Texas Stars forward Colton Sceviour (above) was just one of many invites to the 2009-10 Dallas Stars Development Camp in Frisco, TX. (Photo by: Ben Ellis)
Ask most people what they think of when they think of summer in Texas, and you won’t likely get too many “hockey” responses. But, for a group of talented prospects and hopefuls, that’s what the first week of July brought to the Dr. Pepper Starscenter in Frisco, TX.
Deep in the midst of some hockey withdrawal, I took the opportunity to go check out the Dallas Stars Development Camp, and see a few of the players who one day hope to make a name for themselves in the NHL. This year’s camp invites included the 2010 first round pick of the Dallas Stars, Jack Campbell, as well as the eighth overall selection from last year’s draft, Scott Glennie. In addition, most of the picks from the last couple of years were on the ice, and all of the Stars’ minor league affiliates had at least one representative in camp, including Allen Americans defenseman Jordie Benn.
I was able to catch most of the first group in the morning, a squad that included Glennie and Benn, as well as some players hoping to move up in the organization like defenseman Guillaume Monast, who played last season for Idaho, and forward Colton Sceviour.
But, out of all the players in that first group, the player who stood out the most to me was this year’s second round pick, Patrik Nemeth. The kid has great size, especially for an 18 year old, and has a lot of the mechanics to be playing in the pros right now. I imagine the Stars want him to begin the year in Cedar Park, depending on how training camp goes, but he looked every bit as polished as any AHL defensemen I’ve seen in the last year.
I didn’t get to see as much of the second group, who skated in the afternoon, but I made sure to watch the first half of the on ice workout, as I really wanted to get a look at Jack Campbell and Philip Larsen, both of whom skated in that later grouping.
Campbell is pretty much what I had heard advertised – a big kid with strong mechanics, but definitely in need of some work and instruction before he’s ready for the pros. I liked his attitude, though, and he looks like he’s ready to take on whatever the Stars are ready to give him.
Larsen was another pleasant surprise to see – He’s another European blue liner that looks ready to play in North America. Larsen is definitely ready for the AHL, and like Nemeth, might be a good call up this season for Dallas, depending on how things shake out in the off-season.
It’s sometimes hard to judge talent in these camps, because very little of the on-ice talent is NHL-ready, but going by mechanics, and watching the drills, you get a good feel for what these players are capable of, and what kind of decisions they make with the puck, how they think, and what they’re feel for the game is like.
Photos from Monday’s activities are below – I hope you enjoy them and get a little bit of a feel of what it’s like out there. The pictures are intermixed, so there’s no order to things. Enjoy.
