Once again it's that time of year here on Defending Big D where we take a look at each player that suited up for 20 or more games this season (and are still with the team) - and take a look back at their season.  What was good about it, what wasn't so good, and the lasting impression they left us as we go into summer.

Key Stat:  12.7  - Vincour's CORSI rating, the highest among players who played at least 20 games this season for Dallas. 

The Good:  Though he earned a long look at training camp, it wasn't until the Stars were riddled with injuries that Vincour earned a call-up. Vincour immediately made an impact upon his arrival, though not on the scoresheet. For many fans, Vincour passed the "eye-ball test." He began by showing a knack for defensive positioning that most forwards his age rarely possess, and then started showing up on numerous scoring chances. He gelled with most any line he was put on, but really showed good chemistry with Jamie Benn and Steve Ott. 

The Bad:  For as good as he looked, the two points in 24 games isn't really all that impressive. Chalk that up to a young forward on his first spin with the pros. And let's not forget the questionable Shea Weber hit, one that Vincour was lucky to not be hurt on.

The Bottom Line:  Scoresheet aside, Vincour looked like he belonged with the pros. Defensive responsibility, physicality, playmaking ability....it's all there. The goal-scoring touch will come in time. Here's hoping he gets the same thing out of the Calder Cup playoffs that Jamie Benn did before him. This kid has a bright future.

The Vote:  Rate Vincour after the jump on a scale of A to F (A being the best of course) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season.

Once again it's that time of year here on Defending Big D where we take a look at each player that suited up for 25 or more games this season (and are still with the team) and take a look back at their season.  What was good about it, what wasn't so good, and the lasting impression they left us as we go into summer.

Mike Ribeiro

#63 / Center / Dallas Stars

Height: 6-0

Weight: 173

Born: Feb 10, 1980

 

 

 

 

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2010 - Mike Ribeiro	82	19	52	71	-4	28	7	0	4		161

Key Stat:  14 - The amount of goals Ribeiro scored this season when the Stars were either trailing or tied.

The Good:  After failing to crack 70 points last season for the first time in three years, Ribeiro enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2010-11. Behind Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson, Ribeiro was the most consistent point producer (.87 points per game) this season for Dallas, and his 54 assists were the seventh-best in the NHL. Ribeiro had a knack this season for scoring in 'clutch' moments, and the Stars were 14-2-2 when he recorded a multi-point game. There was also a physical edge to his game that we had not seen before. 

The Bad: From the way his season started, you had to wonder if Ribeiro was ever going to score a goal. He went scoreless for the first sixteen games of the season, but not for a lack of trying. The sheer amount of post dingers and misses on gaping nets started to drive fans almost as crazy as it did to Mike himself. The poor guy couldn't catch a break. There were also numerous times throughout the season where Ribeiro's focus defensively could have been questioned.

The Bottom Line:  A healthy bounce-back year for Ribeiro. The old chemistry with Brenden Morrow resurfaced with great results this season. Ribeiro looked stronger and more confident than he did the previous season, and it showed on the ice. The only question that remains is whether or not Mike Ribeiro can handle the number-one center duties if/when Brad Richards departs. We'll try and answer that question here on DBD in the coming weeks.

The Vote:  Rate Ribeiro on a scale of A to F (A being the best of course) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season.

And after the jump, the most memorable moment in Ribeiro's season....

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Once again it's that time of year here on Defending Big D where we take a look at each player that suited up for 25 or more games this season (and are still with the team) - or in this case, was considered the 'backup goalie' - and take a look back at their season.  What was good about it, what wasn't so good, and the lasting impression they left us as we go into summer.

Loui Eriksson

#21 / Left Wing / Dallas Stars

Height: 6-1

Weight: 189

Born: Jul 17, 1985

 

 

 

 

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	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2010 - Loui Eriksson	79	27	46	73	10	8	10	1	6		179

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Key Stat:  1 - The amount of goals Eriksson scored during an eleven game stretch from late March to early April, when the Stars were grappling with teams they needed to beat to stay in the playoff hunt. It was a bad time for Loui to go cold. 

