Quick Hits with GM Scott White: Goalie Depth; Travel in the New Division

Cody Eakin takes a shot on now-teammate G Dan Ellis. (Credit: Josh Rasmussen/Texas Stars)
It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Texas Stars GM Scott White, who was involved in the draft, development camp and the AHL Board of Governor's meetings. I caught up with him this morning before he is surely off to enjoy his first weekend off in a bit.

On the Stars' new division:
"That's what I thought would happen. We'll have some back-to-backs out there where we can pair two games like we did last year. We'll also have more trips to the Midwest Division [to make up for lost games against Houston]."
On the signing of Dan Ellis for the backup role in Dallas:
"Mike Valley and everybody was confident with the signing. We know him from when he was in Iowa with us and we know his character. He's grown a lot since Iowa and will provide great competition for Kari Lehtonen in Dallas."
On whether Jack Campbell will be getting a bigger role this year:
"That's up to the player. We want Jack to get games, but that's up to him. We're going to have to wait and see what they show us."
On any potentially forthcoming announcements on new rules for 2013-14, incl. hybrid icing:
"The AHL does a great job testing rules for the NHL. [Hybrid icing] is one of those. I believe and we believe as an organization that hybrid icing is good. It doesn't slow down the game and it helps from a player safety standpoint."
On signing Chris Mueller and what his role is going to be:
"We expect Chris to get top six minutes and play on the power play. He may also be on the penalty kill depending on the skill set. He's a 200 foot player and a player that is steadily improving. He will get some NHL time this year. "

Comments

  1. Wow, he sounds a bit put out with Jack Campbell.

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  2. I don't care much for Ellis. I was hoping they would give Nilstorp another shot to be back up but from what I've read it doesn't sound like they will. :/ Oh well more trips down to Austin for me!

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  3. Nilstorp got a huge raise at the AHL level (more than double last year's salary according to CapGeek) and Ellis appears to have to clear waivers to play in Austin, so it's a sure thing that Nilstorp is set to be the starter in Austin while Campbell spends another year learning the pro game. It will be interesting to see what happens if there is an injury to any of the four goalies under contract, since Texas will have to go hunt for a back-up in that case. Idaho has no goalies under contract so far at all, according to their website.
    - PBG

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  4. Oops, guess I should have read the earlier story about Josh Robinson.
    - PBG

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  5. Any chance, even in the short-term, that Campbell goes to Idaho to get some consistent game time and Robinson backs up Nilstorp? I don't get a great vibe from a first-rounder using two of his three ELC seasons opening the door for line changes. At least he'd be playing in Idaho.

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