Today was Dallas Stars media day, and more importantly, the eve of training camp. 

After long media sessions with both Stars general manager Jim Nill and head coach Glen Gulutzan, there was one thing I really wanted to write about: the significance of internal growth and young players grabbing bigger roles this season. 

Plus, I’ll include some other notes at the bottom here. 

The talk throughout the summer has often found its way to a couple of holes in the Dallas roster. The Stars lost Mason Marchment to trade and Mikael Granlund to free agency due to their tight salary cap situation after signing some key players and bringing in Mikko Rantanen last season. On the backend, Cody Ceci moved on, and Matt Dumba was traded. 

Dallas added depth forwards Radek Faksa and Nathan Bastian. 

So, when you look at the roster, you can’t help but notice those holes on the left side of the top-six forwards and on the right side along the blue line. With that same tight cap situation staring them right in the face, the Stars have no choice but to look to internal growth. Nill even went as far as to say it was ‘going to define a big part of our season.’ 

And at least from the sound of it, they believe they have some players who can make that leap. 

“What I’m excited about this year is we’ve got a group that are kind of becoming part of our core, younger players. Time for them to take that next step,” Nill said. “I think that’s going to define a big part of our season is whether these guys will take that next step. We’ve got the veterans there, and they’ve been doing it for a long time. We’ve got a core that’s been there for a while. Now we’ve got this next group of guys, and there’s going to be more opportunity for them. That’s what excites me.” 

To me, this group is quite obvious. It’s Mavrik Bourque and Nils Lundkvist. Both players are in a similar boat. Gulutzan agrees, and he didn’t shy away from it when asked generally about young players. 

“Yeah, I know who you’re talking about, so I’ll just tell you. Nils and Bourque, I told them both, ‘I’m giving you an opportunity here,’” Gulutzan said.

Bourque impressed down the stretch last season before Pete DeBoer benched him for nearly the entire playoffs. The former AHL MVP has loads of potential and seems a lot more confident heading into this season. A fresh start with a new coach doesn’t hurt, either.

Here’s a lot more on Bourque from an exclusive interview last week: 

Lundkvist has had a few more cracks at this NHL thing. After Nill showed confidence in him, uncharacteristically sending a first-round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for the Swedish defenseman, Lundkvist had his moments… good and bad. 

The now 25-year-old has taken strides in each of his three NHL seasons. 

First, he showed offensive flash while struggling in his own end. Then, he may have corrected too far, playing far more solid defensively, but all but eliminating his offensive skill and skating up the ice. Last season, he seemed to be putting those pieces together before his year came to an end in February due to shoulder surgery. 

Nill continued to show his faith, bringing Lundkvist back on another one-year contract this summer. 

“First of all, Nils, I thought he was really coming on last year,” Nill said. “I talked about the guys that need to grab it. He’s a great example. It’s time for him now. He’s worked too hard. He’s an amazing story… two years in a row… he’s won the most fit player (at fitness testing before training camp)… His work ethic’s amazing. If we would’ve gone to the next round, he was going to become an option for us, which we never dreamed of… He’s got a great commitment to the game. I thought he was really taking strides.”

If both players can take another step, mostly just by playing a more consistent game, they should have every opportunity to grab a bigger role on this team. That may not be every night or all 82 games, but the chance is there. 

“They’re ready to grow, in my opinion,” Gulutzan said. “So I’m going to give them an opportunity here in camp to see what they can do.”

Lundkvist has a great chance to secure a spot in the top six on the blue line. And while that doesn’t sound massive, it would be a huge step up from constantly going in and out of the lineup and not knowing where you stand. The Stars really already have Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, Lian Bichsel, and Ilya Lyubushkin in the lineup on opening night. So, there is one spot up for grabs, plus maybe a seventh defender to scratch.

Is it Lundkvist’s spot to lose? It sure feels that way to me. Dallas has AHL to NHL jumper extraordinaire, Alexander Petrovic, but the team knows what they have in him. Then there is Vladislav Kolyachonok, a skilled defender who came over in the Dumba trade.

So there is some competition. But I feel that if Lundkvist plays well, he’s in, especially with the constant confidence Nill has shown in him. 

Bourque’s situation is intriguing.

While there are holes, they are on the left side. Bourque is a natural center who shoots right and learned to play right wing last season. Of course, Bourque said he will play whatever the team needs him to. That’s good because the Stars may need him to play on his off wing. On the DLLS Stars show, Bourque actually told us that he prefers that wing in the offensive zone because it allows him to cut to the middle on his forehand and have more control entering the zone… 

Well, well, well… that just so happens to fit perfectly with what Gulutzan is trying to implement in Dallas. 

“Some of the stuff we did actually in Edmonton, we would bring pucks back a little bit, hold onto things rather than always just playing forward,” Gulutzan said. “It’s a lot easier, especially in the neutral zone, for guys that are on their off side… So any of these players that would love to play the off side, I’m 100% for it, because the way we play, a lot of times it is easier to be on the opposite wing. And I do want to possess the puck a little bit more.”

NOTES 

• Dallas has a fully healthy roster heading into training camp, which is very rare. Here are a few AHL players who will miss a bit of time this fall: 

• Gulutzan wants to keep the leadership group as is, at least to start the season. He said it would be silly for him to think he knows who the”better” leaders could be this early on. 
• There are no updates on the contract extensions of Jason Robertson or Thomas Harley. Both have been in some discussions, but neither side is in a hurry, with plenty of runway left. 
• Gulutzan said he wants the first two days of camp to be “hard.” His staff wants to set the tone right away for the pace and style of hockey they need their team to play. I’m all for it.
• Gulutzan said the players and coaching staff were on the same page when he made his initial calls this summer. Everyone is committed and driven to win, and all parties believe the team needs to play a little harder and a bit grittier.
• Third jersey: I tried to get something out of team president and CEO Brad Alberts. He responded to my text with his famous 👀 and nothing else. So… still waiting. 
• Gulutzan is going to bring a completely different energy to this group. You can see it already. 
• The entire organization is hyper-aware of the condensed schedule and tough travel. I could see this season being a lot more about rest than it is about getting practices in. The team has hit the wall three years in a row, especially last year. Could a little more rest overall and for certain players make the difference? 

“You’ve got to have some fun along the way,” Gulutzan said. “You’ve got to have a little joy in your locker room. And I mean, it’s a little easier if you’re winning games every night. But whatever organization you’re in, you need it, and that’s one of the trends I’ve seen around the league now… It’s just the ability to say, ‘Hey, this is hard.’ It can’t be just a grind every single day… We need good energy. We need energy flowing through that room. We need guys ready to play. Sometimes that’s a little jab. Sometimes it’s a little fun.” 

Training camp begins at 9 am Thursday in Frisco. See you there?