The Good:  Loui's season started with a bang when he scored the game-winner in OT against the Devils in the season opener. In fact, Loui's stat line through the first eleven games looked like this: 9-7-16. Eriksson found himself atop the NHL leaderboards early in the season, and there's no question his hot start helped keep the Stars rolling through the first two months of the season. He also led the team in +/- with a plus-10. Loui could be in the Lady Byng discussion this year with 8 penalty minutes, and had another Selke-type season. Eriksson also gained some recognition around the league and was named to the All-Star team.

The Bad: That bad stretch we highlighted above is a bit glaring. When the team needed its stars the most, Loui couldn't put the biscuit in the basket often enough. Maybe Loui isn't the type of player who'll carry a team on his back, but the normally consistent Eriksson didn't answer when the fans collectively asked, "Who else is going to help Jamie Benn lift this team?"

The Bottom Line:  Another quietly consistent year from Eriksson, who continues to grow more skilled at both ends of the ice. No, he couldn't carry the team when they needed someone to, but just looking at the numbers (specifically the team-leading 6 game-winners) and his play on the ice, it's hard to be disappointed with Eriksson's year.

The Vote:  Rate Eriksson on a scale of A to F (A being the best of course) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season.

When the Stars called up Tomas Vincour in early February, I don't think many fans turned their heads at the news. Dallas was short on healthy bodies at the time and basically had a revolving door at the forward position for AHL call-ups. It's the kind of debut any player hopes for: no expectations, no pressure to immediately excel. Just come into the lineup and play your role until people get healthy. 

Yet Vincour has done more than that. You won't find him on the scoresheet, but he's passed the eyeball test so far. He's shown great instincts in all areas of the ice, creating plenty of chances for his linemates while playing a defensively responsible game that is rare for a 20-year-old rookie. Remember that this time last year Vincour was playing in the WHL, and he has little more than half of a season's worth of experience in the AHL. He's playing a kind of quality hockey not many prospects play with with so little experience. 

And it brings up an important question: what does this mean for his development? Should he stay with the big club for good, or could he benefit from more seasoning in the minors? It's far too early to tell at this point. But the Vincour call-up itself did surprise Alvin Chang of ESPN.com's NHL Draft Blog (note: requires ESPN Insider to read):

This is remarkable because, historically, the Stars are extremely patient with their prospects. On average, Stars prospects have had to wait 3.3 years to make their NHL debut after being drafted, making Dallas the most patient team in the NHL (the league average is about 2.6 years). However, Vincour made it in just 1.5 years.

So perhaps second-year general manager Joe Nieuwendyk is playing by different rules than his predecessors.

This is something I don't know if many fans are aware of. I definitely wasn't. But off the top of your head, try to name the rookies that've stuck with the Stars roster without significant AHL playing time. Jamie Benn comes to mind, as do Fabian Brunnstrom and Matt Niskanen. But compared to the rest of the NHL, that's a very small sample.

So the Dallas Stars tend to take their time developing prospects, more so than any other team in the league. Is this a good strategy? Or have the Stars been hurting themselves by being too patient?

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Talk about teasing your opponent with victory. 

Jamie Benn's gamewinning goal with 4 seconds remaining gave the Stars the win, in a game they almost handed to the Coyotes on a silver platter. 

Make no mistake about it: tonight was all about Jamie Benn, right from the first few shifts. Crawford made it very clear that he was going to be double-shifting Jamie Benn all night, and the only question was how the 21-year-old would respond. 

Well, he responded with a dominant performance. Lately, that's been the case. With the Stars missing Brad Richards and still nursing some festering wounds, Jamie Benn provided the kind of spark tonight that kept his teammates energized throughout the game. We talked about it in the game thread, how confident he looks right now with the puck. And yet, he's had nothing to show for it on the scoresheet lately, so you felt that eventually he'd make his mark there at somepoint. 

It didn't happen in the first period, but an equally impressive performance by Tom Wandell more than made up for it. After creating a couple of chances earlier in the frame, Wandell finally cashed in when he slapped home a pass from Toby Peterson that beat Ilya Bryzgalov over the shoulder. It was Wandell's second goal in as many games, and we'll go into his night a bit more later on. 

