One week out: Stars 2025 training camp overflowing with intriguing possibilities

I’ve always loved the world of Peanuts. Even though Charles Schulz’s final comic strip ran in the newspaper when I wasn’t even three years old, I’ve always had a strong connection to the quick wit and lighthearted humor shared by Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and the rest of the cast.

As a result, I was gifted a Snoopy perpetual calendar shortly after graduating college, and it’s become a rather significant item in my life. It has successfully navigated the last six years with me without so much as a scratch. Regardless of which apartment or house I lived in, it always adorned a corner on the kitchen counter. Each morning before taking the dog out, making coffee or playing the NYT Crossword, I change the blocks to reflect the new date and jumpstart the day ahead.

11 days ago, it was time for me to switch out the month block. The block with May, June, July and August moved to the back of the calendar and was replaced by the September, October, November and December block.

The “ber months” block, as you may call it, is always my favorite because it signals the impending arrival of a lot of big milestones on the yearly calendar. The return of college and NFL football, the holiday trifecta of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, cooler temperatures, orange and yellow leaves, all things pumpkin and of course, Dallas Stars training camp. All the essentials, right?

Changing the block every September 1 provides a fun reminder that hockey is just around the corner while also cracking open the door to limitless possibilities. This weekend, the Stars will host the Detroit Red Wings for the 2025 NHL Prospect Games at Comerica Center. A week from now, 65 players will take the ice in Frisco as Dallas kicks off its 2025 training camp session. And in just nine short days, the Stars will welcome the St. Louis Blues to American Airlines Center to kick off a six-game preseason schedule. And then, before you know it, the roster will be down to 23 players and the team will be heading north to Winnipeg to kick off the 2025-26 regular season.

It’s a lot to take in, but it’s all in eager anticipation for what’s to come. And boy, is there plenty to unpack once it arrives.

In the past two seasons, the Stars entered training camp in an eerily identical spot. Same coaching staff, largely same roster, coming off of a trip to the Western Conference Final and trying to formulate a way to take the next step towards a championship. But with that missing ingredient still alluding them this past May, general manager Jim Nill made a change behind the bench. Glen Gulutzan was brought back for a second stint as head coach, Neil Graham was promoted from the AHL and David Pelletier was also hired as an assistant. The new trio join holdovers in Alain Nasreddine and Jeff Reese to round out the 2025-26 Dallas staff, while the goal of taking that next step towards the Stanley Cup Final holds steady.

We’ll get our first glimpses of how the new coaching staff teaches, dictates and strategizes in the weeks ahead. Will the overall physicality ramp up as Gulutzan talked about in his introductory press conference? Will Gulutzan make minor tweaks to the team’s overall game plan or bring some forms of significant change? How will the addition of Graham change the offensive attack and look of the power play? Will the defense continue to play a top-five style under Nasreddine?

All good questions, all answered in due time. But the coaches aren’t the only group that will garner the attention of Stars fans in the next month as we hurdle towards the regular season.

After a chaotic 2024-25 regular season that included a surprise trade and stops in three different NHL cities, how will Mikko Rantanen look in his first full season in Victory Green? It was clear that the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs helped Rantanen create a sturdy amount of chemistry with his teammates both on and off the ice. With that being said and a season of no distractions ahead, could the 28-year-old flirt with 40 or even 50 goals? He had 97 goals and 209 points in his final two full seasons in Colorado, so the potential seems present.

And what kind of performance could be up Jason Robertson’s sleeve in a contract year? The same question can be asked of Thomas Harley. Both are under 27 years old, have posted spectacular numbers in the past few seasons and seem to be in line for substantial raises. How will that pressure translate onto the ice?

Jamie Benn signed a one-year extension this summer and enters his 17^th NHL season, all of which have been spent with the Stars. The captain is on the doorstep of 1,200 games, 400 goals and 1,000 points as he looks to begin putting the finishing touches on a stellar career. What will his role be in the year ahead as he tries to help lead the Stars to a Cup? He and Gulutzan have history together from the early 2010’s at both the AHL and NHL levels, which should provide an early advantage as the new regime takes over.

Meanwhile, the blue line is its own riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. With the departures of Cody Ceci, Matt Dumba and Brendan Smith and the addition of Vladislav Kolyachonok, how might the pairings shake up? Will Alexander Petrovic stay in Dallas after an impressive showing in the 2025 postseason? Could Nils Lundkvist be in for a breakout year after shoulder surgery and another one-year extension? How about Lian Bichsel, who will embark on his first full NHL season? And will Harley and Miro Heiskanen reunite on the Stars’ top pairing to form one of the most dynamic defensive duos in the League?

All fascinating talking points to discuss and debate both in the coming days and weeks ahead. Training camp 2025 could end up being one of the most intriguing in recent memory for the Stars, and that’s part of what makes it fun.

Like the changing of the date on a Snoopy perpetual calendar, anything seems possible as a new day (or in this case, new season) dawns.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Josh Clark is a writer for DallasStars.com. Follow him on X @Josh_Clark02.