Savoring the stories: Stars have plenty of fun moments to follow as season gets rolling

The Stars have a lot of nice “stories” to follow this year.

It’s one reason the lads in Victory Green might be able to find a way to make this a special season.

“You need that,” said Stars GM Jim Nill. “You need players to step up and grab an opportunity. It can really make a difference for your team.”

In a cap world where players are getting bigger and bigger salaries at the top, the players who fill in the rest of the roster can end up becoming pretty important. And when you mix in inevitable injuries and the fact that every man on the roster can have an impact in any game, the chance for tantalizing tales of hockey heroes multiplies.

On Saturday against the Panthers, Justin Hryckowian scored his first NHL goal. It was a huge moment that helped the Stars rally back from a 2-0 deficit and pick up a valuable point in an eventual 4-3 shootout loss against the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. Just as important, it was a great moment for a hard-working player who earned this opportunity.

Hryckowian is an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern University. He didn’t even start college until he was 20 years old, so he definitely had to work his way onto the NHL radar. But he posted 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 32 games in 2023-24, and that caught the Stars’ eye. Assistant GM Scott White and Director of Player Development Rich Peverley are dialed in with following college players and often find good additions for the organization that other teams might overlook. Hryckowian came in and tallied 60 points (22 goals, 38 assists) in 67 games for the Texas Stars last season, winning AHL Rookie of the Year in the process. That moved him up in the organization’s depth chart.

Then, when Dallas made the decision to trade Mason Marchment and not re-sign Mikael Granlund or Evgenii Dadonov in the offseason, the door opened up for a serious look-see in training camp. After making a strong impression, Hryckowian made the opening night roster and has become a bit of a regular with injuries to Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene.

Hryckowian has played 11 games, averaging 9:43 of time on ice per game. He drew a double-minor penalty on Saturday, and Dallas scored twice on the ensuing power play (including the tying goal by Hryckowian). That helped change the game.

But the stories don’t stop there. On Thursday in Tampa, Adam Erne made a big impact. The NHL veteran has played 388 NHL games for four different teams, so his story is different. But just like Hryckowian, the Stars need players like him to step up.

Erne missed most of last season after hip surgery and came to camp on a professional tryout. He had to prove to the Stars that he was worth a contract, and he did just that. Now, nine games into his run with Dallas, he has a goal and assist along with 34 hits while averaging 10:20 a night.

“I thought he was our best forward the other night,” coach Glen Gulutzan said of the performance in Tampa, where he had the team’s only goal in a 2-1 OT loss.

The quick trip to the state of Florida was another chapter in this story for the Stars. No, they didn’t get a win. But they scrapped hard and got two out of four points against recent Stanley Cup winners while missing four starters from the lineup. That leaves Dallas at 6-3-3, good for 15 points and a .625 points percentage that ranks 12th in the NHL.

Now, restless fans will tell you that’s not good enough, and they have a point. The Stars posted the best regular-season record in the NHL over the past three seasons, so they can elevate their game. But, Nill and company decided to shake up the coaching staff in the offseason, and that inevitably creates some challenges in the early part of the season.

It also creates some stories. Gulutzan returns as head coach after being fired by Dallas in 2013 and spending the last dozen years workshopping his coaching ideas and strategies in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The 54-year-old brings with him a fresh perspective and some battle scars to help navigate the mean streets of the Central Division.

He also brings with him an understanding of these “stories.”

He knows about Alexander Petrovic, a veteran defenseman who has worked his way back into the NHL after spending the majority of the past six seasons in the minors. He knows about Oskar Bäck, who patiently waited through three seasons in the minors to get his chance last year, and now is working hard to overcome injuries out of the gate this season. He knows about Nathan Bastian, a 27-year-old free agent who the Stars signed to a one-year deal in August.

Intertwined into those narratives are Tyler Seguin’s milestone of 1,000 games played and the fact that he is stepping into a bigger leadership role with Benn sidelined. Or the extra minutes for Sam Steel, who had a career-high three assists on Saturday. Or the fact that up to nine different Stars could represent their home country in the Olympics in February.

If or when Jake Oettinger (USA), Jason Robertson (USA), Thomas Harley (Canada) or Wyatt Johnston (Canada) get the call, it will be monumental. If Finland wins with four Stars – Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Hintz and Esa Lindell – it will be unforgettable.

And that’s all waiting out there.

The hockey season is serial television that you can’t binge watch. So tune in, be patient, and enjoy the “stories.” You never know how this could turn out.

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

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.