Stars Training Camp: Outook

Friday, September 11, 2009-10:06:pm
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The Dallas Stars hit the ice in Frisco Saturday at 4:30 p.m. for their first official practice of training camp. Here's a brief camp outlook.

Camp tidbits

  • The Stars begin practices Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Frisco with two groups practicing on two separate rinks, one at the usual practice rink and the other at the Dr. Pepper Arena.
     

  • There are a total of 49 players on the camp roster: 27 forwards, 16 defensemen and 6 goaltenders.
     

  • Stars coach Marc Crawford said the Stars could cut the roster down to workable number - around 30 - by Monday September 21st and then have it down to close to the final roster later that week.
     

  • It's still not clear if the Stars will carry 22 players or go to the maximum of 23. With the AHL team in Austin carrying 22 wouldn't be a problem because call ups are not far away. Crawford said it could also depend on the 23rd player. A younger player, who could use the playing time to develop, would more likely play in Austin, since it close and the player could be called up quickly in most cases. A more veteran player might stay with the big club.

Position-by-position

Here's a brief look at the Stars by position heading into training camp.

Forwards
Who's back RW Krys Barch, RW Fabian Brunnstrom, RW Loui Eriksson, RW Jere Lehtinen, C Mike Modano, LW Brenden Morrow, LW James Neal, LW Steve Ott, C Toby Petersen, C Mike Ribeiro, C Brad Richards, LW Brian Sutherby
Who's new C Warren Peters
Top Prospects LW Jamie Benn, RW Ray Sawada, C Tom Wandell
The Stars return 12 forwards from last season's team, which could leave only one roster spot open if the Stars decide to carry 13 forwards. There should be several candidates who will get a good look during camp not just for a roster spot, but for possible playing time during the season.

"There are a lot of guys in that group," said Stars coach Marc Crawford. "That is what training camp is for and you'll have guys like [Jamie] Benn, [Warren] Peters, [Ray] Sawada and [Tom] Wandell push and make a case for themselves to get some employment here."

Benn, who turns pro this season is considered by many to be the team's top prospect. Sawada and Wandell both saw some brief time with the Stars last season. Peters, who was in the Calgary system last season, signed with the Stars during the summer.

Also on the agenda for Crawford is to track the progress of some of the Stars' other young players who made their NHL debuts last season.

"You also look for the steps that some of the younger guys are going to make. Will [Fabian] Brunnstrom make another step?" the Stars coach said. "Obviously James Neal made a huge step last year. Can he continue to keep improving?"

Two other players - Loui Eriksson and Steve Ott - are coming off career years and the Stars expect those two to continue to progress as well.

Stars captain Brenden Morrow, who is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him most of last season, is good to go. He took part in Canada' orientation camp and said his knee felt fine. The Stars have several other players coming off injury-filled seasons, including Brad Richards and Jere Lehtinen, but they seem to be in good shape heading into camp.

Outside of a roster spot, the Stars should be set at forward other than the usual job of Crawford deciding where players slot and with whom.  The Stars are deep at center with Mike Ribeiro, Richards and Mike Modano, and there are enough capable wings to complement those three players.

Defensemen
Who's back Trevor Daley, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman, Andrew Hutchinson, Matt Niskanen, Stephane Robidas
Who's new Karlis Skrastins, Jeff Woywitka
Top Prospects Ivan Vishnevskiy
Depth Dan Jancevski, Garrett Stafford, Maxime Fortunus
The Stars have six defensemen back from last season including Mark Fistric, who spent most of the season with Manitoba of the AHL.

Stephane Robidas, Trevor Daley, Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Grossman are the four regular players back. Andrew Hutchinson, who played 40 games, also returns.

Added to the mix during the offseason were two free signings. One was veteran defensive defenseman Karlis Skrastins, who had been with Florida, and the other was 25-year-old Jeff Woywitka, who had been with St. Louis.

That gives the Stars eight NHL defensemen heading into camp. Teams usually carry seven, so there will need to be a decision made on who ever ends up in eighth spot or possibly carry eight. 

The defense will be key during camp because under Crawford the Stars will pick up the pace and the way that will primarily be accomplished is through the defense being more active. Crawford is interested in seeing how some of the younger defensemen have progressed.

"I'd like to see the step that [Trevor] Daley is going to make, the step that [Matt] Niskanen is going to make and the step that [Nicklas] Grossman is going to make," Crawford said. "On the downside, they were forced into positions last year because of the injury to [Sergei] Zubov and the departure of [Mattias] Norstrom. We are going to benefit from that this year because ... they are are going to be that much better this year because they've had that experience, and hopefully they are able to handle it."

There's also some good depth. Highly skilled prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy played briefly with the Stars last season and was impressive. He'll get a very good look at camp and if he does well he should set himself up for more NHL playing time this season.

There are also some seasoned AHL veterans in the mix like like Dan Jancevski, Garrett Stafford and Maxime Fortunus.

Goaltenders
Who's back Marty Turco
Who's new Alex Auld
Depth Matt Climie, Brent Krahn
Top Prospects Richard Bachman
The big change on the goaltending front for the Stars is in the backup position. Alex Auld, acquired from Ottawa for a sixth round draft pick in 2010, will back up Marty Turco this season.

Auld has a lot of experience as a backup and has held down the No. 1 spot in the NHL as well, so he should be a good fit.

Still, a lot of the focus will be on Turco to see how he bounces back from a substandard 2008-09 season. He's worked hard this offseason and should be focused player right from the start at camp.

On the depth front, Matt Climie, who had an outstanding season with Idaho (ECHL) and performed well in three starts with the Stars late last season is back after being re-signed, and so is AHL veteran Brent Krahn, who had one brief stint with the Stars. Also in the mix is 2006 draft pick Richard Bachman, who turns pro after two seasons at Colorado College.

Bachman, Climie and Krahn will be battling for positioning in regards to two spots with the Texas Stars and one with Idaho. The Dallas camp will kick off the competition for how that shakes out. Heading into it the feeling is that Bachman will probably end up in Idaho to give him ample playing time as he adjusts to the pro game.