Stars Practice (Photo: Melissa Grissom)

So the NHL has canceled more games and that means more cancellations for the Dallas Stars as they canceled their games with the Vancouver Canucks on the 25th, the St Louis Blues on the 27th, the Philadelphia Flyers on the 30th and the New York Rangers on the 1st of November. We all wonder if any more games are going to be canceled or not. The Dallas Stars have their press release on the canceled games from their site:

Tyler Beskorowany (Photo credit to Steve Conner)

The Idaho Steelheads announced their season opening roster earlier today and it’s a good one. There are 14 players (out of 23) that have either played in or tried out for the AHL this season. That doesn’t include the 52 games that new Steelheads captain Ben Ondrus has as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here is the Steelheads roster broken down by position:

Goaltenders: Tyler Beskorowany and Josh Robinson

Defensemen: Gord Baldwin (A), Jeremie Blan, Matt Case, Deron Cousens, Patrick Cullity, Scott Fletcher, John Ryder and Scott Todd

Forwards: Andrew Carroll (A), Jacob Cepis, Justin Dowling, Austin Fyten, Neil Graham, Tristan King, Taylor McReynolds, Ron Meyers, Jake Morley, Ben Ondrus (C), Corey Tamblyn, Mike Towns and Andrew Wright

The Steelheads bring a stacked team into competition this season partially due to the lockout in the NHL. However, don’t forget that every other team in the ECHL will also have the benefit of the lockout. The Trenton Titans just had their starting lineup loaned to them by the Philadelphia Flyers. Not big NHL names, but certainly guys that can play at the AHL level at least.

The Alaska Aces have picked up some legit NHL talent as they have Joey Crabb (50 points in 144 games TOR & ATL) and Brandon Dubinsky (213 points 393 games NYR). Now this is more of the exception than the rule, however, it just goes to show that talent will find a job whether it’s the AHL, ECHL or overseas.

The obvious question is who got the better AHL talent. At this point I think it would be ridiculous to suggest one team over another, but being slightly partial here, I’m going to go with the Steelheads. With the Steelheads are returning 7 players who have played with this team in the past (Beskorowany, Case, Cousens, Cepis, King, Meyers & Ondrus) With the exception of Besko & Ondrus, the other 5 are familiar with each other and should bring some instant chemistry.

Obviously there are a lot of question marks about what will happen when the lockout ends and how quickly will the players pick up new Steelheads coach Brad Ralph’s systems, but for now, I think the Steelheads should be battling for the Western Conference Title come April.
Check back in this spot on a weekly basis to get weekend analysis of the games that were.

Till next week…

John Mulhern (Photo credit: steve connor photography)

I know its cliché and I know it’s worn out, but I would like to take the time to introduce myself to the Keep Dallas Pesky fan base and readership. First of all thank you to Missy for allowing me the privilege to cover and write about the Idaho Steelheads for the website.

Next, before you all start thinking, “Who the hell is this guy” and Why should we care what he thinks?” I owe you a little bit of background. I am a 4 year film assistant for the Idaho Steelheads and I was a 5 year color analyst for the Penn State Men’s Hockey team. I’ve been a hockey fan since 1987 when Ron Hextall and the Philadelphia Flyers took the Edmonton Oilers to a 7th game in the Stanley Cup finals.

Also in the interest of full disclosure and at the risk losing all of my readers before I actually ever get any, I am a lifelong Flyers fan. Also based on the rules at the time, and I think you might know where I am going with this, Brett Hull’s goal to win the Stanley Cup should not have counted. I tell you this, so that you’ll know that I will call something like I see it. If there is an issue, or something that needs to be discussed, I am willing to take an unpopular stance if I have too.

I’m not going to promise a ton of groundbreaking information, but I will promise to honestly asses what I see or hear about the Idaho Steelheads both on and off the ice. I’ll tell you what I think of moves the team has or hasn’t made. How will they affect the team? Will a decision be a net gain or net loss? Also, I’ll point out who might be at fault for a losing streak and the hero(s) for a winning streak. I’ll also stand up and admit I was wrong about something if that is what is needed as well.

