With the Dallas Stars first game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights just hours away, it’ll be up to the players and coaching staff to showcase just how influential the off-season and pre-season was for this team.
The Final Countdown to Dallas Stars Opening Night
The Pre-season
Coming into the regular season, the Stars were 3-3-0. The picked up wins at home against the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild as well as beating the the Blues on the road. Throughout the six preseason games, the roster was shuffled as players fought for a spot to be on the team.
First cuts were announced on September 22nd, with the training camp roster going from 53 to 52. Nicholas Caamano, 19, a right winger from Ancaster, ON would be loaned to the OHL Flint Firebirds. On September 23rd, Travis Morin and Greg Rallo were released from professional tryouts, the training camp roster now at 50. A major cut to the training camp roster came after a 4-0 win against the Blues, going from 50 to 37 players. With the final preseason games done, the opening night roster was finalized on October 3rd.
One of the Biggest Teams Out There
With an average weight of 210.4 lbs and a total of 23 players, the Stars become the NHL’s biggest team for the 2017-2018 season. The Stars will consists of 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders. The roster is as follows:
Forwards
Jamie Benn (LW), Tyler Seguin (C), Martin Hanzal (C), Radek Faksa (C), Mattias Janmark (C), Devin Shore (C), Antoine Roussel (LW), Tyler Pitlick (C), Brett Ritchie (RW), Adam Cracknell (RW), Gemel Smith (C), Alexander Radulov (RW), Jason Spezza (C)
Defensemen
Dan Hamhuis, John Klingberg, Jamie Oleksiak, Julius Honka, Esa Lindell, Stephen Johns, Greg Pateryn, Marc Methot
Goaltenders
Final Words
Tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights will set a precedent of what’s to come this season. It’s up to the Stars and coaching staff to put in the work they’ve been doing over the past couple of weeks and off-season. The Stars open the season at home against the Golden Knights at 7:30 PM Central Time. The game will be broadcast on NHLN and FSSW as well as on Dallas’ The Ticket 1310-AM/96.7-FM.
DALLAS, TX – SEPTEMBER 19: Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop (30) takes a break during the NHL game between the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars on September 19, 2017 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
