Dallas Stars Daily Links: Revisiting the 2017 Draft

With the 2022 NHL draft tomorrow, let’s take a moment to look back at the 2017 draft five years ago, when the Dallas Stars picked perhaps the greatest draft class in franchise history.

The star yield was of course led by Miro Heiskanen with the 3rd overall victory. Heiskanen has already emerged as the number one defender but the stars were almost put off by him due to back problems:

“That was about a week before the draft. I spoke to some people (Heiskanen) in his Finnish league. They started saying he has some back problems… It leaves a big question mark with the player being so high up. It turned out to be nothing to worry about when our doctors in Dallas got the x-rays and all. It’ll be something you’ll have to take care of, but it won’t destroy your game or your career or anything. That was a great relief…”

The Stars also had a second pick for the first round thanks to the trade deal that sent Patrick Eaves to the Anaheim Ducks. The stars eventually took advantage of that pick to trade for Jake Oettinger, which was another smash hit:

“Every time you level up, you give up assets to level up.” [General Manager Jim] Said Nil. “Our employees had a good feel for him. … He had a lot of attention. He was considered a top prospect. We felt like we had a void, and then you get to that part of the idiot. We needed a goalkeeper in the system and as a group we were concerned that if we didn’t get him there he might slip. It was time to get up and grab him.”

And of course there was Jason Robertson in second and Jacob Peterson in fifth. You can read about this and more about Heiskanen and Oettinger in Saad Yousuf’s article here.

star stories

Okay, back to the present, what can we expect from this year’s draft? The Stars staff discuss:

The stars might not pick until No. 18, but that doesn’t mean they can’t design a great player:

Not draft related, but the stars’ preseason schedule has also been released:

around the league

ICYMI Former Stars Head Coach Rick Bowness is the new man behind the bench at the Winnipeg Jets:

Speaking of hires, the San Jose Sharks made Mike Grier the first black general manager in NHL history:

Adding to the story, Jessica Campbell will be the first full-time coach in AHL history:

Let’s keep the train rolling: The Toronto Maple Leafs promoted Hayley Wickenheiser to the role of assistant general manager, among others:

And today the New Jersey Devils Also named a female general meeting, Kate Madigan:

Back to the draft, Corey Pronman has released his final ranking of Prospects of the Year:

Greg Wyshynski tries to mock the first round:

However, not all first-round picks work. Case and point: The Ottawa Senators buy out first all-rounder of 2015 Colin White:

Finally, there may not be a goalie for the first round this year, but teams these days are starting to draft them higher and with better results: