Despite only having one pick inside the top ten of the NHL Entry Draft since 2014 the Stars have a very impressive prospect pool. Dallas has done a great job of scouting, drafting, and developing players and the roster reflects that.
The Stars have an up-and-coming young core built around under 25-year-old stars in Jason Robertson, Ty Dellandrea, Nils Lundkvist, Miro Heiskanen, and Jake Oettinger who have all graduated from the prospect’s ranks.
The stars have done a fine job of remaining a competitive team while retooling or restructuring or rebuilding…whatever you want to call it, and should move from a competitive to a contending team in the very near future.
1. Wyatt Johnston, C – Dallas Stars (NHL)
Age: 19
Ht/Wt: 6-1/185
Drafted: 2021 round one, 23rd overall by Dallas Stars
Stick taps to the stars for selecting a top ten pick with the 23rd overall selection. After not playing in his draft year the Stars found a diamond in the rough and picked the Windsor Spitfire. Since then, he has rocketed up the rankings with a dominant 124-point D+1 season to lead the OHL in scoring. With one more year of junior eligibility remaining he has forced his way into the Stars lineup, surpassed the nine-game threshold, and looks to be a full-time NHL regular as a 19-year-old on a good team.
2. Logan Stankoven, C/RW – Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Age: 19
Ht/Wt: 5-8/170
Drafted: 2021 round two, 47th overall by Dallas Stars
It boggles the mind that players with superstar potential, who are also short, continue to slip down the board on draft day. The Stars had Stankoven fall into their lap with pick 47 and they look like geniuses for selecting him. He has dominated the WHL with a 104-point D+1 season and was named the CHL Player of the Year, dominated the World Junior with Canada scoring 10 points in seven games, and is on pace for a 139-point year in his final season of junior. Stankoven will make the transition to the pro level next year and is talented enough to step into the NHL, but some seasoning in the AHL would not hurt and there is no rush.
3. Mavrik Bourque, C – Texas Stars (AHL)
Age: 20
Ht/Wt: 5-10/185
Drafted: 2020 round one, 30th overall by Dallas Stars
Bourque had a super-star junior career in the QMJHL with Shawinigan racking up 236 career points in 172 career games. He finished his time in junior with a Championship, scoring seven points in four Memorial Cup games. He has begun his pro career and is adjusting to the AHL in Texas. The emergence of Wyatt Johnston has allowed the Stars to place Bourque in the AHL and let him develop at a slower pace which should benefit his long-term development. He has top-six upside.
4. Thomas Harley, LD – Texas Stars (AHL)
Age: 21
Ht/Wt: 6-3/205
Drafted: 2019 round one, 18th overall by Dallas Stars
The big smooth skating defender split his rookie campaign between the NHL and AHL and showed he is not ready for prime time yet. Harley was assigned to the AHL out of the gate to start his sophomore season for some more development. The addition of Nils Lundkvist has taken an NHL roster spot for now and allowed the Stars to be patient with Harley. Harley is an offense-first player throughout his junior career and has improved his defensive and physical game since his draft, but his ticket to the NHL will be his skating and offensive game.
5. Lian Bichsel, LD – Leksand IF (SHL)
Age: 18
Ht/Wt: 6-5/216
Drafted: 2022 round one, 18th overall by Dallas Stars
The NHL had been trending towards favouring defensemen that exuded skating, and offensive impact regardless of size. The pendulum has started to swing back towards the big physical, violent, and defensive defenders as the Stars spend a first-round pick on Bichsel. His offensive game is near non-existent. He is not devoid of skill or talent, but he knows his ticket to the NHL will be preventing goals, hitting everything that moves, and being a mean bastard to play against. The 18-year-old is a few years away from policing the Stars defense.
6. Christian Kyrou, RD – Erie Otters (OHL)
Age: 19
Ht/Wt: 5-10/183
Drafted: 2022 round two, 50th overall by Dallas Stars
The polar opposite of their first-round pick Bichsel, Kyrou is an undersized offensive defenceman. Kyrou may have the highest offensive upside of all the defensemen selected in the 2022 draft, but he is small, and his skating is only average. His offensive vision and tendencies are outstanding, he distributes the puck effectively, is very deceptive in his intentions, gets pucks to the goal and is dangerous on the rush. Kyrou is in his final season of OHL and is on pace for a 25-goal and 84-point season as a defenseman.
7. Ayrton Martino, LW – Clarkson University (NCAA)
Age: 20
Ht/Wt: 5-11/161
Drafted: 2021 round three, 73rd overall by Dallas Stars
Martino is a prospect trending in the right direction and is a little under the radar. Drafted out of the USHL after a 56-point season in just 37 games, he moved to the NCAA for his D+1 year with Clarkson. Not one of the elite college programs he still managed 29 points in 27 games as a freshman and is scoring over a point per game as a sophomore. If Martino continues to trend in this direction, he would be on track to sign a pro deal, play a season in the AHL and then challenge for an NHL job. Keep an eye on this file.
8. Matej Blumel, LW/RW – Texas Stars (AHL)
Age: 22
Ht/Wt: 6-0/198
Drafted: 2019 round four, 100th overall by Edmonton Oilers
Originally an Edmonton Oilers draft pick from the USHL, he moved back to Czechia after his draft and was never signed, becoming a free agent. After a breakout performance at the 2022 World Championships with eight points in 10 games, the Stars signed him and have brought him to North America. After starting in the AHL with Texas, where he scored 11 points through nine games, he earned a recall to the NHL roster and has one goal through six games. The Stars are playing with found money with Blumel who could be a solid depth piece for them going forward.
9. Riley Damiani, C – Texas stars (AHL)
Age: 22
Ht/Wt: 5-10/170
Drafted: 2018 round five, 137th overall by Dallas Stars
After a solid OHL career, Damiani kicked in the front door of the AHL scoring 36 points in as many games and laying claim to the Rookie of the Year award. His breakout performance came in the pandemic season when the AHL was watered down with several players on NHL taxi squads. He managed to score 36 points in his sophomore season again but played an extra 19 games. This is his third season in the AHL, and his point production continues to decline. His stock is plummeting, and he is looking like a career AHL player at best at this point.
10. Connor Roulette, LW/C – Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Age: 19
Ht/Wt: 5-10/181
Drafted: 2021 round four, 111th overall by Dallas Stars
A diminutive playmaker, Roulette controls the play with his puck skills and puck distribution. His size and skating are working against his NHL upside but with some coaching and training his skating can improve to at least NHL average and some time in the gym adding strength should be enough to give him a shot at an NHL job.