Wandell's goal was a culmination of a period of dominance by the Stars, as the Coyotes were kept on their heels in their own zone for most of the first 20 minutes. The Coyotes surged in the second period, but Kari Lehtonen kept them out of the net. You had to wonder just when Phoenix would cash in, since they came out even stronger to start the 3rd period. But once again, Dallas weathered the storm. The Stars eventually built a 2-goal cushion when Jamie Langenbrunner found the net with six minutes left in the third. 

But leave it to Dallas to make things interesting...

After the jump, random thoughts on the game tonight...

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Just when you thought the injury situation couldn't get any worse, StarsPR tweeted this earlier on today:

@StarsPR: Brad Richards will not be on the trip to Canada due to injury according to Stars Head Coach Marc Crawford.

According to Crawford, Richards "doesn't feel 100%" and will rest a bit and hopefully rejoin the team on the road trip. StarsPR also linked to Crawford audio from Stars practice, so check that out. 

In that audio, Crawford says Richards suffered an injury in the last shift of the game last night, when Sami Pahlsson hit him in the neutral zone. You might remember yelling at your television for Richards to stop standing around, because it looked like he was jawing at the refs. But apparently he was dazed or something after that play. I hate to speculate, but the way Crawford spoke of being "cautious" with Richards makes you wonder if he has some concussion-like symptoms today. But it could be anything. 

Either way, the Stars are now without their best player for a critical road trip. If you're keeping count, that's six guys nursing injuries right now. (Jamie Benn, Nicklas Grossman, Adam Burish, Krys Barch, Raymond Sawada, and now Richards.)

Speaking of Grossman, Crawford says while the big Swede will accompany the team to Canada, he's "doubtful" for the next two games due to a hip flexor. Toby Peterson is playing his first rehab game in the AHL tonight, and depending on how he feels he could be a much-needed reinforcement in the next week or so. 

So how do you juggle the lines in Richards' absence? And what will become of the already drowning power play? 

Not a good way to start a big week. 

I think it's games like this that the Stars miss Jamie Benn and Adam Burish the most. 

Without those two high-energy players, Dallas struggled to keep up with the Blue Jackets in a 2-1 loss. This was a big game, too. As Ralph and Razor pointed out multiple times during the game, the Stars could find themselves in a rather precarious position depending on how this week plays out. 

Have a good week, and they stay on top of the division for the time being. Have a bad week, and they could find themselves outside of the playoff picture. 

So with that in mind, the Stars couldn't afford to let the Jackets get ahead of them early on. Dallas has been plagued by slow starts lately, and this afternoon was no different. Brad Richards managed to get the Stars on the board first with a wrister that beat Steve Mason on the power play, but the Stars couldn't hold the fort for more than a minute. The Jackets got a shot off the faceoff, and Kari Lehtonen gave up a juicy rebound to Matt Calvert, tying the game up at one apiece. 

The Stars then proceeded to get outshot 12-2 for the rest of the period. But thanks to about five brilliant stops by Kari Lehtonen, Columbus couldn't widen their advantage. Dallas came out looking better in the second period, but couldn't get anything by Steve Mason. Rick Nash scored a pretty goal for the Jackets to give Columbus their first lead of the game. 

Dallas picked things up a little more in the third. On what seemed like their fiftieth power play, Stephane Robidas was stymied by Mason off a one-timer from Richards. Mike Ribeiro had a great look by the net, but hesitated too long to get a shot off. Steve Ott had a brilliant chance off of a turnover, but couldn't elevate his backhand shot over the pad of Mason. And on and on and on. The game ended in a 2-1 loss. 

My thoughts on the game after the jump....

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If the Stars were ever going to pull out of their slump, they needed a game like this. 

A simple win wouldn't do the trick. This team needed to prove to themselves that they could battle and grind back into games like they've done all season long, and they did just that tonight in a 4-3 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks. 

As per usual lately, the Stars got off to a slow start. Only this time things went downhill faster than usual. Two turnovers by Nicklas Grossman in the defensive zone resulted in two quick Blackhawk goals, and a porous penalty kill gave Patrick Sharp the third goal of the night. And the first period wasn't even over yet. 

Now, earlier in the season we might've felt a little optimism about a comeback. But lately the Stars haven't shown that same fire that they need to get themselves back in games, and a dismal first period didn't indicate they were about to change that trend. 

