First Shift 🏒
The Stars are juggling a lot of personnel issues, and they seem to be pretty happy with the results so far.
With Rantanen, Hintz and Radek Faksa handling injuries that have kept them out of the lineup, the lads in Victory Green are experimenting with lineups and giving depth players some great opportunities. But as the team hopes to possibly get its veterans back on the ice in the coming weeks, there is an audition process that not only can affect games right now, but down the line.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan is leaning on some depth players and giving them a chance to earn extra minutes. As a result, there are big decisions being made. In recent games, Colin Blackwell, Justin Hryckowian, Adam Erne, Nathan Bastian, Arttu Hyry and Oskar Bäck have taken turns among the forward group.
Hryckowian on Saturday saw his minutes go beyond 15 and he took 10 faceoffs, winning six of them. Meanwhile Steel, Bäck and Blackwell were all around 12 minutes
“I elevated him today because he’s such a two-way player, competitive,” Gulutzan said. “He wins a lot of battles. He’s an easy guy to play in important situations.”
Benn said he can see Hyrckowian gaining confidence.
“He’s a responsible player, a 200-foot player and the coaches have a lot of confidence in him, and his teammates have a lot of confidence in him,” Benn said. “He’s playing some great hockey and we love to see that.”
Gulutzan said the competition is good for the players and that they are handling things the right way. Ilya Lyubushkin, Alexander Petrovic and Kyle Capobianco have been healthy scratches in recent games, but they are working hard off the ice. In addition, whoever is sitting among the forwards also has a good attitude.
“We’ve got guys sitting out who could easily come in and play,” Gulutzan said. “I think going to the conference final three years in a row, they’re used to being good teammates and good soldiers. You can see it has an effect on our room, and that can happen. That is a testament to the character in the room, because they just want to win.”
As the playoffs near, it could be a good sign for how the Stars handle injuries and depth moves from the coaching staff.
“It’s fun to be a part of a team that’s like that,” Gulutzan said. “Everybody wants to be a part of that team.”
