Heika_2016Rewind

The 2016 NHL Draft came after the Stars posted a 109-point regular season, their best since 2005-06, leaving them with the 25th pick in the first round.

WHO WILL BE NEXT?: [Follow every pick as it happens at 2019 Stars Draft Central beginning with Round 1 on Friday]
Dallas selected six players, losing its second- and seventh-round picks in trades, but picking up an extra fifth-round pick. The Stars traded their second-round pick (56th overall) to the Flames as part of the Kris Russell deal. Calgary took Dillon Dube. The Stars' pick in the third round (86th) went to Buffalo in the Johnas Enroth trade. The Sabres took Casey Fitzgerald. The Stars got a third-round pick back (90th overall) from San Jose in the Brenden Dillon trade and took Fredrick Karlstrom. Dallas also gained a fifth rounder (128th overall) from Arizona in the Alex Goligoski trade and took Colton Point. And the Stars' seventh rounder (206th overall) went to Edmonton (and eventually Tampa Bay) in the Shawn Horcoff trade. The Lightning took Otto Somppi.
Let's look back and see where the Stars' draft picks are now:

LW Riley Tufte (Round 1, 25th overall)
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Tufte was taken out of the USHL's Fargo Force one year after winning Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey" in 2015 for Blaine High School.
Tufte attended the University of Minnesota Duluth and helped the Bulldogs win two NCAA championships. After tallying 29 points in 42 games in 2017-18, Tufte saw his production drop to 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 42 games this season.
He signed his
entry-level contract with the Stars
this year.
The big forward (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) still is trying to find his role on the ice, so being in the Stars' system will reveal a lot this upcoming season. He will be one of the key players to watch at Stars development camp in Frisco June 25-28.

C Fredrik Karlstrom (Round 3, 90th overall)
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Karlstrom was selected as a big (6-3, 190) forward who might expand his offensive arsenal, but he hasn't seen that offensive development yet. He played for Sweden at the World Junior Championship in 2017 and 2018, helping win the silver medal in 2018. He finished with six points (one goal, five assists) over 14 games in two tournaments.
Karlstrom, 21, played two seasons with Linkoping and had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 80 games. He has signed a two-year deal with Vaxjo.

C/LW Rhett Gardner (Round 4, 116th overall)
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The 23-year-old forward played all four seasons at the University of North Dakota and helped win the NCAA championship in 2016. He's a faceoff wizard, winning 62 percent of his draws last season, and tallied 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 37 games played.
In 11 games with the Texas Stars this season, Gardner had four goals and one assist. He will start his two-year, entry-level contract with the Stars next season and also will be one of the players to watch at
development camp
at Comerica Center in Frisco from June 25-28.

G Colton Point (Round 5, 128th overall)
Point

The big goalie (6-4, 220) had a fantastic season at Colgate in 2017-18, registering a 1.74 GAA and .944 save percentage to go with a 16-12-5 record. He jumped to the pros last season and struggled a bit.
Point was 2-3-1 with the Texas Stars, posting a 3.77 GAA and .857 save percentage. He then went to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL and was 5-3-1 with a 3.28 GAA and .887 save percentage.
He'll be back in the minor-league mix this season, competing with 2017 first-round pick Jake Oettinger and Stars AHL goalie Landon Bow.

RW Nicholas Caamano (Round 5, 146th overall)
Caamano

Already a great success story, Caamano might be the real gem from this draft. After a trade from Flint to Hamilton in the OHL in 2017-18, Caamano went on to score 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 21 playoff games. He then signed his pro contract and played 73 games with the Texas Stars last season. He tallied 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) and was the Stars' nominee for "AHL Man of the Year" because of his contributions to the community.
He's also going to be at development camp in June and is expected to be a key member of the Texas Stars. The guess is he will be in the pool of forwards the Dallas Stars might call up next season.

D Jakob Stenqvist (Round 6, 176th overall)
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The skilled defenseman had a solid season in Sweden's second-tier league, gathering 21 points (six goal, 15 assists) in 52 games for Bjorkloven IF.
He will need more time overseas before he is considered a prospect for the North American Stars, but he is scheduled to be at development camp.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.