You’ll get game recaps either in a game by game format or on a weekly basis. I’ll make sure that scores are posted and some sort of a brief recap will be posted as soon as possible. From time to time, I’ll also give some updates about all things ECHL when things warrant it.

The next article that I will write will reflect a bit on the Steelheads offseason and some signings the team has already made. I’ll also take a look at how the lockout might affect those that have already signed with the Steelheads as well as will the Steelheads get any players from Dallas/Texas because of the lockout.

Jaromir Jagr is A STAR (Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

This offseason for the Dallas Stars was an eventful for one for them as they signed a few veteran forwards along with one that I thought they would never sign in the first place. If you are guessing Jaromir Jagr then you are correct. Yes that is right the Dallas Stars signed Jaromir Jagr to a 1 year deal, worth $4.55 million to play for the Stars. The Stars have a legend that is playing for them and a veteran who has experience in the playoffs. He won a Stanley Cup Championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins back to back from 1991-1992. He has the ability to score goals when needed to and he also has the ability to lead the team into the playoffs. Even Jagr was excited about playing for the Stars as he told the Stars official website:

“All of a sudden, I got a call from Joe Nieuwendyk that the Dallas Stars were interested and I was very, very happy for many reasons,” Jagr said during a media conference call on Thursday. “For one thing, they feel I can help them. That’s the most important thing for me. I think I can play on the first two lines, which is important to me. I just don’t want to be in the NHL to sit around; I want to be a big part of a new team.”

Whenever the new season starts, expect Jaromir Jagr to play on a line with Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson. He will probably play a mentor role like he did with Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux in Philadelphia, then this line will be powerful and unstoppable.  Having a veteran around young players will do the Stars well and signing Jagr this summer answered their questions. If you are curious as to what Jagr can do on the ice then look no futher to a couple of these videos from Youtube:

In overtime, Jaromir Jagr scores from in front, stealing the extra point from the Winnipeg Jets.

Or this video where Marc-Andre Fleury kicks a rebound right to the stick of Jaromir Jagr, who gives the Philadelphia Flyers their first lead.

Those two videos of Jaromir Jagr scoring those golas then doing the solute. AREN’T YOU STARS FANS EXCITED? I sure am! I am excited to see what Jagr can do for the Dallas Stars next season! Also if you have twitter give Jaromir Jagr a follow at @68Jagr

future of the Stars (Photo taken by Melissa Grissom)

Dallas Stars free agency campaign were a big player, as General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk backed by Stars owner Tom Gaglardi certainly completely changed the look of this team with the free agent acquisitions of Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney and trade acquistions of Cody Eakin and Derek Roy, but how will the lines look this season, what the team might be missing, and who else might suit up in a Dallas Stars uniform this season:

Line 1: Eriksson  Benn  Jagr

After the Jagr deal was announced media members stated on a board in GM Joe Nieuwendyk’s office there was a board with these three names written on it, obviously if Jagr can do with Loui Eriksson and Jamie Benn what he did with Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux last season with the Philadelphia Flyers then this line will be a big threat of size and skill.

Line 2:  Whitney  Roy  Ryder

The remaining top offensive forwards will go to the second line where in Ray Whitney and Derek Roy you have guys who like to create plays and in Michael Ryder and once again Derek Roy who like to shoot the puck. The line is also a lot more capable of handling business on the defensive end of the ice, which is why Mike Ribeiro was dealt this offseason to have a better two way threat with his centers.

(Note: the third and fourth lines are complete speculation and how I would do the lines with the players left.)

Line 3:  Morrow  Fiddler  Vincour

Vernon Fiddler, one of only two Stars to play all 82 games last season would center the third line once again, but with new linemates in captain Brenden Morrow and young Tomas Vincour. Fiddler would be looking to keep up the pesky play he brought last season and Brenden Morrow will be looking for a bounce back season and Tomas Vincour will get more ice time with this new opportunity.

