Toby Petersen and Fabian Brunnstrom Have Roster Spots with the Dallas Stars

As discussed today by Mike Heika on his Dallas Morning News Stars Blog, Toby Petersen signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Stars earlier in the summer, and is expected to replace Stu Barnes in the lineup. It is likely that Barnes will retire.

The 30-year-old former captain of the Iowa Stars appears to be a perfect fit to replace Barnes—and moreover, has finally found himself a home in the NHL after spending five of six seasons in the AHL. He made a lot of good impressions in last year's playoffs, and is a sure fit for a third- or fourth-line spot in the lineup.

You can catch a previous article about Toby Petersen here.

Ken's Take: Sad to possibly see Stu go, but Petersen deserves his time in the pros. During the playoffs, he was one of the hardest working guys on the ice.

In yesterday's DMN Stars Blog, Heika discussed something important to myself, and many other Stars fans—the future of Fabian Brunnstrom.

After Brunnstrom was told by GMs Brett Hull and Les Jackson, not to worry about prospect camp and focus about making the team out of training camp, the "over-hyped" designation came to a head.

If I had been a Stars prospect looking to improve in prospect camp, I would certainly feel like crap, as during my skating drills Brunnstrom sits at home playing NHL 08 awaiting training camp. Brunnstrom may be a top prospect, but he shouldn't be treated differently.

Moreover, all the talk of expecting Brunnstrom to have a steady third or fourth-line spot, is setting the kid up for defeat. If he flops and plays terribly, the Stars have no one to blame but Hull and Jackson.

In random Brunnstrom news, his jersey number on the Stars website has been listed as number 96. Until today, it was blank.

Ken's Take: Brunnstrom should be forced to play in the minors first, and see what he does there - leave it to Dallas to not have an AHL affiliate. The entire situation could be bad for Dallas if Brunnstrom doesn't meet expectations. What happens if he has a bad camp? What do the Stars do then?

Ken Armer is a Senior hockey Writer and a Community Leader for the NHL and Dallas Stars. You can contact him on his profile or via e-mail at [e-mail]