Iowa Stars owner: 'We'll be competitive'
Emphasis on prospects to develop Dallas' talent base bodes well for Des Moines.
- Des Moines Register
October 14, 2004

Dallas Stars general manager Doug Armstrong is thinking about Des Moines hockey a lot these days.

After all, there isn't much else to do around the Stars office with the current labor dispute threatening to keep the NHL off the ice.

"It is pretty quiet," Armstrong said. "But that doesn't mean we don't have things to do. We are looking forward to having a team in Des Moines that we know will help us in the future."

The American Hockey League opened its 69th season Wednesday, and with it begins the countdown to the first game for the Iowa Stars, who begin play next season as Dallas' top farm club.

"They are top-notch hockey people, and they approach their team in the right way," Iowa Stars co-owner Howard Baldwin said of the Dallas organization.

"They believe strongly in developing their own talent, and that is what will make the Iowa Stars a competitive team."

This year, Dallas' top players have been farmed out to two AHL teams - the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Houston Aeros. Hamilton, affiliated with Montreal, has five players, including four from the Stars roster last year, and Houston, affiliated with Minnesota, has four players from the Stars organization.

All of those players - including forward Junior Lessard, who won the Hobey Baker Award last year as the best college hockey player - could wind up playing in Iowa next season.
One of Dallas' top minor-league goaltenders, Dan Ellis or Mike Smith, is expected to back up starter Marty Turco.

Ellis, who had 11 shutouts for the USHL's Omaha Lancers in 1999-2000, then played three seasons of NCAA hockey at Nebraska-Omaha, has been assigned to Hamilton this season. He played one game for Dallas last season, and posted a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Smith also spent time with Dallas last season backing up Turco. He had an 8-11 record for Utah in the AHL last season.

Dallas has rights to a number of players in junior hockey and Europe who might play for Iowa - including Shawn Belle, a 6-foot, 2-inch, 235 pound defenseman, and Matt Nickerson, a 6-4, 240-pound defenseman.

Des Moines fans also should be prepared for an influx of European players such as Marius Holtet, a 20-year-old Swedish center who will play for Hamilton this season, and Vojtech Polak, a 19-year-old winger who will play this season in the Czech Republic.
The Stars' emphasis on young prospects is part of an overall effort to redevelop the franchise's talent base. Dallas used draft choices and prospects to trade for immediate help in the club's drive for playoff success in the late 1990s. The Stars won the 1999 Stanley Cup and lost to New Jersey in the 2000 finals.

"We have tried over the last two or three years is to replenish ourselves with young prospects," Armstrong said.