The Roe Report will provide quarterly updates on prospects in the Dallas Stars organization throughout the year. Players will be considered prospects until they have played 30 NHL games or advance past the age of 25. Below are our prospect rankings just before the 2019 NHL trade deadline.
1) Jason Robertson, LW
- Previous Rank: 2
- Stats: 37 goals and 83 points in 44 games
- Ceiling: First line winger
- Robertson is dominating the OHL this season in his age 19 season scoring 37 goals in 44 games. His is on track for his third straight 40-goal season and will likely finish with more than 50 goals. Robertson is expect to join the Texas Stars at the end of the season and is the clear-cut top prospect in the Stars system.
2) Denis Gurianov, LW/RW
- Previous Rank: 10
- Stats: 34 points in 33 AHL games; four points in 16 NHL games
- Ceiling: Top-6 winger
- Props to Gurianov for his rapid development since last spring when he was a regular healthy scratch in the AHL playoffs. Gurianov was an AHL All-Star this season and appears to have a regular spot on the Stars current bottom-six. Gurianov has always had speed but his production has significantly improved this season equaling the total number of points scored all of last season with the Texas Stars in 41 fewer games.
3) Jake Oettinger, G
- Previous Rank: 7
- Stats: 2.68 GAA and .923 save percentage
- Ceiling: NHL starting goaltender
- Oettinger is one of the top goaltending prospects in the game. At 20 years old, he continues to put up strong numbers despite having a poor team in front of him at Boston University. Good chance Oettinger turns pro after the season and is with the Texas Stars in 2019-20.
4) Ty Dellandrea, C
- Previous Rank: 6
- Stats: 17 goals and 52 points in 46 games
- Ceiling: Middle-6 center
- Dellandrea has made improvements this season and is putting up more points than last year. The first round pick from last June is an extremely safe prospect to project as an NHL player. The Stars are hoping he’s the next Mike Fisher but he reminds me more of Jason Dickinson.
5) Gavin Bayreuther, D
- Previous Rank: 13
- Stats: 13 points in 22 AHL games, 5 points in 19 NHL games
- Ceiling: Second pairing defenseman and power play specialist
- Bayreuther made my top-5 for one reason: his slap shot. It’s elite and he’s already demonstrated that it can be a weapon on an NHL power play. There is still work to be done with his development but Bayreuther looks like a regular on a future NHL blueline.
6) Tye Felhaber, RW
- Previous Rank: Not Ranked
- Stats: 53 goals and 91 points in 51 games
- Ceiling: Top-6 winger
- Can a prospect really go from undrafted OHL overager to top-10 prospect in an NHL organization? I might have him a little high on this list but it’s because Felhaber’s upside is a top-6, goal-scoring winger. That is something the Stars lack in their system outside of Robertson and Gurianov. Dallas was not the only team trying to sign the 20-year-old as up to 20 teams were reportedly interested. Felhaber leads the entire OHL is goals and points. He is on pace to score over 70 goals this season.
7) Colton Point, G
- Previous Rank: 4
- Stats: 7 wins, 3.55 GAA, .870 save percentage
- Upside: NHL starting goaltender
- Point has struggled in his first pro season after an absolutely dominant season at Colgate University last year (1.74 GAA and .944 save percentage). The 20-year-old played in six games with the Texas Stars but struggled mightily with a 3.79 GAA and a .857 save percentage. Point has played better after a demotion to the ECHL putting up 3.31 GAA and a .884 save percentage. It’s a long, hard road to develop goaltenders and this is just part of the journey for most netminders.
8) Albin Eriksson, RW
- Previous Rank: 9
- Stats: 12 points in 33 games
- Upside: Second line winger
- Eriksson is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Stars system with his combination of size (6-4, 207 as an 18-year-old) and speed. His numbers are up this season but he is expected to need another full season in Sweden in 2019-2020 before potentially coming over to North American for the 2020-2021 season.
9) Joel L’Esperance, RW
- Previous Rank: 25
- Stats: 24 goals and 39 points in 45 games
- Upside: Middle-6 winger
- L’Esperance is yet another undrafted free agent signing that the Stars seem to have struck gold with. The 23-year-old has 24 goals with the Texas Stars this year to lead the entire league. He also made the AHL All-Star team as a rookie. Maybe most impressively is his play as a two-way forward.
10) Rhett Gardner, C
- Previous Rank: 11
- Stats: 8 goals and 11 points in 27 games
- Upside: Shutdown center
- The next two players go together but that was not the plan for the Stars organization. I have Rhett Gardner ranked higher than Riley Tufte in this batch of rankings because they both project to be in similar roles at the pro level – bottom-6 defensive minded forwards – but Gardner is currently better in this role than Tufte is. He’s one of the captains for his University of North Dakota team, he’s a great faceoff guy, and he’s the reigning defensive forward of the year in his conference.
11) Riley Tufte, LW
- Previous Rank: 5
- Stats: 5 goals and 12 points in 26 games
- Upside: Bottom-6 winger
- Tufte is one of the biggest disappointments so far in the 2018-19 season and has fallen out of the top-5 prospects in our rankings. After an encouraging sophomore season where he scored 16 goals and 29 points in 42 games, Tufte has regressed significantly this year scoring just five goals and 12 points in 26 games. No one is expecting him to be an offensive force at the next level but it’s hard to be anything but disappointed with the former first rounder’s development so far this season.
12) Joseph Cecconi, D
- Previous Rank: 8
- Stats: 2 goals and 17 points in 28 games
- Upside: Second pairing defenseman
- Cecconi continues serving as a top pairing defenseman for the University of Michigan. He numbers are down slightly from last year, but point-production is not a big part of his game. Excitement for Cecconi is tempered for now as rumors persist that he will opt for free agency this summer instead of signing a pro contract with the Stars.
13) Oskar Back, C
- Previous Rank: 18
- Stats: 4 goals and 18 points in 37 games
- Upside: Middle-6 forward
- Back was the Stars third round pick in last summer’s draft. He already has great size (6-2, 192) and plays a responsible game in both ends of the ice.
14) Ben Gleason, D
- Previous Rank: 19
- Stats: 5 goals and 25 points in 43 AHL games, 1 assist in four NHL games
- Upside: Third pairing defenseman
- The Stars have struggled in the draft but have been pretty successful at finding gems in the undrafted free agent market. Gleason is one of four undrafted free agents in the top-15 of these rankings. Gleason signed with the Stars after a 48-point season with Hamilton of the OHL last year and a successful showing at the prospect tournament before the season. Gleason has immediately produced at the AHL level with 25 points this season and a short stint in the NHL. Still work to be done on the defensive end if he wants to be a regular in the NHL but I expect he will have an NHL career with his offensive skill set.
15) Adam Mascherin, LW
- Previous Rank: 12
- Stats: 15 goals and 29 points in 45 games
- Upside: Middle-6 winger
- Mascherin is having a solid rookie season with the AHL scoring 15 goals in 45 games. He has been overshadowed a bit by fellow rookie L’Esperance. Mascherin has the hockey sense and hands to play at the NHL level, but his size (5-9) and questionable skating ability will hold him back. It’s tough to project him as an NHL regular without significant improvement to his skating.
16) Nick Caamano, RW
- Previous Rank: 14
- Stats: 6 goals and 14 assists in 45 games with Texas of the AHL
- Upside: Fourth line winger
17) Riley Damiani, C
- Previous Rank: 26
- Stats: 20 goals and 59 points in 41 games
- Upside: Top-6 winger
18) Liam Hawel, C
- Previous Rank: 28
- Stats: 28 goals and 57 points in 49 games
- Upside: Middle-6 forward
19) Jakob Stenqvist, D
- Previous Rank: 21
- Stats: 6 goals and 18 points in 44 games with Bjorkloven in Sweden
- Upside: Third pairing defenseman
20) Landon Bow, G
- Previous Rank: 23
- Stats: 2.70 GAA and .902 save percentage in 34 games with Texas of the AHL, 0.00 GAA and 1.000 save percentage in two NHL games
- Upside: NHL back-up goalie
21) Jacob Peterson, C
- Previous Rank: 24
- Stats: 13 goals and 24 points in 42 games with Bjorkloven in Sweden
- Upside: Middle-6 forward
22) Fredrik Karlstrom, C
- Previous Rank: 17
- Stats: 4 goals and 8 points in 32 games with Linkopings in Sweden
- Upside: Bottom-6 forward
23) Dawson Barteaux, D
- Previous Rank: 29
- Stats: 6 goals and 26 points in 50 games with Red Deer of the WHL
- Upside: Third pairing defenseman and power play specialist
24) Dillion Heatherington, D
- Previous Rank: 15
- Stats: 1 goal and 14 points in 44 games with Texas of the AHL, one assist in 5 games in the NHL
- Upside: NHL seventh defenseman
25) Brett Davis, RW
- Previous Rank: 27
- Stats: 16 goals and 40 points in 47 games in the WHL (Kootenay and Red Deer)
- Upside: Bottom-6 winger
26) Philippe Derosiers, G
- Previous Rank: Not Ranked
- Stats: 2.76 GAA and .911 save percentage in 6 games with Idaho of the ECHL, 2.97 GAA and .891 save percentage in 10 games with Texas of the AHL
- Upside: AHL starting goaltender
27) Curtis Douglas, C/LW
- Previous Rank: 22
- Stats: 20 goals and 37 points in 52 games
- Upside: AHL goal-scorer
28) Jermaine Loewen, RW
- Previous Rank: 19
- Stats: 19 goals and 27 points in 42 games with Kamloops of the WHL
- Upside: AHL grinder
29) Ondrej Vala, D
- Previous Rank: Not Ranked
- Stats: 1 point in 9 games with Texas of the AHL, 8 points in 31 games with Idaho of the ECHL
- Upside: Top-4 AHL defenseman
30) Tony Calderone, RW
- Previous Rank: Not Ranked
- Stats: 6 points in 15 games with Texas of the AHL, 14 points in 18 games with Idaho of the ECHL
- Upside: AHL two-way player
GRADUATED:
- Miro Heiskanen, D
- Roope Hintz, C/W
NO LONGER RANKED:
- John Nyberg, D
- Niklas Hansson, D
Brian Roe is the founder and head writer of The Roe Report. He spent five years working for the Dallas Stars and has been a contributor at Hockey’s Future, The Hockey Writers, NHL Intel, and more. Follow Brian on Twitter @brianproe.
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