Stars' scouting staff looks to infuse pipeline with even more talent

MONTREAL --Joe McDonnell truly believes that luck is a part of any draft.
"You have to have the right players fall to you," said the Stars' director of amateur scouting.
But after a run of prospects that might be as good as any in the NHL since 2017, Dallas GM Jim Nill said McDonnell and his scouting staff deserve plenty of accolades.

"I think Joe's being a little humble," Nill said. "They've done a great job. They had to scout in a pandemic, they had to adjust and do a lot of video scouting a homework. They've done a heck of a job of getting some great players in some very tough conditions."
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The Stars' scouts helped stock the current team with some great players when they selected Miro Heiskanen (third overall), Jake Oettinger (26th overall) and Jason Robertson (39th overall). That trio was key to Dallas making the playoffs last season. In more recent years, the Stars have taken Wyatt Johnston (23rd overall in 2022), Logan Stankoven (47th overall in 2022) and Mavrik Bourque (30th overall in 2021). That trio was among the best in the Canadian Hockey League last season.
It's an impressive group, and one that could carry the Stars into a new era of skilled hockey and potentially high scoring play at the NHL level. That would be welcome news for fans who've been clamoring for more goals.
McDonnell said there has never been a real moment when the team decided to focus on skill in the draft, saying the Stars have always wanted to get the best players and have always wanted to focus on skill. And when you look at past selections like Val Nichushkin, Julius Honka and Denis Gurianov, that makes sense. So how did they now end up with players who are routinely tallying two points a game at the junior level?
"It's not an exact science," McDonnell said. "You put the work in, you stay diligent, and you have to have the right players fall to you. But we definitely are focused on skill, and we have been, so that helps. I think we're always going to lean toward skill, especially early in the draft."
Dallas this year will try to follow a similar plan. They pick 18th overall to start and there's a belief that a good player will be available.
"It's a deep draft, so we're very optimistic," McDonnell said.
After that, the real work starts and the trust in the regional scouts is key. Last year, Dallas scooped up Stankoven at 47 and defenseman Artem Grushnikov at 48. Stankoven had 104 points (45 goals, 59 assists) in 59 games this season. He followed that up with 17 goals in 17 playoff games for Kamloops. Grushnikov helped Hamilton to the Memorial Cup final. Both played above expectations.
That's been a trend for Stars picks. Johnston was expected to be good, but he produced 124 points (46 goals, 78 assists) in 68 games. That harkens back to Robertson's junior performance when he had 117 points (48 goals, 69 assists) in 62 games. He has since followed that up with 125 points (58 goals, 67 assists) in 128 NHL games.
Obviously, the success stories are great, but making the step that Robertson has made is difficult, and not every player will see similar growth. Still, if you want to get to that level, it's great to start with the junior success.
"Every player is different and we're trying to project what an 18-year-old will become, so there's a lot of challenges there," Nill said. "But that's a big part of scouting, trying to read into how the player will develop and what his personality might be."
McDonnell and his staff have found a nice stride in that department, and there have been some potentially interesting reasons why. In 2017, the Stars were one of the draft lottery winners and moved up to the third overall pick. That was the highest selection the franchise has had since Mike Modano went first overall in 1988, and it did change the focus of the scouting staff for at least one year.
"If you're picking in the middle of the first round or later, you don't even look at the top five players," McDonnell said. "That was a nice change to be able to study that group."
It might've showed the group just what kind of skill is out there early and maybe changed the focus a little. Likewise, the shutdown from the pandemic forced scouts to do more film work and more phone work, and that also might have sharpened some different areas.
McDonnell said maybe, but…
"We always have used film, we always have used the phones, so I think we're not that different," he said.
Fact is, he truly believes his group has been working hard for years. He had success in Detroit when he was there, and he's had success in following Nill to Dallas when the former Red Wings executive was named Stars GM in 2013. The 61-year-old McDonnell believes if you do the work, then that can help make you a little bit luckier.
"It's not an exact science," McDonnell said. "You have to adjust to each group of players, you have to adjust to where you're picking, it's different every year. You do the best you can, and you go through the process the same, but it's different every year and you just hope for the best."
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.