Dallas Stars Running Strong With Devin Shore In Lineup
The Dallas Stars have a knack for developing players from their farm system into top-notch NHL talent. It’s happening yet again.
September was not a kind month to the Dallas Stars by any means. Aside from the positives like training camp taking place and the preseason starting up, there was one major deal breaker: injuries.
As if captain Jamie Benn recovering from offseason surgery wasn’t enough, the Stars suffered a domino effect of injuries throughout the month. First, it was forward Tyler Seguin suffering a heel injury in a World Cup of Hockey preliminary game with Team Canada.
Shortly after, second-year forward Radek Faksa had a minor concussion after a collision in a World Cup game with Team Czech Republic against Team Canada. If this was not enough evidence to ban all Dallas Stars players from any out-of-league play, then nothing will be.
Then Cody Eakin suffered a lower-body injury in training camp. And finally, Mattias Janmark played two preseason games before finding out that he had a rare, genetic condition in his knee that required surgery and did not guarantee a full recovery. Needless to say, he’s now on a 5-6 month recovery scale.
What do these four players have in common? You guessed it. They all four play the center position on a regular basis for the Stars. Two of them may already be back (Seguin and Faksa), but the other two are still absent and therefore need someone to step in.
Enter 22-year-old Devin Shore. The second year NHL veteran is just now getting his first legitimate chance at professional play, and he is making the most out of it.
“Devin Shore has really played well down the middle,” Ruff told Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge. “He got moved up the lineup in the last game, played well defensively, made a nice play to [Brett] Ritchie and scored on a great shot on the two-on-one goal. For a guy I threw up in the top six late in the game, he really played well.”
Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche was only Shore’s fifth of his NHL career, but it did not stop him from once again making the most out of it. He made his debut and played three games early on in the 2015-16 season for the Dallas Stars, but went pointless and did not score.
This year, it looks as though Shore has finally turned a corner. In the first two games of the new season, the Stars center has one goal and two assists for three total points. He has also logged a +3 on-ice rating. These numbers have him in a tie for most points among active Stars.
His face-off win percentage is a bit low at 37.9 percent, but that’s where he can play the “22-year-old” card and take time to improve in the dot. All in all, he’s putting in legitimate and commendable work in just 12:51 average ice time.
On Saturday night, Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff moved Shore up to the second line to try and spark some life into the club after falling into a 5-2 hole against the Avs. Shore quickly assumed the role and turned in a strong performance which included an assist to Brett Ritchie late in the game.
Overall, Shore is putting in some serious work to kick off his NHL career. He’s making a case for himself and could potentially earn a full-time roster spot. It’s going to be difficult for the Stars to decide to take him out if he continues to produce like he has. He still has a ways to go, but his massive strides this early have him in position to pick up a starting spot and not let go.
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