crombeen. “It’s about doing what’s necessary and doing more, finding ways to do more.” Crombeen only averaged 4:16 minutes of ice-time in his five games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and did not play in the Western Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but he’s still a strong candidate to play in Dallas next season. “He’s a guy in transition, and I think it’ll be up to B.J. on where he ends up, to be quite honest,” White noted of Crombeen even before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “There’s an opportunity there for him, but he’s got to really go out and seize it, and it’ll be up to him. It’ll be a big training camp for him next fall.” Crombeen will have to continue to further improve his skating to help assure himself a spot in Dallas next year, but he’s already got a foot in the door. After all, he’s gone from the ECHL Playoffs to the NHL Playoffs in the span of a year. Not bad.
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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