The Dallas Stars offense this season has been inconsistent and non-reliable, going from first place in the entire National Hockey League in goals scored per game at 3.23 to thirteenth place this season at 2.79 goals scored per game. With offensive weapons such as Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Patrick Sharp, and Jason Spezza, that drop seems to be puzzling, however the Stars have been struggling this year. Injuries, bad puck luck, those darned posts, and overall failure to produce have been the story of their season this year.
Devin Shore Having Stellar Rookie Season
Dallas is currently 24-27-10 and is ranked 28th overall in the League. They are ranked seventh in the Central Division, the only team they’re ahead of…the Colorado Avalanche. However, among all of the negatives and downfalls this season, there has been some good things. One is the emergence and productivity of rookie center Devin Shore. Shore was drafted 61st overall by the Stars in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Since then, Shore has played for the Star’s American Hockey League affiliate: the Texas Stars. He was called up for a three game stint last season, however he did not tally any points.
New year, New Shore
This year was a different story; Shore was called up immediately and has played every single one of the Stars 61 games this season. The results thus far: ten goals and 16 assists for a total of 26 points. Compared to those bigger names on the squad, these points do not seem spectacular, but for Shore, who has been playing a bottom-six role, they are excellent. And his play goes far beyond the numbers.
Usually playing on a line with Patrick Sharp and Radek Faksa, Shore provides the play-making ability to support the sniper Sharp and Faksa. He plays tough and fast and has been showing head coach Lindy Ruff that he indeed can play at the NHL level and can be a producer. “He’s a young man that’s playing the game with a lot of confidence,” Ruff told Sportsday.com. “He’s a good student of the game, accepts a lot of responsibility when something goes bad. I think right now he’s skating as well as he’s skated all year, but I think the point where things started to go better his direction scoring was he got inside, got around the paint. You look at a lot of his goals, they’re in that tight area around the net where you’re battling for either that first opportunity or that second opportunity.”
Devin Shore scored his 10th goal, making him the 15th rookie to reach the double digit mark this season. We're tied 1-1. #ARIvsDAL pic.twitter.com/jJ6FHJMUt0
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 25, 2017
Above all however, Shore has broken the rookie wall and has shown that he can skate with the NHL’s best and snipe home goals and set up slick passing plays to teammates. While the Stars may not be having that great of a season, rookie Devin Shore is. At this rate, Shore is on pace for 32 points, which would be considered a victory. With a long career ahead of him, all the Stars can hope for is for him to keep improving and learning.
Main Photo:
