Dallas Stars Off-Season Series Part 3 : Dallas D-Men

       

         By Sara Townley 

         Part 3 - Dallas D-Men

Dillon and Benn vs St. Louis Blues        photo by Sara Townley

                There were quite a few defensemen that we had the pleasure of watching throughout the season. Despite the vast amount of talent possessed by all of them in their own ways, the defense core as whole is an area that the Stars have to look toward improving. They know this and plenty of fans, media outlets, and opposing teams have bombarded the Stars with reminders of it all season long. I fully expect moves to be made this off-season with the D-Men and among them, perhaps even a few shockers.

                

               

Jordie Benn   photo by Sara Townley

This season, I loved what the Stars got out of Jordie Benn. His wicked moves when scoring during a shootout were awesome, but what really stood out to me was his ability to keep the puck in at the blue line and hold the zone. At times, he was the master of icing, but he knew when to take the call and when to keep from doing so. I personally love the Jordie Benn and Brenden Dillon defense pair, but if these two stay paired together into the next season they've got to get some of the kinks worked out. There was a pretty good stretch this season where they were heavily relied on by coach Ruff. During that time they were the driving force on defense and showed up to play, but these two also had plenty of other games when they were plagued by mistakes and turnovers which was mind-numbing.

                

               By the end of the season, all the talk regarding defense had shifted to Trevor Daley and Alex Goligoski. This was the pair that the coaching staff leaned on the most, and rightfully so, because they seem to be able to do a bit of everything. Their endurance is impressive and their scoring ability is worth taking notice. Daley’s goal straight out of the penalty box on home ice during the playoffs may very well have been my favorite moment out of the entire series – the AAC exploded with excitement and it was madness in the best sense of the word. Now speaking of his counterpart, I know a ton of Stars fans that have felt their fair share of frustration toward Goligoski this season, but he made us all seemingly forget that frustration when he lit up the ice in the last few months. Perhaps consistency is what we’re all looking for most out of him.

                

Daley, Gonchar, Connauton Warm Ups                photo by Sara Townley

             

            I'm not quite sure what to expect out of the Gonchar pair with his alternating partners in Aaron Rome and Kevin Connauton. Each of them has qualities that I love, but on the other hand I am not confident that they mesh well without speed (Rome), checking abilities (Connauton), and age setting in (Gonchar). Rome and Connauton never seemed to be able to get it together enough to avoid the revolving door of playing one game then sitting and watching the next game from home. I believe that was a bit of a detriment to both guys, going from idle to ice time all season long made it difficult for them to get in the groove and maintain their play. If I had to choose which guy to keep and which to let go, I’d be hard pressed to give you an answer.  Ultimately I think my decision would come down to the speed that Connauton provides. It breaks my heart knowing that the world of hockey is also a business involving trades and movement of players day in and day out despite how hard they work and that they’re all really nice guys who have made true friends with their teammates here in Dallas. It would be tough seeing any of them go after a season or more of rooting for them.

                

               We saw quite a few of the Texas Stars defensive players throughout the season including Cameron Gaunce, Jamie Oleksiak early on, and Patrik Nemeth closing out the season. Nemeth - I would be willing to bet that anyone you asked would tell you how much they liked seeing Nemeth at work. This is a guy who is ready to play at the NHL level and I’m positive the AHL would hate to see him go. He’s quick and focused and his hits rock any guy that crosses his path. Plus, for the short time that he was paired with Jordie Benn during Brenden Dillon’s absence, their style of play complimented each other very well. Oleksiak – Is he ready yet? That’s been the question for months now. He’s big and has a presence on the ice because of that (he’s nicknamed “Big Rig” for a reason), but whenever he has seen time here in Dallas, there isn’t much that he has left for us to remember him by. I have appreciated his style of defense when I've witnessed it at the AHL level, and it would be great if that would translate to success with the big boys. Gaunce – He had decent games when he was here in Dallas and he seemed eager to learn from the veteran players at practice and at games, but I don’t foresee him making the move out of the AHL just yet. He is a good go-to guy if necessary and I expect him to remain in that role for some time to come.

   If I was to make a few predictions on some potential moves to improve the defense this off season, I’d guess that action will be taken with the Gonchar – Rome/Connauton pair, the Texas Stars D-men will get some serious looks, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Stars organization scours the league for a real deal to be made on an outstanding defenseman.

Look for Part 4 of this off-season series next week!

               

               

Sara Townley covers the Dallas Stars for the Texas Sports Review Follow her on Twitter @TexSR_StarsTalk

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