Camp rewind: A look back at Stars' training camp and preseason

The Stars opened training camp with 61 players, including 35 forwards, 19 defensemen and seven goaltenders. Among them were 2021 draft picks Wyatt Johnston (first round, 23rd overall), Logan Stankoven (second round, 47th overall) and Artem Grushnikov (second round, 48th overall).

Training camp was an eye-opener for many of the team's prospects, including Stankoven who
admitted he was nearly speechless
when Joe Pavelski called him by his nickname "Stanky."
Before they were sent back to their respective junior clubs, Johnston, Stankoven and Grushnikov inked three-year, entry-level contracts.
New defensive pairings emerged
, notably Ryan Suter with John Klingberg and Esa Lindell with Miro Heiskanen. Joining the team's "Finnish Mafia" was 6-foot-6 defenseman Jani Hakanpää, who
trusted his gut
when choosing to sign with the Stars.
Speaking of Finns, Heiskanen shared his
love for Tex-Mex and AC/DC
during some downtime at camp.
Dallas finished its seven-game exhibition slate with a 3-2-2 record, highlighted by a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes in Kraft Hockeyville USA at El Paso County Events Center in El Paso, Texas.
Denis Gurianov (three goals, three assists) and Tyler Seguin (one goal, five assists) co-led the team in points with six apiece, while Gurianov, Jamie Benn (three goals, two assists) and Jason Robertson (three goals, one assist) shared the lead in goals.
Jake Oettinger (1-0-2, 2.86 GAA), Braden Holtby (1-0-0, 1.71 GAA) and Anton Khudobin (1-2-0, 3.06 GAA) made three appearances apiece.
Here's a recap of all seven preseason games:

Sept. 27 at St. Louis

2-1 overtime loss

The Stars opened their 2021 preseason schedule with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Blues at Enterprise Center. It marked the first of seven exhibition games for Dallas, and the first of two against St. Louis. Riley Tufte opened the scoring with two minutes remaining in the first period when he buried a two-on-one rush with Stars 2020 first-round pick Mavrik Bourque. Making his Stars debut, Braden Holtby started the game and finished with 15 saves on 16 shots in 40 minutes of work. Jake Oettinger took over at the start of the third period and turned aside 12 of 13.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP

Sept. 29 vs. Florida

4-3 shootout loss

In their preseason home opener, the Stars fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Panthers at American Airlines Center. Alexander Radulov, Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, while Jake Oettinger turned aside 25 of 28 shots in regulation/overtime and allowed one goal on three shootout attempts.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP

Oct. 1 at Florida

6-3 loss

Despite two goals from Denis Gurianov and one from Jason Robertson, the Stars fell 6-3 to the Panthers at FLA Live Arena. Making his first appearance of the preseason, Anton Khudobin made 30 saves on 35 shots, but gave up four unanswered goals in the opening 20 minutes.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP

Oct. 3 vs. Arizona (in El Paso)

6-3 victory

In front of a spirited crowd inside El Paso County Events Center, the Stars earned their first win of the preseason - a 6-3 victory over the Coyotes. Six different players scored for Dallas, including Thomas Harley, Jamie Benn, Ty Dellandrea, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin and Radek Faksa.
Jake Oettinger went the distance in goal for the Stars in his third start of the preseason.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP / FAN STORIES

Oct. 5 vs. St. Louis

3-1 victory

Led by another strong performance from goaltender Braden Holtby, the Stars earned a 3-1 victory over the Blues at American Airlines Center. Joel Hanley, Luke Glendening and Jamie Benn provided the offensive punch for the Stars, who improved to 2-1-2 in exhibition play.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP

Oct. 7 vs. Colorado

3-1 victory

Goals from Michael Raffl, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz provided the offensive punch in a 3-1 victory over the Avalanche at American Airlines Center. In his second start of the preseason, Anton Khudobin turned aside 26 of 27 shots - an encouraging bounce-back performance in his second appearance of the preseason.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP

Oct. 9 at Colorado

4-2 loss

The Stars closed out their seven-game preseason slate with a 4-2 loss to the Avs at Ball Arena. Denis Gurianov and Jacob Peterson had power-play goals in the second and third periods, respectively. Braden Holtby started the game and made 18 saves on 20 shots through two periods, while Anton Khudobin stopped 9-of-10 in the third.
BOXSCORE / GAME RECAP
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.