But a couple of Mark Fistric hits and a brilliant save by Kari Lehtonen seemed to wake the Stars up. Stephane Robidas circled around the net and squeaked a softie by Marty Turco to put the Stars on the board. Then, with less than a minute left in the period, Brad Richards beat Turco over the shoulder on the power play to bring the Stars within one. And Brenden Morrow tied it up only minutes into the final frame in a sequence of events that can only be described as unorganized. Jamie Langenbrunner shanked on a gaping net, Morrow tipped the puck into the air as he was falling down, and the puck rolled off the back of a flailing Magikarp Marty Turco into the net. 

The Stars then withstood a frantic final few minutes and overtime to take it to a shootout, where Morrow, Richards and Mike Ribeiro all scored to give the Stars a hard-earned two points. 

My thoughts on the game after the jump...

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High draft picks come with high expectations. Perhaps no one in the Dallas Stars system knows that more than Scott Glennie, the 8th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Glennie has tallied three consecutive seasons of 50-plus points with the Brandon Wheat Kings, yet came into his fourth campaign surrounded with questions. 

To be honest, his start to the season did little to silence his detractors, with only seven goals through November while the Wheat Kings struggled to keep up in the standings. Glennie was not invited to the Team Canada tryouts for the World Junior Classic, adding more salt to the season's wounds.

But once December rolled around, Glennie finally hit his stride. The right winger has 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) and is a +8 in his last 39 games. Glennie has had 13 multi-point games in that stretch, including six games with 3 or more points. In the last month alone, Glennie scored 8 goals and made 10 assists. Once far out of the WHL scoring leaderboard picture, Glennie has skyrocketed to 13th overall with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists). 

The turnaround for Glennie is impressive, no doubt, but perhaps should be taken with a grain of salt. Remember one of the biggest questions about Glennie was whether he could perform without Brayden Schenn centering his line. Well, Schenn hasn't played with the Wheat Kings all season. (Note: in the original edit of this post, I somehow thought that Schenn had played in Brandon since December. He hasn't, I'm an idiot, and Glennie has done this all on his own.)

So finally we're starting to see Glennie's potential to make a team his own. In the last two months, Glennie has put the Wheat Kings on his back and put up the same offensive numbers he's been putting up the last three seasons. And he's done this without Brayden Schenn and a much weaker Brandon roster. If he shows this same fire and ability in training camp next year, maybe he can crack the Dallas roster. 

After the jump, updates on two impressive NCAA wingers and a rough start to the year for Jack Campbell...

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As I was watching the game last night, I knew something was off. Andrew Raycroft's performance this season has been nothing sort of brilliant, yet the Calgary Flames still ended up with seven goals on the scoreboard yesterday. I found myself asking why that was. 

The easy answer would be "Every goalie has a bad game," or "It was just bad juck," or "The numbers don't matter." 

Well, we here at DBD don't settle for easy answers. And I have no life lots of free time. So I went through the video of the game, and I've come up with a screenshot-by-screenshot analysis of all of the Flame's goals last night. Follow the jump to get started....

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I'm in between classes at the moment, so this will be a short StarGazing today, folks.

If you had told me at this time last season that the Stars would go on an 8-game road win streak in the next season, I would've questioned your grip on reality. Let's face it, the Stars were putrid away from the friendly confines of the AAC last season. So for them to make such a marked improvement in only a year's time is mightily impressive. 

And it speaks to how far this team has come as far as chemistry is concerned. I remember a couple years ago listening to Razor on the radio, saying how the team bus rides on the road were oddly silent. There didn't seem to be that chemistry, that 'fun' atmosphere that there is now, and you can see the effect that has had on the squad. It's great to see. 

Anyways, onto the news..

According to a report on the great hockey uniform website Icethetics.com, the Dallas Stars are looking into designing a new alternate jersey for next season. Dallas will be among reportedly eleven teams that are making changes to their uniforms in '11-'12. 

From Icethetics:

Dallas may have been the hardest hit by the transition to Reebok Edge in 2007. They went from having a beautiful and unique set of sweaters to some of the blandest in the league. And green almost disappeared entirely.

