Stars come away with four defensemen among the six picks at the NHL Draft

MONTREAL --The Stars relied on need and familiarity on Day 2 of the NHL Draft on Friday, and they believe that could work out for them.
Dallas added three right-handed defensemen to the left-handed blueliner they took in the first round on Thursday, filling a huge hole in the prospect pool. They also took two teammates of current prospects and the brother of an NHL player and believe that could help hedge their bet a little.

The result is an interesting mix of youngsters who could add to an already impressive group of prospects in the organization.
WORTH A CLICK: [Get to know more about Stars first-rounder Lian Bichsel / Stars 2022 NHL Draft Central]
"Out of any draft, you'd like to have two guys that are going to play in your organization," said Stars Director of Amateur Scouting Joe McDonnell. "We leave here today, and we hope all six kids can play in our organization."
McDonnell cautioned that he understands that sort of success rate is unreasonable, but he also said the logic used in taking each player makes sense to him. Dallas has leaned heavily on forwards in recent years and has been successful in finding players like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque. Now, the hope is they can find some defensemen who are equally skilled.

Dallas took Christian Kyrou in the second round. He's the young brother of Blues forward Jordan Kyrou. Christian is smaller at 5-10, 182, but he's a good skater, a smart player and he's right-handed, which the Stars need. In fact, McDonnell compared Kyrou to John Klingberg, who has been a fantastic right-handed defenseman but might leave through free agency in the summer.
"He was sort of a late riser on the board," McDonnell said of Kyrou really pushing forward this season with a strong performance in Erie. "At the start of the year, I don't think Central Scouting had him rated at all. We went and watched him, and he had a lot of similarities to Klingberg. The hands, the way he can walk the blueline on the power play. He's got a really good shot. Now, I know it's John Klingberg, so I'm not going to say that's who he's going to be, but when you watch him play, that's what he looks like."
Kyrou said working with his brother has been an important part of his development.
"We feed off of each other," he said. "I've been able to train with pros, and now I can become a pro on my own, so it's great. It's great because he's been through everything, so he knows exactly how to guide me."

McDonnell said he thinks the relationship can be a positive.
"It helps because he's talking to his brother and probably working out with his brother, so he's got a little bit of an in in that regard," McDonnell said, adding that Stars forward Jason Robertson and brother Nick have pushed each other. "It's a little bit of a bump for these kids who know somebody that has played in the league. It's a big bonus, really."
Dallas took another right-handed defenseman in the third round, selecting George Fegaras out of North York in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He'll be under a longer-term development plan, as he'll play in the USHL next season and then attend Cornell University.
"He's playing in a lower league, but he's going to play college, so we have some time with him," McDonnell said. "His total skill set is also very good. Great skater, as most kids are nowadays. The good thing is he's going to school."

Dallas then finished the right-handed D trio by taking Gavin White in the fourth round. The 19-year-old White is an "overage" player, but he caught the Stars' eye as a teammate of 2021 draft pick Artem Grushnikov on OHL champion Hamilton. White had 56 points (10 goals, 46 assists) in 66 games for the Bulldogs, and McDonnell said being able to watch him play beside Grushnikov was beneficial.
"We found with him, and starting right around Christmas time that he just took off," McDonnell said. "He ended up playing power play and killed penalties with the championship team. What sets him apart is his skating and his vision with the first pass out of his own end."
The Stars made a similar decision on sixth-round pick Matthew Seminoff. The skilled forward is a teammate of 2021 pick Logan Stankoven on a Kamloops Blazers team that's owned by Stars owner Tom Gaglardi. Seminoff had 57 points (26 goals, 31 assists) in 64 games while spending plenty of time with Stankoven. The two also developed a strong relationship off the ice, and McDonnell said he believes that'll help both going forward.
"He's a real character kid playing on Tom's team in Kamloops. He's a kid where hockey's in his blood, a 24-7 type of thing," McDonnell said. "Him and Stankoven are pretty tight and spend a lot of time together after practice doing extra things. He's got to be a little more consistent, which will come, but his work ethic is what sets him apart."
The wild card on the day was goalie Maxim Mayorov, who plays for Ladia Togliatti in Russia. Dallas had to rely on a lot of film work and on Russian scout Evgueni Tsybouk. Mayorov is 6-6 and is under contract in Russia for three-more years, so the Stars are looking at him as a long-term project.
"For us, he's almost an unknown other than our Russian scout that did see him," McDonnell said. "We sent a lot of video to NHL goalie coach] Jeff Reese and [Texas Stars goaltender development coach] Ryan Daniels and they watched him on video."
Now, the hope is, the Stars can help him become an NHL goalie.
"We sort of just threw a dart and we'll hope for the best," McDonnell said.
*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*.