DALLAS – The Dallas Stars, like most teams that missed the playoffs last year, have a number of needs to be addressed. Dallas had a leg up on most teams outside of Vegas when they jumped all the way up to the third pick in this years amateur draft. They also grabbed another pick (this one) in the first round, when Anaheim made it to the 
conference final in the Patrick Eaves deal. Their various needs were discussed here, but the long short of it is a need for depth. The top lines for the most part are set and with Ben Bishop signed long term, the goalie situation seems to be sewed up for now.
While it might make sense for GM Jim Nill to simply take the top talent available, as they did with the third pick, looking long term makes more sense for the franchise. Depth can be added through free agency, since most third and fourth liners don’t make much (unless they play in New York or LA). A quick glance at the list of players not being protected for the expansion draft shows just how many talented players are available.
Looking at the long term, it seems logical to assume that Nill learned a valuable lesson from the Niemi, Lehtonen tandem. Franchise goalies do not grow on trees and can be overpriced in free agency. The pair made up fifteen million or so in cap hit and combined to post below league average in nearly every appreciable category. Even though Bishop is on a six year deal, the future of goaltending in Dallas is now. Bishop hopefully has a few good years left but Dallas needs to grab the heir apparent to Bishop.
With a weather eye on netminders a couple interesting options appear on the horizon. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from Finland is a massive body. He stands at 6′ 5” and just shy of 200 lbs. He also has a U17 silver medal to his credit. Though he is an interesting goalie, the stat guys would point out mostly league average save percentages and goals against in his young career. He may be ranked number one according to NHL scouting (European goalies) but there is another large quick goalie to consider.
Jim Nill will really like what he sees in Keith Petruzzelli. The North American goalie from Wilbraham Massachusetts stands tall at 6′ 5” 175 lbs and is considered to be very athletic for his size. Petruzzelli was named goalie of the the year and most valuable player for the 2015-2016 season, eventually winning the U18 premier league championship. The kid has the skills and the hardware to make a difference in the NHL. GM Nill won’t want to pass up a chance to secure the net for the future.
“With the 29th pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Dallas Stars select, from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Keith Petruzzelli of Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL”
You must be logged in to post a comment.