Day 1 of Dallas Camp Sees Bourque Find His Home, Bäck Make a Case for 13th Forward

(Credit: Texas Stars)

[Editor’s Note: Today's notes of interest from Dallas training camp come from Robert Valentino, who will be one of the staff writers joining 100 Degree Hockey this season. He and the others will all get their own author logins (and introduction articles) before the season but for tonight, this piece is published as the editor in chief, Stephen Meserve.]

The Dallas Stars opened training camp today with plenty of Texas Stars intrigue. There were both former Texas Stars angling for their spot in the lineup as well as a few expected Texas players with notable line combos in day one.

Because the Stars split their practice groups across two rinks, these observations are only for Group A and the scrimmage between the groups.

• Oskar Bäck as a Radek Faksa replacement? It will be interesting how the Texas Stars utilize the massive centerman. He is not offensively "flashy" but uses his size to his advantage. It doesn’t take to much of an imagination to see him at some point in Dallas this year. He could have a solid stay as third or fourth line center in a pinch.
• Curtis McKenzie continues to be a solid "professional" hockey player. He doesn’t wow you with his physical skills; he just does a lot of the little things well. He used great anticipation and positioning to tip in a goal between the circles.
• Based on day one observations, it appears Dallas has Mavrik Bourque penciled solidly into the NHL lineup. He was consistently in the same line with Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven. Bourque took advantage with a goal. Great way to start off training camp.
• Lian Bichsel is a big dude. He has future NHLer written all over him and was paired with Alex Petrovic for the entire practice. He moves surprisingly well for his size and was able to move the puck quickly out of the defensive zone. As he gains more experience, the game is going to "slow down" further for him.
• Matěj Blümel has skill. He is not the fastest skater out there, but he does have a quick shot. If he can continue to develop a two-way game, he could get a legitimate chance this season.
• Emilio Pettersen, Emil Hemming and Justin Hryckowian formed a line.
• Chase Wheatcroft and Matthew Seminoff (who wore the C in Traverse) also paired up.

Tomorrow we will have two writers at camp to get perspectives from both groups.