2008 NHL Season Preview: Dallas Stars Ready for Youngsters to Play

After severing ties with their American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa, the Dallas Stars are going to have an interesting time developing young talent for the future. The team is set up to distribute its young players to 4 separate minor league teams and hope to have their own team established in Austin Texas in the next year or two. For the second year in a row the Stars entered the 2008 NHL Entry Draft with no picks in the first round, yet they made a splash when signing Swedish born Fabian Brunnstrom. Brunnstrom was being looked at by several NHL teams and the Stars had success signing him for next season. They also brought up youngsters Loui Eriksson and Matt Niskanen who spent time with the team last season. Now, let's take a look at the future of the Dallas Stars with some players who could challenge for spots on this year's roster.

After a strong year with Iowa last season, James Neal will definitely be given a look at this year's training camp. He had 18 goals and 37 points in 62 games and 13 of those goals were after returning from a knee injury earlier in the year. Drafted number 33 in 2005, Neal's chances this season will depend on what he brings to training camp. Should he use his size and skating skills to the best of his ability, look for him to show up in a Stars jersey this season.

As stated before, the Stars were lucky enough to sign Swedish winger Fabian Brunnstrom. Brunnstrom signed a two year entry level contract with the Stars after notching 37 points in 54 games for the Farjestrads in the Swedish Elite League last season. In 2006-2007 Brunnstrom put up 37 goals and 73 points for Boras in Sweden's second division. Brunnstrom is a shifty winger who has great speed and has the moves to back it up. The 23 year old is considered a late bloomer, but the Stars are happy they snatched him up and he will have every chance to make the team this year.

On defense, the Stars selected Ivan Vishnevkiy 27^th overall in 2006. The 20 year old Russian born defensemen came to North America in 2005-2006 and has the skill to become the Stars future powerplay quarterback. Vishnevkiy had 17 goals and 45 points for Rouyn-Noranda in the Quebec League this season and has the skill to succeed despite his lack of size at only 5-foot-11 180 pounds. Vishnevkiy's skating skills are second to none, and in the new NHL, speed kills. Vishnevkiy is very capable of making breakout passes and moving the puck up the ice quickly. His defensive game will have to improve in the coming seasons, but his development should be fun to watch.

With Marty Turco firmly holding the number one spot in Dallas, the Stars don't need to worry too much about goaltending for a little while. Tobias Stephan though could be at least an adequate NHL backup for Turco next season. Stephan was the Stars 34^th pick in 2002, and they have given him plenty of time to develop into a solid goaltender. The Switzerland native had a solid season last year with Iowa of the AHL going 27-25-2 with six shutouts and a .910 save percentage. He spent one game with the Stars where he lost 2-1 in overtime against Chicago last season. Going into the this year, look for Stephan to step into a permanent backup position behind Turco.