Currently, the Stars wear a black jersey and a white jersey, each of which simply has the word "DALLAS" arched above the sweater number - not too unlike the Thrashers' current third. They're trimmed in gold and only the white uniform has any hint of green. Their third jersey is the only one with any kind of a logo on the front.

Now it seems they're finally ready to advance the brand and add something new. (Let's just hope it's not a black version of the present third.) I think we're all anticipating something in green, a color that's slowly but surely returning to the NHL after an absence that went on too long.

If you'll remember (and I'm sure you've probably noticed this by now), the Stars swapped their alternate jersey with their road jersey before this season. So all they have is a black jersey, and two white jerseys. Not much color for a franchise that originally had very colorful jerseys at the beginning of the decade. 

Icethetics even muses that the Stars could consider a new logo for the third jersey, which I'm personally skeptical about. This franchise doesn't have a great track record with new logos (see: Mooterus), and I'd much prefer the green Texas logo on the front of a new sweater. But that's just me. 

So what say you? What kind of design do you think the Stars should go with? I've heard suggestions ranging from an updated "old-school" North Stars look to a totally brand new incarnation of the jersey. Either way, it looks like the Stars will be wearing a lot more green from now on than they have in the past few years. 

Way back in June's NHL Entry Draft, the Stars found themselves sitting at the eleventh overall pick with two highly touted defensive prospects still on the board. While many fans were convinced that Cam Fowler or Brandon Gormley would be the newest Dallas Star, Joe Nieuwendyk and company had their eyes on the 18-year-old goaltender out of Port Huron, Michigan, who had just backstopped the USA juniors team to a gold medal. And so Jack Campbell became a Dallas Star. 

While the move was initially met with some skepticism by fans, Campbell has done his part in convincing many that he was the right pick after all. He impressed during Stars training camp, and rebounded after a tough start to his season with the Windsor Spitfires, and was by far the best goalie again during the World Junior Championships last month. 

Defending Big D recently had the opportunity to talk with Jack Campbell. Thanks to the Windsor Spitfires and specifically Rob Gagnon and Derek Zona for helping set up this interview. 

Interview after the jump....

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For the sixth consecutive year, the Dallas Stars will have multiple representatives in the NHL All-Star game. Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson were selected as two of 42 other players to play in the game on Sunday, January 30th in North Carolina. 

I think we all knew that Brad Richards would make his way onto the roster somehow. The guy is among the league leaders in almost every offensive category, and is by far and away the Stars best player this season. 

No, the real question was whether Loui Eriksson would make the squad. He's having an outstanding year, nearly as good stats-wise as Richards, and is in the top-ten in the league in assists, points and plus/minus. And yet, he's still one of the most underrated and under-publicized players in the league. 

I think if this year were like any other All-Star vote, Loui wouldn't have made it. But thankfully this one wasn't up to the fans. Instead, the NHL's Hockey Operations Department made the right choice in naming Loui to the roster. 

You'll notice that Stephane Robidas did not make the list, but I for one am not complaining. He deserves some time to rest, honestly. 

Press release and full list of players after the jump....

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The trade for Jamie Langenbrunner was finally made official earlier today, and GM Joe Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner held a conference call soon after with their first public comments on the biggest move the Dallas Stars have made this year. (Get it? Because it's 2011?)

First, let me point out something that Nieuwendyk cleared up about the conditional picks. If the Stars make the first round of the playoffs or resign Langenbrunner, then the pick they sent to New Jersey will become a second round pick. If the Stars resign him after July 1st, then New Jersey will get the Stars' second round pick and the Devils would send their third round pick to Dallas. 

Right off the bat, Joe was asked about the reasoning behind the move. Nieuwendyk said the addition of Langenbrunner wouldn't have been made if the team wasn't sure of itself at this point in the season. 

"I think no one really had a crystal ball and knew what kind of team we were going to be coming out of training camp," Nieuwendyk said. "But we're halfway through the season and I think all of us are really happy with where we're at. There's a good feeling in that locker room and there's a belief in that locker room, and I think this move today will even strengthen that belief."

