In the 4th round, Dallas used the pick they received from Colorado (originally from the Los Angeles Kings) to take another defenseman. The Stars picked up Canadian defensemen Alex Theriau. The young blueliner played in the WHL for the last couple of years, and has a lot of upside; he’s touted as a good two-way player, and seems to be more of a “safe” guy, playing a stay-at-home game and not making a lot of risky plays.
Stars Scouts on Alex Theriau:
Amateur Scout Shane Churla: “He’s a puck-moving defenseman. He is an excellent first-pass defenseman. He has great mobility, which is probably his best asset. He has the potential to be a very good two-way defenseman.”
Les Jackson: “His game is puck and skating. He’s one of the best skaters in the Western League. His game is based on skating. It’s just a matter of development with him, and growing. Maturity will come in time.”
The International Scouting Service had this to say:
- His skating ability is above average. To make the step up to the next level, Theriau needs to further develop his physical element to his game. With the movement to the Silvertips last season it looks as though he has found a comfortable home with them. Theriau is a responsible two-way defender with good vision. He makes smart plays when given time to execute. He is a good skater and has good defensive support instincts as well as good anticipation skills. He can be very calculating to his defensive approach which can lead to passive pressure and loose gap control at times. Theriau often stays in the safe areas of the ice and doesn’t take too many risks.
The ISS may say he needs to work on his physical game, but he certainly isn’t shy about dropping the gloves. You Tube has several clips of him squaring off against opponents. Here is one of them:
HockeyDB provides the following stats:
