Stars prospects face new challenge at NHL Prospect Tournament

The Traverse City Prospects Tournament will now be a “weekend,” but the goals are still the same for the Stars.

Once an eight-team adventure that took the better part of a week, the excursion to Northern Michigan has been whittled down over the years and now is just a two-game exhibition between prospects from the Stars and Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and Sunday. That’s sad in some ways because Stars GM Jim Nill started the tournament when he was Assistant GM with the Red Wings, but it’s just what happens in today’s landscape where teams like St. Louis, Toronto and Columbus are looking for venues closer to home for their prospect games.

“We’ve lost a lot of teams, and that’s just the reality of the situation, but it’s still important for our young players to compete against another team and do it at a high level,” said Nill. “That’s what we expect here. It’s still a good evaluation tool and still a good development tool.”

Dallas will bring a roster that has some new faces in Emil Hemming and Arttu Hyry, as well as some veteran names in Christian Kyrou, Gavin White, Kyle McDonald and Chase Wheatcroft. Maybe the most watched player will be big defenseman Lian Bichsel (6-6, 225), who was taken in the first round in 2022 (18^th overall). Bichsel might have the best chance of any of the prospects to play in the NHL this year, but he still is on the first steps of his journey at age 20.

When asked if he coaches players differently when they are on the doorstep, Texas Stars coach Neil Graham said absolutely not.

“We very much like the players to stay in the moment,” Graham said. “I think if you look too far ahead or lose focus on the task at hand, it can be a distraction. It’s important to be present, and that way you can focus on your next play or your next moment. That’s important. It’s important to have that mindset. We want our groups to be centered.”

Nill said he understands just how long it takes to develop a young defenseman. Thomas Harley went straight into the playoff bubble in 2020, bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL in 2022-23, and then went back to the minors for almost all of 2022-23. That led to a big step up in the playoffs and then a breakthrough year as an NHL regular last season.

“It takes a long time,” Nill said. “The key with all these young players is playing games. Everybody wants to speed the process up, but they will decide when they’re ready. Some guys can push it forward, but for some it does take time. We just have to read and react to what they are doing.”

And while these are just two games, they are important. As good as it is to compete in training camp and the exhibition season, these are games against your peers in an environment that is going to be very fired up. The Centre Ice arena is cozy and filled with Red Wings fans, meaning the intensity will be ramped up and the games will be fierce.

“We obviously want to install structure and stick to our game plan, but my experience is the teams in this tournament that maintain a high level of compete of work ethic, they usually win,” Graham said. “I think that’s a big part of our foundation.”

Plus, the Stars will add a new aspect. In the past, the team got to Traverse City and did some bonding, as well as a practice or two. This year, they will fly up on Saturday morning and compete in a game at 6 p.m., Eastern Time. They will stay overnight, play Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and fly back.

“It’s good that we show them this is how you play an NHL exhibition game,” Graham said. “You fly up the day of the game and have to be ready to play. That’s something that is going to be new for a few of these players and we can definitely learn from that. It’s good to face this challenge.

“It’s part of the path,” he added. “It’s important to go through things like this. Every experience is a good one and you try to make the most of it. Every experience is an opportunity to learn.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.