Something I know many Stars fans were worried about was the impact Langenbrunner would have on the team's chemistry. This is obviously a tightly knit group that has really bought into each other, and some were afraid that any move like this would upset that balance. However, Nieuwendyk said that wouldn't be a concern with Jamie. 

"I know the character of Jamie and I know he'll be a terrific fit for us in the locker room," Nieuwendyk said. "He's familiar with our organization, he's familiar with a couple of our players, and I think it helps for where we are currently to have a guy who's the type of character like Jamie, the type of leader and helping us push forward to the playoffs."

Langenbrunner also addressed those concerns, saying that he's ready to take on whatever role the coaching staff asks him to. The former Devils captain also said he hopes to bring some leadership qualities to the locker room.

"I'm going to come there and be who I am," Langenbrunner said. "I've always considered myself a leader in a certain way. I'm pretty eager to get there and meet all of those guys on the team, but they're doing a lot of good things there so I'm going to come there and support what Brenden's got going from a leadership standpoint."

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                                     Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 · 5:00 p.m. CST

Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

TV: FSW + || Radio: Listen Online, or on 1310 The Ticket

Official GDT of Steve Ott-Cam Janssen Fights

FSW +:

Time Warner - Ch. 960, Charter Communications - Ch. 300 , DirecTV - Ch. 677 (677-1 HD) , Dish Network - Ch. 446 (9516-HD) , AT&T U-Verse - Ch. 754 (1754 HD) , Verizon Fios - Ch. 333

First off, Happy New Years to all of you fine folks. Hope 2011 is off to a good start.

While you all were out either partying, watching the Stars' disappointing defeat to the Canucks or even keeping up with the Texas Stars' win yesterday, the World Junior Championships continued in exciting fashion last night. As the tournament progresses, it seems, the Dallas Stars prospects continue to find more and more success. 

Let's start with Jack Campbell, the highly touted 11th overall pick by the Stars in last year's draft. Campbell's USA squad took on Switzerland last night, and the young netminder was once again spectacular. Campbell's 25 saves led the way to a USA 2-1 victory, giving the Americans a first place finish in Pool A and a spot in the semifinal game on Monday. The Americans went undefeated in the preliminary round and will face the winner of Canada/Switzerland game on Sunday. 

The game was a close one, and Campbell made two outstanding saves late in the third period for his team. After making a great left pad save on Reto Schappi, Campbell made a fantastic stop with 4 minutes left in the game to win the game for the US. (You can see that save at the 20:30 minute mark here.) Campbell leads the tournament with a 1.04 GAA and a .954 SV%. It's been quite the coming out party for Jack so far. 

Meanwhile, two other Stars prospects took the ice last night, as Sweden shocked Canada in a 6-5 shootout win that sends Sweden to the semifinals as well. Stars defensive prospect Patrik Nemeth recorded an assist in the win, and John Klingberg also looked impressive with his puck movement last night. Klingberg has a goal and an assist and is +2, and Nemeth has two assists and is +3 so far in the tournament. Sweden will play at 2:30 pm CT on Monday, and the Americans will play at 6:30 pm central. Both games should be shown on NHL Network.

First off, let me say this: the Vancouver Canucks are one helluva team. If you were expecting an easy win to ease you into 2011, you haven't been paying attention. 

Backed by a brilliant 44-save performance from Cory Schneider, the Canucks dismantled a helpless Dallas Stars penalty kill en route to a 4-1 win on the final night of 2010. 

Dallas actually played fairly well for most of the first period, until they gave the Canucks an opportunity to go on the power play (which is their specialty, as only Chicago is better on the man advantage). Christian Ehrhoff set up at the point and quickly passed it off to Henrik Sedin at the lower left circle. With Kari Lehtonen pulling hard towards the puck, Henrik flopped the puck slowly to his brother in front of the net and Daniel Sedin easily netted it to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. 

Any hope for a Dallas response was immediately squashed less than a minute later when Kevin Bieksa took advantage of a horrible Stars line change to get Raffi Torres on a breakaway to put the Canucks up by two goals. So after the Stars got off to an okay start, they slinked into the locker room after the first period with absolutely no momentum. 

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Sorry for the lack of content today, folks. The holiday business has engulfed the DBD crew as of late. But, there was news today (or yesterday, depending when you read this), so let's get right to it. 

