Matt Niskanen is a player that the Stars hold in high regard. Despite being a little on the smaller size for being 6'0 tall, Niskanen has some strong offensive instincts, as well as the ability to become a quality defender in his own right so watch out—Niskanen's debut season of a +22 and 26 points may only be just the beginning.
Both Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric will be given more opportunity to use their larger bodies at the NHL level, but both could use an adjustment period, despite quality showings last year (seven assists for Grossman while Fistric had two, and both were plus players). Outside of the speed issue that both will face playing in the big leagues, Grossman may still need a bit of an adjustment to the North American game.
Dan Jancevski (who was a stalwart on London's defense in the OHL), is a quality depth option for the Stars, and he could even start to take hold with some minor offensive output if given the chance, while Stephane Robidas will provide a little additional offense from the third pairing.
Ivan Vishnekskiy is another name that Dallas fans may come to know in the near future, but the 2006 First-round pick may still take some seasoning in the AHL before he can bring his well-rounded game to the NHL.
Ken's Take: There are two keys to the Stars defense, depth and health. For the Stars to improve on last season veteran injuries to Zubov and Boucher must be at a minimum. Regardless of being hit with the injury bug or not the Stars depth must continue to grow.
The Stars hold one of the most talent-filled and deep blue-lines in the NHL and further maturity by young defensemen will only make this corps more dangerous.
*MEMO FROM BT: I wrote this a few days ago, and the injuries to Boucher and Zubov hit the wire yesterday, which is the danger of doing this during training camp. The bright side is that Boucher is only day-to-day and Zubov will only miss four weeks—not too much of a hindrance.
Marty Turco, His nickname is "Turks." Not as great as "Eddie the Eagle" but I guess it's a start...
For the past seven regular seasons, Marty Turco has been all the Dallas Stars could have hoped and dreamed of, and maybe even more. Since he started as Ed Belfour's backup in Big D, Turco has been able to join the select group of current starting NHL goalies, who have never posted a season under .500.
Marty is working on five straight 30 win seasons, while the highest his goals-against average has ever been is 2.55 (his lowest was 1.72 in 2002).
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