Line 4: Nystrom Eakin Garbutt/Wandell

This fourth line would be a real bunch of hard-working blue collar types who will simply outwork their opponents and this way Cody Eakin is not pushed too fast and can develop into the center that Dallas wants him to be. » Continue reading “Stars Lineup: Forwards”

Is Matt Carle a good fit for Dallas? (Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

The Dallas Stars once again found themselves on the outside looking in this postseason, but there is always a bright light at the end of a tunnel and for the case of the Stars our bright light has been scouting. Many players from playoff teams might be looking for new homes this offseason and Dallas is a very good destination.  This offseason is very important for the Stars, for the first time in four seasons the Stars will be a real player in free agency. The sour side is that this class of free agency is more on the weak side with two big names that pop out (Zach Parise & Ryan Suter) the constant media draw that those two bring I believe one guy is completely being overlooked and that is Philadelphia Flyer defenseman Matt Carle.

Matt Carle is a 6’0 ft. 205 lbs. defenseman from Anchorage, Alaska. Drafted 47th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2003 NHL entry draft.  Just coming off his seventh NHL season the twenty-seven year old defenseman will be entering Unrestricted Free Agency for the first time. The Philadelphia Flyers are having a bit of a offseason salary cap mess as they already have twenty players under roster and 61.2 million dollars in cap space taken up before the 2012-2013 season even starts and with a new extension to Nicklas Grossmann and the difficult situation surrounding team captain Chris Pronger, Matt Carle should definitely be looking for a new home and Dallas would be a great stop for him, let’s analyze the positives and negatives of Matt Carle in a Stars uniform.

THE POSITIVES OF MATT CARLE:

• Matt Carle is a relatively healthy player, only missing two regular season games in the past three seasons which would help a Dallas defense that had issues staying healthy at numerous times this season
• Carle is constant 35-40 point threat from the blue line, the Stars lead scoring defenseman of the 2011-2012 season was Alex Goligoski with 30 points (9G, 21A). And his career high for PIM’s for a season is 36
• In Philadelphia, Carle was partnered with Chris Pronger taking on the top lines of their opponents and even after Pronger went down with severe post-concussion syndrome Carle stayed as the top defenseman and still made a solid contribution to his teams regular season and playoff run where he was a consistent two-way defenseman scoring 6 points (2G, 4A) in 11 postseason games.
• Every season of his career Matt Carle has gone to the postseason at just the age of 27 Matt Carle has 84 games of playoff experience including Philadelphia‘s Stanley Cup run against  the Chicago Blackhawks.

THE NEGATIVES OF MATT CARLE

• This doesn’t really reflect Matt Carle, but the state of the Dallas Stars defense is really tricky. first the Stars have 5 defenseman already under contract with (Robidas, Goligoski, Daley, Pardy, and Brenden Dillon looking for a roster spot next season, and Philip Larsen, Mark Fistric, Jordie Benn and Sheldon Souray all looking for new contracts difficult decisions and some familiar faces will not be here next season whether Matt Carle or a new defenseman joins the team or not.
• Matt Carle at 6’0 205 pounds is not exactly the biggest guy and possibly could make our defensive core look really small which the Stars have had problems with since Derian Hatcher left in 2003, and which was the reason for the signings of Adam Pardy and Sheldon Souray last summer.
• Matt Carle was paid 3.43 million dollars last season and will definitely be looking for a nice pay raise. I don’t believe he will be looking for Christian Ehrhoff (10 Million) or even Shea Weber (7.5 Million) money, but he will definitely be looking to make 5-6 million a season with this deal and possibly a limited to full No Movement Clause.

So in perspective Matt Carle‘s good outweighs his bad and whatever team he signs with will be getting a complete under the radar defenseman who will bring a lot of options. He can play in all situations and has a lot of postseason experience. He would be a great option for the Stars to look at other than Ryan Suter who will be looked at by almost everybody.