Keith Allain, the head coach of the United States World Juniors team, announced his 22-man roster today. As expected, Dallas Stars top draft pick Jack Campbell will be leading the team again in net when the tournament begins on Sunday. (Also on the squad is Derek Forbort, the guy we here at DBD thought would be selected by the Stars. We underestimated Jack Campbell's intangibles, apparently.)

Campbell, if you'll remember, made quite a name for himself at last year's championships. Campbell replaced starter Mike Lee in the second period of the gold-medal game against Canada and played brilliantly, stopping 34 shots. He's coming into the tourney with a lot of momentum, having won 10 of his last 14 games with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Campbell stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Czech Republic in a pre-tournament game on Tuesday. 

The other intriguing addition to the USA roster is forward Chris Brown, a Flower Mound native playing for the Michigan Wolverines. The 19-year-old Brown is a graduate of Flower Mound High School, and got started in hockey in 1996 through the Dr. Pepper StarCenter Mini-Mite program. Since graduating, he's played for the U.S. National Under-18 team (scoring 20 goals and 18 assists) and led Michigan rookies last year in points. In 2009, Brown was drafted 36th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes. 

Brown's ascension through junior hockey is a testament to the influence the Dallas Stars have had in this state, and we should all keep our eyes and cheers on our native Texan throughout the tournament. (Even though he's a Flower Mound Jaguar, and Marcus grads like me don't normally cheer for them. Ever. But I'll make an exception for you, Chris. Good luck, sir! Do our town proud.) 

I distinctly remember the first game Karlis Skrastins played in a Dallas Stars uniform. (Not that it's hard to forget, it was only a year ago. But still.) One moment stands out from that season opener against Nashville. The Stars had been put on the penalty kill, and Skrastins was out on the ice with Stephane Robidas. The Predators set up in the zone, and Skrastins immediately blocked one of the first shots. I remember what Ralph Strangis said about that:

"They're going to love him here in Dallas." 

As it turns out, Ralph was dead on. 

The rather nondescript signing of Karlis Skrastins more than a year and a half ago has had a huge impact on the Dallas Stars, and is one of the reasons Dallas is having so much success this season. Only, some may not have noticed. 

See, Skrastins is one of those defensemen who goes about his business with a quiet, workmanlike demeanor that has more impact on his teammates than it does on the fans watching the game. He doesn't make the huge hit. He doesn't have a booming slapshot. He's not overly physical. Instead, he locks down his side of the ice quietly and effectively with strong stickplay along the boards and always seems to be clogging up the shooting lanes. He is rarely out of position. 

Skrastins impact on the Stars' growth as a defense has been invaluable, and I'll tell you why after the jump.

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The Stars were not supposed to win this game. It was their third game in four nights, the second of a road back-to-back. They played a physical, emotionally charged game last night in Columbus. How could they not be dog-tired for this game? Heck, even the Red Wings players themselves thought this was a prime opportunity for a win, convincing coach Mike Babcock earlier in the week to give Chris Osgood the chance to win his 400th career game at home tonight. 

And yet, as they have done all season long, the Dallas Stars defied all logic and will leave Joe Louis Arena with a 4-3 overtime victory in hand. 

The Stars came out flat, as expected. Detroit outhustled them to every puck and Dallas' forwards were helplessly unable to slow the Wings' advance into the attacking zone. Detroit outshot the Stars 7-0 through the first ten minutes. 

Stephane Robidas went to the box for interference at 2:03, and the Stars were able to kill off 90 seconds of the Wings' power play thanks to some nice pass breakups by Brian Sutherby. But then the Wings skated easily into the Stars' zone and Pavel Datsyuk floated a pretty backhander over Andrew Raycroft's far shoulder to put the Wings on the board. Patrick Eaves would later net another goal to make the score 2-0. 

At that point, I was a little worried. The Stars have had a penchant for slow starts, but things were quickly getting out of hand. A two goal deficit on the board, the Stars continued to be outplayed by Detroit for the next minute...until Brad Richards slipped into Wings territory and fired a slapshot past Chris Osgood. The change in momentum was dramatic, to say the least.

