Dallas Stars Ready To Move On Thanks To Traverse City Talent
Turnout for the Dallas Stars prospects in Traverse City could be easing the tension of saying goodbye to Nichushkin.
The Dallas Stars aren’t done with their offseason quite yet. While rumors are flying about Valeri Nichushkin’s departure to play in Russia, the Dallas Stars don’t seem to be too shaken up over it. With all the work they’ve done to create depth and all-four-line-inclusive talent, the Stars have yet another reason to let go of Nichushkin gracefully.
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Although the Stars prospects were not the victors in this year’s Traverse City tournament, their time in Michigan was not for nothing. They suffered two losses in a row, falling in a nasty 6-3 blowout against Carolina on the rebound of their 5-4 shootout loss to the Rangers.
The Stars prospects pulled it together to end the tournament with a 5-3 win over St. Louis. And one thing that will stay with the Stars management is the good impression left by Denis Gurianov.
When he was selected in the first 2015 Draft round by the Stars, Gurianov earned comparisons to Nichushkin, prompting some of us (my hand is going up on this one) to wonder why Dallas would pick a player to seemingly replace another player with still so many hockey years ahead of him.
Well, the Stars knew what they were doing. Now that Big Val may be on his way out, the choice is looking smarter and smarter.
Derek Laxdal, the Stars prospect coach, was impressed on multiple levels, and noted edge and speed as distinctive points in Gurianov’s game. Although he may need some refining when it comes to picking and choosing viable shots, Gurianov excelled in all the positions he was asked to fill in the tournament, which Laxdal said was a trial run for how he might be integrated into the team in Texas.
So despite the prospects splitting the wins and losses evenly in Traverse City this year, it seems like they can cut their losses after gaining more in the way of experience. For some of the Stars management, this is the first time they’ve been able to watch Gurianov in action closely. And they like what they see.
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