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The future of Dallas’ defense is bright

Brenden Dillon

Dallas Stars’ Brenden Dillon (4) makes a pass during an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames Monday, March 18, 2013, in Dallas. The Stars won 4-3. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

AP

One area of Dallas’ game that that doesn’t appear to need much tweaking is their defense.

There are a host of veteran guys leading the way. Newcomer Sergei Gonchar joins Trevor Daley, Stephane Robidas, and Alex Goligoski along the blue line. Those guys make up what would normally be a pretty good top-four, but it’s the young guys who will make the Stars a tougher team to contend with in the West.

Rookies Brenden Dillon, 22, and Jamie Oleksiak, 20, arrived on the scene and made an immediate impression with the big club. Dillon in particular showed what he was about in adding an immensely physical game with toughness (65 penalty minutes) and some offensive touch as well (3 goals, 5 assists). If you dig into his advanced statistics, you’ll see why many rave about him beyond the standard numbers.

Oleksiak’s game is a bit more raw, but in the 16 games he played he showed enough of what he can do to help make the Stars comfortable enough to move Philip Larsen this summer. That deal netted them Edmonton’s Shawn Horcoff who will help them out in other areas.

It’s Dillon in particular that has Stars faithful excited. His play was strong enough last season to earn him a spot on Team Canada’s roster for the World Championships. His mix of defensive and offensive abilities, accidental or not, has some in Dallas hoping he’ll be the next to wear the captain’s “C.”

The Stars certainly have their holes on the roster, but most of them are amongst their forwards. GM Jim Nill only addressed his blue line by adding Gonchar. With the rise of the kids through the system, his concerns can stay on improving the team elsewhere.

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