'It's a great opportunity': Stars resume season with 'mentality to win'

The Stars' return to play begins in earnest Monday with the start of training camp. And while there will certainly be challenges in playing during a pandemic that will necessitate a bubble environment for Western Conference teams in Edmonton, Alberta, the opportunity to win is at the front of everybody's mind.
"It's a great opportunity," said Stars forward Jason Dickinson. "I think everyone sees this as an even playing field. Nobody is riding a hot streak or a cold streak, everybody is relatively healthy, we're all starting from the same spot. I do think the team that comes together will have the best chance."

And that's the Stars' plan -- to come together as a unit as quickly as possible. All players are back in town and have gone through all testing and protocols. While NHL teams are not allowed to reveal positive tests -- the league will do that - general manager Jim Nill says he believes the players at camp will provide the depth needed to make a good run.
"We're going in with the mentality to win," Nill said. "We're going in from Day 1 ready to play our hardest."
The Stars will bring 30 skaters and four goalies to camp. The NHL roster limit for "the bubble" is 28 players and as many goalies as a team wants. Because they had the fourth best points percentage in the Western Conference, the Stars have qualified for the round-robin portion of seeding, so they will get three games against Colorado, St. Louis and Vegas to start. That will determine how the top-four seeds in the West play out. It also will give Dallas a chance to find its legs before the "real" playoff games begin.
Teams seeded five though 12 in each conference will play off in the qualifying round -- a best-of-five series -- with four teams being eliminated. The Stars will then move onto their first round opponent -- best-of-seven -- which will be determined through seeding.

The Stars had a healthy lineup when play stopped, but will be missing Roman Polak when it resumes. The veteran defenseman has signed a contract to play next season in the Czech Republic, and has said he does not want to return. The Stars have accepted that. Polak was splitting games with Andrej Sekera on defense, so that opens the door for Sekera to return a regular shift.
However, Dallas also has a veteran defenseman in Taylor Fedun, who has played 27 games this season, as well as AHL call-ups in Gavin Bayreuther, Joel Hanley and Dillon Heatherington, and 2019 first-round pick Thomas Harley, as extras on defense.
In the forward group, the Stars have added AHL call-ups Joel Kiviranta, Joel L'Esperance, Jason Robertson, Nick Caamano, Rhett Gardner and 2018 first-round pick Ty Dellandrea.
While not all players will advance to Edmonton, coach Rick Bowness said he wants them to all battle for that honor.
"We want those guys coming in and pushing our guys," Bowness said. "We want to get our guys better, and I know these guys want a chance, so push as hard as you can and we'll see what happens. We have full confidence in everyone who is at camp and I want everyone coming in here with the mindset that they are ready to play."
Nill said doing well in training camp -- or Phase 3 -- can be crucial going forward. He likes the fact the team has done a good job of getting players into the facility, making sure everything is clean and ready, and allowing them to already work out in Frisco. Now, he said the challenge takes another step on Monday.

"As a management team, our No. 1 goal is to get through Phase 3," Nill said. "That will help define how the playoffs are going to go, because we have to adjust, we have to stay healthy, and we have to prepare ourselves for games, mentally and physically."
Dickinson said his return to Frisco after spending more than a month in Ontario has been smooth. He said he definitely notices the differences, though. Groups have been limited so far and that means that players need to be smart about getting in and out of the locker room so that the next group can work out. Players are wearing masks and following social distancing practices when not on the ice.
"It's pretty hectic right now, because you do need to get out of there so that they can clean and get ready for the next group," Dickinson said. "There's no messing around or `I need a little extra treatment.' The other guys have to do their stuff, too."
Bowness said the team has a lot to accomplish in the training camp before July 26. The interim coach was moved into the top spot on Dec. 10 and has had to adapt a style that was started by former coach Jim Montgomery. The two months off have allowed him to look at making bigger changes to how the Stars do things.
"Improve our puck possession time, that's the main goal," Bowness said. "We'll never lose our identity -- we are a tough team to play against defensively. What we want to do is become a tougher team to play against offensively, which means puck possession. We believe we can improve our offensive numbers, and I think that starts with more puck possession."
Nill said he has been impressed with Bowness, who has fashioned a 20-13-5 record with the Stars since taking over.

"I think this can be good for Rick," Nill said. "He took the job because it was best for the team, but he really didn't get the chance to make changes he maybe wanted to make. Now, he's had the chance to sit back and say, `This is the way I want to do things,' and I think that's a good thing. He's had the chance to take a deep breath and examine everything."
How that plays out in training camp will be interesting to watch. Will Bowness change lines or give players different roles? How will he go about getting better puck possession? Which players will step up? Which players might battle injury or illness?
"You prepare as best you can, but you have no idea if someone will show up positive one day and then that changes everything," Bowness said. "So we've talked about it, and we have to be ready to adapt, and we have to be able to stay calm and understand that this is all part of where we are right now.
"We've never been through anything like this, so our biggest asset will be our ability to change on the fly and be ready for anything."
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.