Stars players fired up on first day of training camp

While it was just the first day of training camp, the Stars had a familiar look on Thursday in Cedar Park.

Among the lines were the trios of Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn-Wyatt Johnston-Evgenii Dadonov and Mason Marchment-Matt Duchene-Tyler Seguin, along with returning forward Radek Faksa and Ty Dellandrea. On the back end were five defensemen who were in the lineup to finish the season, as well as Nils Lundkvist, who played 60 games with the Stars. That’s a bit different from last season when Pete DeBoer was a new head coach just trying to become familiar with his squad.

“Everything for me feels better,” said DeBoer, who assembled his team quickly, went 47-21-14, and eventually advanced to the Western Conference Final. “You’re drinking through a fire hose, so to speak, coming in, as you’re trying to put in new systems and getting to know the personnel and create relationships with guys you don’t know. So, I think everyone is more comfortable and we can start from a much better place than we did a year ago. That’s a nice feeling to have.”

It was clear on the ice with the smoothness of three sessions on Day 1. The team will practice again on Friday, have an off-ice day Saturday and then play host to the Arizona Coyotes in the first preseason game on Sunday. That’s hitting the ground running, but the Stars feel like a team ready to do just that. The combination of familiarity with talent has the team believing this can be a special season.

Dallas lost to Tampa Bay in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final and lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas last season. The experience of playing eight rounds of playoffs in four seasons has helped forge a lineup that is expected to battle for one of the top spots in the league. It also has the players excited about the potential. Seguin has been part of a group practicing in Frisco for the past few weeks in “captain’s skates,” informal scrimmages to get ready for camp. He said just messing around with this group has been fun.

“The expectations are high here, but that’s what makes it exciting,” Seguin said. “Even our captain’s skates, just all the talent and how many different guys can score goals, it’s going to be fun to be a part of.”

Dallas has one of the top lines in the league with Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski and saw Benn-Johnston-Dadonov step up throughout last season. Now, the free agent signing of Duchene, who has 744 points in 976 career games, gives the Stars even more depth. Meanwhile, free agents Craig Smith and Sam Steel could add to a dangerous fourth line.

“For me, we’re going to have 13 forwards who all look like they can score,” DeBoer said. “Last year, we weren’t a one-line team, but we weren’t a four-line team from an offensive depth point of view. I think, this year, we have the opportunity to be that.”

That potential creates a special atmosphere around the team, and that was felt on the first day of camp.

“I think everyone has come to camp with extra jump,” said Robertson, who tallied 109 points last season. “When you realize you have that group that can actually do it, it’s exciting. We have everyone back from last year and a couple of new additions will make us better. Everyone here is excited to get rolling.”

“The depth that we have is incredible,” said Duchene. “There’s a handful of teams in the league that can say that. But the most important thing is to focus on the day-to-day. We’re not going to win the Stanley Cup today, it’s Day 1 of camp, but it’s important to stay in the moment and approach it like that. With the expectations that we have, the most important thing is to take care of today and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.”

And that is the balance that must be found. Understand the opportunity, appreciate the opportunity, but also value the process.

“Obviously, you want to win every year, but sometimes you’ve got to go through the heartbreak and the losing and looking deep down inside yourself to know what it takes to win,” said Benn. “I think our time is coming.”

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 Twitter @MikeHeika.