Russian Winger Denis Gurianov Gets His Shot in Dallas After Big Rebound to Start Season

(Credit: Texas Stars)

With scoring depth dry as a bone in Dallas, the Stars's 2015 first rounder Denis Gurianov is on his way to the NHL for the second time in his career. Despite Texas being on a four-game losing skid, Gurianov is hot with 12 points in eleven games.

It's a really big turnaround story for Gurianov, who was healthy scratched multiple times in the Calder Cup Finals last spring. While Dallas is definitely in desperation mode for some scoring, I wouldn't take anything away from the work that Gurianov has put in to get himself into a position where he is the first option for recall.

In a corresponding move, Justin Dowling was reassigned to Texas. The center got into six games during his recall but only notched a single point, despite some time on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. He will be an instant difference maker for Texas as they seek to replace the offense lost with Gurianov in Dallas.

Here's the release:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has recalled forward Denis Gurianov from the Texas Stars. Additionally, the club assigned forward Justin Dowling to Texas.

Gurianov, 21, leads Texas with 12 points (6-6=12) in 11 games this season, ranking first in goals (6) and sharing first in assists (6). He is tied for 13th among all AHL players in goals (6) and shares 15th in points (12). Gurianov made his NHL debut during the 2016-17 season, skating in one game for Dallas. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound native of Togliatti, Russia was selected by Dallas in the first round (12th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Dowling, 28, recorded one assist (0-1=1) in six NHL contests this season and has registered three assists (0-3=3) in 15 career NHL games. During the 2018-19 campaign with Texas, Dowling has six points (2-4=6) in seven contests. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound native of Cochrane, Alta. was originally undrafted and signed as a free agent by Dallas on March 26, 2014.