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It's their 6th game in 10 days. It's the second half of a back-to-back. They had a long, grinding game last night. 

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Forget the arrogance that led to the departure of Jay Cutler, the closest thing the Denver Broncos had to a franchise quarterback since John Elway. Forget the short-sightedness that resulted in the Peyton Hillis and Alphonso Smith trades. And forget the fact the Broncos have drafted awfully in the last two seasons.

In the end, the final straw that ended the Josh McDaniels regime in Denver was Pat Bowlen’s pride.

The head coaching job Denver Broncos has always been seen as a premier position throughout the league, partly because of Mr. Bowlen. The quiet 66-year-old Bowlen runs his team quietly behind the scenes but leaves no doubts that he is passionate about the success of the Broncos. His franchise is one of the more successful ones in the NFL, and he undoubtedly takes great pride in his franchise and its fans.

So the direction of the Denver Broncos under Josh McDaniels was impossible for Bowlen to ignore.

When McDaniels was hired, he took control of a talented team that needed only a few tweaks to become contenders again. Instead, McDaniels’ do-things-my-way approach led to the gutting of the roster. Pro Bowlers Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall were jettisoned. Rising young tight end Tony Scheffler was sent packing. Running back Peyton Hillis, who had a good amount of success under Shanahan, found himself inexplicably in McDaniels doghouse and was sent to the Browns for Brady Quinn. Quinn has been the Broncos most valuable clipboard holder since.

McDaniels’ deficiency in personnel decisions showed during his drafts. Of his 19 picks, only four are starters and six are not even with the franchise any longer. In 2010, he drafted six offensive players even though his defense crumbled down the stretch the previous year. The result? The 11th-ranked offense at the expense of the 27th-ranked defense.

But perhaps the most glaring problem was the head coach himself. The public had received hints at McDaniels’ reputation in Week 10, when, after the Broncos finished defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, K.C. head coach Todd Haley refused to shake McDaniels hand at midfield. Cameras caught Haley telling McDaniels "There’s a lot of (expletive) being talked about you." Haley later apologized, claiming he got caught up in the heat of the moment. But was there something substantial behind his angry accusation?

We found out a few weeks later, when the Broncos were caught illegally videotaping the 49ers’ walkthrough before their game in London. McDaniels was not officially implicated, but the stain on the organization was evident. Suddenly, Pat Bowlen’s franchise was not just struggling to win. It was losing its reputation.

And the fans let him know it. Radio stations in Denver lit up with calls from furious fans, calling for McDaniels’ head for embarrassing their beloved franchise. The city of Denver has a unique connection with their football team. Broncos fans love their team like it’s younger brother, and when their brother gets bullied or made fun of the fans feel the pain too.

The direction of the franchise had disheartened the fanbase already; now, the very integrity of their football team had been called into question. Always in tune with the city, Bowlen went on a radio station last week and retracted his comments that a change wouldn’t be made, and finally carried out the axe on his head coach yesterday afternoon.

You can bet that Bowlen won’t be taking a risk on his next head coach. With the franchise in total disarray, someone more stable and knowledgeable will be brought in. The entire front office will be shaken up. The public relations side of the franchise will be challenged to try to spin the franchise’s image back to where it once was.

But it won’t be easy. The Broncos have been contenders for almost two decades now, and this state of mediocrity is uncharted waters for the organization. The only thing the franchise can do now is learn their lesson from the past two years and charge forward in the rebuilding process.

For the fans, forgetting will be difficult. With the end of McDaniels’ tenure, the fans can certainly point to the departures of Cutler, Marshall and the like as pointless. The franchise will turn over again, and what little rewards the team reaped from those trades will likely be gone.

But living in the past will do Denver fans no good. Not when there is so much work ahead of the franchise. A search for a new head coach will commence, and then work will be done once again on the roster. A top-ten pick is in the Broncos’ future, and this draft will be just as important as it was when McDaniels first arrived. Then starts the rebuilding years. The cycle continues.

But this time, Bronco fans should be optimistic. The organization, specifically Pat Bowlen, learned a valuable lesson from the McDaniels regime. And for such a proud, tenured franchise like the Broncos, lessons learned are a means to improvement.

Patience, Denver. All good things to those with faith.