(Photo taken by Melissa Grissom)
With the Stanley Cup finals already underway the end of hockey is on our doorsteps. We are less than three weeks away from the NHL draft and July 1st is closely sneaking behind. The Stars roster saw many positives last season, but down the stretch our areas of need were deeply exposed, and players were put in roles where they weren’t necessarily fit for or ready to take at the time.
Jamie Benn: Center or Left Wing?
Jamie Benn has made every stride in the right direction the past two seasons, as a natural left wing the change to a center has been a tough one for Benn, but the defensive responsibilities of a center he has handled real well, but his offensive prowess is at its highest when he is on the wing.
Steve Ott: He can do it all, but what does he do best?
Otter has been the pesky soul of this team for years and he really has played just about every role for the Stars (Top six, checking role, Tough guy, World Class pain in the… well you know) he can play all forward positions and is one of the top face-off men in the league, but what is his ideal role for Dallas this season?
Tomas Vincour: One line at a time
He has shown promise, but from the fourth line we don’t see it enough. Vincour’s puck control is very good but his offensive skill still isn’t top six yet, so let’s shoot for the third line this year.
Scott Glennie Don’t call me a bust!
It has been a frustrating development for young Mr. Glennie as issues with confidence and an early season concussion made it a slow start, but the second half of the season Glennie basically found his game and was almost a point a game guy for the Texas Stars. Does this help him crack a spot with the big club next season
Trevor Daley Mr. Consistency?
Even though he often receives a lot of negative feedback, the numbers don’t lie Trevor Daley has been the same year in and year out, (24, 25, 22, 27 and 25 total points the past five seasons) he can play in all situations and that is a plus, but if the Stars add a Matt Carle or Ryan Suter does that make Daley the odd man out?
Brenden Morrow: Leader or Liability
Enough has been said of how bad Brenden Morrow’s season was, but I wanna remind Stars fans of something. Does anybody remember Mike Modano’s 2003-2004 season Captain Modano struggled all year long and only mustered up 44 points in 76 games. The 33 year old Mike Modano’s contract was also up and Dallas awarded him a new five year deal, and what did he do that first year of the deal he erupted for 77 points (27g, 50a). Now I’m not saying that if Dallas finds two scoring forwards that Brenden Morrow keeps his spot in the top six, but maybe he finds his groove again in a checking role or he can work his way back. Bad seasons happen but all that matters is how you bounce back and Brenden Morrow will do whatever is neccessary to help this team.
The players can be the best in the world on one team, but if players are still not in there right role there will be no success, if anything this 2012 Stanley Cup finals has two prime examples of teams that put players in their correct roles for the best possible outcome for their perspective team.
