Cool rookie: Impressive Dellandrea playing 'full of confidence' for Stars

DALLAS --Ty Dellandrea is getting a great opportunity.
The 20-year-old forward, who was the Stars' first-round draft pick (13th overall) in 2018, has been able to step onto the checking line because Blake Comeau has been out and dealing with the COVID-19 protocol. While it's only been two games for the versatile Dellandrea, he has definitely made an impression.
"This kid is full of confidence. We love it," said Stars coach Rick Bowness. "He's a National Hockey League player."

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Dellandrea in Sunday's win over Nashville logged 16:16, went 5-for-7 in the faceoff circle and had two impressive blocked shots on one shift. He was used on the power play and the penalty kill and seemed comfortable no matter what the coaching staff asked of him.
"Listen, he's a rookie but he's going to play a lot," Bowness said. "You saw that we aren't afraid to put him out in any situation. He's a very confident kid for a 20-year-old. He's earning the minutes and they are well deserved. I have no problem putting him out in any situation -- key faceoffs, key penalty kills, power plays, against really good lines. He can play center, right wing, he's a big part of the future of this team."
Dellandrea has had an interesting path to the NHL.

He was the captain of a struggling Flint team in the OHL and helped the Firebirds crawl out of the ashes. He tallied 70 points (32 goals, 38 assists) in 47 games last season, so he definitely has offensive upside. He was with the Stars in the Edmonton bubble, and while he didn't play in a game, he was a source of energy with the black aces. He was a defensive stalwart for Team Canada in a gold-medal effort in the 2020 World Junior Championship, and he also did a six-game stint in Finland while the Stars were trying to figure out when this season would start.
Dellandrea said all of those experiences have helped him get to where he is today.
"There's different types of hockey and you play different," he said. "There's a lot of different games, and I think it's been good for my game just adding all of that detail and adjusting to different systems. It's been good to get a wide variety of different hockey."
Stars center Joe Pavelski said Dellandrea has been noticeable in practice no matter what he has been doing. He said the energy and competitiveness helps create an environment that lifts the entire team.
"I think going back to the bubble, he was a guy that you saw was excited to be there," Pavelski said. "In practice, with those guys, it was tough for them at times to show up every day and work hard. He came into camp and I think probably a lot of guys would say it, but it was that third or fourth day and Ty was running around. I think that he was one of the guys that cranked up our intensity in our camp early on.
"He is a player that's young, but skates well, has good skill and is fearless out there. There was a shift where he blocked those couple of shots tonight. He's not shying away from anything, so that's good to see."

Injury shuffle

The Stars were missing Jamie Benn (lower body), Joel Kiviranta (lower body) and Blake Comeau (COVID protocol), so they called up Tanner Kero from the taxi squad and gave the 28-year-old his first NHL game since 2018.
Kero played 13:06 and looked solid.
Bowness said he believes in the depth of the taxi squad and liked what he saw from Kero. Rhett Gardner and Joel L'Esperance are other forwards available to be called up right now.
"We had to put some experience there," Bowness said of the decision to go with Kero. "Gardner has played very well for us when he's played, and you're going to see him at some point. You're going to see them all, at some point. But the decision was really based on (Kero) had a good camp and the experience he has."
Kero was
returned to the taxi squad
Monday, meaning Benn or Comeau might be ready to play soon.

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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.