Stars humbled in opening loss to Maple Leafs at NHL Prospect Tournament

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. --The Stars prospects were humbled Thursday night, and not in a good way.
While it would have been nice to have to look down with an "aw-shucks" smile while everyone heaped praise on this talented group of young players, and humbled them that way, the reality was they were skated off the ice by the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects in a 6-2 loss in Game 1 of the NHL Prospect Tournament at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Michigan.
It was a bit of a shocking outcome, but one that could help fuel better play as many of these players face one of the biggest months of their lives.

"We have to learn quickly as a group," said coach Neil Graham, who serves as the Texas Stars coach and runs the Dallas prospects at the tournament.
"These are all teachable things. We don't have the luxury of a lot of time, but we have to regroup and get better as a team. It's our job to show them some things that we can improve on without overwhelming them. We can review and we can improve, and that's what being a team is all about."

The Stars play Saturday night and Sunday morning to finish out the brief tournament and then head to Cedar Park to start NHL training camp. But that means the next few days will be important in assessing games both individually and as a team.
After playing well in the first period and exiting with a 2-1 lead and a 12-9 advantage in shots on goal, the Stars played in their own end for most of the second period, getting outshot 17-2 and allowing four goals. Dallas lost puck battles, had breakdowns defensively, and simply didn't have the focus or hustle of the Maple Leafs.
"We were the better team in the first, and you have to expect an opponent to come out with a better push after that," Graham said. "They made some adjustments, had more urgency and were much harder on pucks than we were. I've been coming to this tournament for a long time, and the way goals can swing is incredible, and that's what happened to us."
The Stars were in quicksand, and allowed two goals in a span of 17 seconds in the middle of the period to go down 4-2, and then let the dagger come in the final minute of the middle frame to get begind by three goals. Matt Murray, who played very well in the AHL late last season, allowed six goals on 35 shots. Logan Stankoven and Matej Blumel scored for Dallas, and Wyatt Johnston added an assist.

Stankoven had five shots on goal and finished even in plus-minus, so there were some good moments.
"There wasn't a guy who didn't have some good moments, there wasn't a guy who didn't have some moments for improvement. That's we coach at the development level, so we have to do our job and show some of those things that were done well and how the play developed in order to get those good moments."
Part of the task of coaching at a developmental level also is recognizing that different players have different paths. For players like Stankoven, Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque, there is a real chance to dream about playing in the NHL this year. For others, this tournament could be about landing a regular shift in the AHL. Either way, each player has to slow down and take it step by step.
"They know, these guys know," Graham said of the pressure faced by each individual. "They understand what's going on. I can't stress enough that you have to stay focused on the current game, and you have to stay focused on your next shift. It's a lot to ask and I think we learned a hard lesson today. I think we let our minds slip. It's a learning moment."
And, to be honest, being humbled can sometimes be the best thing for a young player -- or even a group of them.
"You get a lot of emotions at this tournament, especially early," Graham said. "Some are here for the first time and they're naturally nervous, others might get a little ahead of themselves if you're thinking about camp or other opportunities. And you have to stay present, and that's probably the biggest challenge for any athlete."
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.