Now, please check out McClearin’s first Observer sports column.
Youth. It’s nice when you have it in your own life, but it’s especially nice when your favorite team has it. And one of my teams, and hopefully yours, has it in abundance. As much is evident in the way that the prospective stars of the future have become fantastic standouts in the present for the Dallas Stars.
Of the four major sports teams in town, the Stars of the National Hockey League tend to get put into the last slot in terms of popularity behind the Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks. That’s because hockey can be somewhat of a niche pastime for those who don’t loyally follow it and because the Stars are the youngest major DFW-area franchise, having arrived in the fall of 1993. But right now, they are, aside from the World Champion Texas Rangers, of course, the major local franchise that is enjoying the most success.
And on top of that, the hockey club just might have the brightest future of any team in town, including the Rangers, when it comes to competing for a championship.
The Stars lost in the Western Conference Finals last year in a thrilling six-game series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. You might also remember the Stars squad that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2020 “bubble season.” But on the heels of those heartbreaking losses, the Stars now seem poised to run right back into the deep end of the NHL playoffs. Judging by how this season has gone thus far, the Stars indeed have a legitimate chance to, as they say, “skate the Cup” for the first time since 1999. (Far more recently than the last time the Cowboys hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy, I might add.)
If you’re a hardcore Stars fan, you may smile with understanding as you read this. But if you’re curious about this team or have thoughts of jumping on a local bandwagon, just do it. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the promising young core the team has assembled.
The Stars have been one of the five best teams in the NHL all season long. As of this writing, they lead the Central Division and have the fourth-most points in the entire league. They are, without a doubt, going to the playoffs. The question is will they be there as the Central Division winners or as a wild-card team?
"But if you’re curious about this team or have thoughts of jumping on a local bandwagon, just do it."
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The Stars have incredible depth, thanks to smart drafting and player development that’s created an influx of talented young players. Last season saw the debut of Wyatt Johnston, who was a revelation in the playoffs and has carried that into a second consecutive 20-plus goal campaign in his second season. He’s 20.
That’s correct. He was a first-round pick in 2021. He can’t even legally drink a beer yet.
Who was the second-round pick in that same draft? That would be Logan Stankoven, the electric goal scorer who was just called up to the big club in February and netted three goals and five assists in his first six games. Oh, and he turned 21 on February 26.
It’s almost impossible to overstate how well Stars GM Jim Nill has picked in the early rounds of some recent drafts. Thomas Harley, a first-round selection in 2019, is currently sixth in the NHL in goals by a defenseman and has been skating on the Stars top defensive pairing most of the season. He’s 22.
And before we move on, the top-notch defenseman Harley is skating with is Miro Heiskanen, one of the best overall players not just on the Stars, but in the NHL. You guessed it, he’s a young one too. The Finnish Heiskanen, despite playing in his sixth NHL season, is only 24.
All four of these promising names are key pieces to the Stars now and in the next few years. Given some of the established names you likely already know such as Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski, you might think the team has a solid mix of youth and vets with only the players we've mentioned already.
But wait, there’s more.
Let’s not forget about 24-year-old Jason Robertson, who led the team in scoring a year ago and is doing it again with another 20-plus goal season. Plus there’s the anchor behind the defense, goalie Jake Oettinger, who turned 25 in December and played in this season’s All-Star game. That’s especially encouraging, as goalies tend to age very well. The Stars’ Cup-winning net minder in 1999 was 34-year-old Ed Belfour, and Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie last season at the ripe old age of 29. These are but two prominent examples of how the local goalie might have several more highly productive years ahead if he stays healthy.
To recap: that’s six players at key positions who will serve as the core of the Stars over the next handful of seasons. The Stars also have top prospects currently skating with their minor league team in the Austin area in center Mavrik Bourque and defenseman Christian Kyrou, plus Lian Bischel, who’s spent most of this season playing in Sweden. Those prospects are projected to be part of what might help this current winning trend to eventually mirror the dominant run the squad had in the late ‘90s, when they went to three straight Conference Finals and appeared in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Look, we know the Cowboys will always be a top story around here, regardless of whether they keep losing in the playoffs or one day manage to win it all again. The Mavericks have a generational superstar in Luka Doncic, quite young himself, but he has been a part of just one playoff series win. The Rangers indeed have a good young core and are coming off a surprising World Series title. But it just might be the Stars who possess the best collection of youth and a window that is as wide open for winning titles as anyone.
Had Ponce de Leon lived in the 21st century and set out on his search for the mythical fountain of youth today, he would probably like what he’d see skating on the ice at the American Airlines Center.
You can find Matt McClearin on X at @McMattRadio and on Instagram at @McClearin.
