The Dallas Stars’ 2007 Summer Development Camp kicked off today at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco with more than 30 of the club’s top prospects in attendance. For three of those prospects, this week’s camp has extra meaning as they hail from the Metroplex and have climbed through the ranks to reach this peak.
source: dallasstars.com
Ben Van Lare skated against a trio of current Dallas Stars prospects while playing major junior hockey in Canada.
He got to know them in Des Moines while he played for the Des Moines Buccaneers and they skated for the Iowa Stars.
Now they will all come together at the Dallas Stars’ development camp that runs today through Saturday at Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco, Texas.
Thirty-two Dallas prospects, including some of last season’s Iowa Stars, recent Dallas draft picks and a handful of undrafted players like Van Lare, will compete in on- and off-ice workouts and activities.
“I’m looking to play minor pro somewhere,” Van Lare said. “I’m hoping to find out what I need to work on and how I can further my career.”
Scott White, Iowa’s director of hockey operations, said the camp introduces young players and draft picks to the professional game, Dallas’ staff, a nutritionist and allows Dallas to touch base with players during summer training.
The camp concludes with a Saturday skills competition.
“We’ll do some on-ice stuff; some skills and skating,” White said. “But not put them in a super highly competitive environment. It’s just to give them some ideas.
“This will be the first time some of these guys will be on their own. So it’s more of some life lessons; learn some basic recipes from the nutritionist.”
Van Lare, 19, played the past two seasons in the U.S. Hockey League with the Buccaneers. He is unable to play college hockey, however, because he played parts of three seasons in Canada’s Western Hockey League, which is considered professional by the NCAA.
The Dallas native received a call from Texas Tornado coach Dwight Mullins, who is helping with Dallas’ camp, asking if Van Lare was interested in attending. He then received an official letter inviting him to Frisco.
“The camp allows us to expose kids from Texas into the world of the Dallas Stars,” White said. “It’s a chance for them to see what it’s all about.”
Van Lare skated in Canada against forwards John Lammers and Konstantin Pushkarev and defenseman Mark Fistric, who all played for the Iowa Stars last season.
They will be joined at the camp by defensemen Matt Niskanen and Matt Nickerson, and forwards Paul Szczechura and Marty Sertich, who played in Iowa in 2006-07, and B.J. Crombeen, who skated for Iowa in 2005-06.
Dallas 2007 draft picks Nico Sacchetti, Colton Sceviour, Austin Smith, Jamie Benn, Ondrej Roman, Michael Neal and Luke Gazdic are on the camp roster.
White said forwards like James Neal, who had 65 points for Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League last season, and Aaron Gagnon, who had 80 points for Seattle of the WHL, are potential players for Iowa next season.
“The experience is going to be the biggest thing for me and building a relationship with a pro team,” Van Lare said.
source: Des Moines Register
NASHVILLE — Todd Tayes had been working in his grandmother’s pastry shop, saving his money for a flat-screen television set. When the 12-year-old boy heard the Nashville Predators needed to sell more tickets, he changed his plans.“I wanted to buy some tickets,” he said.
Tayes and his uncle Chris Turner teamed up yesterday and each bought a 13-game package each - their first ticket purchase - for next season during a 15-hour rally held by a local group trying to sell enough season tickets to keep the Predators’ lease in effect after the 2007-08 season.
The team’s future ownership is still undecided. A local investors group has been given the chance to keep the Predators in Nashville after meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York on Wednesday.
Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie’s $220-million (U.S.) bid stalled after a letter of intent was signed in May.
Whoever owns the team would have to spend millions of dollars to break the arena lease if the Our Team effort helps the Predators average a minimum of 14,000 in paid attendance this season. The franchise averaged 13,815 for 2006-07.
NHL officials and owner Craig Leipold monitored the rally to see how Nashville would respond.
Our Team chairman Ron Samuels, the president of a local bank, said the group’s original goal was 300 season tickets sold yesterday. They upped it to 500 after reaching 250 with seven hours left.
“I can’t imagine this is not a strong message when you consider that last year at this same time total new sales for tickets from what I understand were somewhere around 600 to 750,” Samuels said. “We’re well over that now at almost 1,500 tickets.
“That’s a 100-per-cent increase. That’s pretty strong. I would think this is certainly showing the NHL and others that Nashville’s thirsty for hockey.”
The Our Team group would like to break the 14,000 minimum and hit 16,000 to help the club’s eventual owner field a more competitive team.
The Predators are coming off a season in which they finished third in the NHL regular season with a franchise-best 110 points, only to lose to the San Jose Sharks for the second consecutive time in the first round of the playoffs.
Anticipating a lower budget for next season, the Predators let top scorer Paul Kariya leave as a free agent and traded top goaltender Tomas Vokoun, defenceman Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell.
Yesterday, fans had the chance to enjoy a live band at midday, eat $5 box lunches provided by neighbouring hotels and check out seats they wanted to buy while watching highlights on the scoreboard.
A bigger event last night was to feature the team’s mascot, Gnash, unveiling the Predators’ new sweater.
source: globeandmail.com
Dallas Stars General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that the club has signed defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy to a three-year entry-level contract. Vishnevskiy was the club’s first-round pick (No. 27 overall) in the 2006 Entry Draft and has spent the last two seasons with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QMJHL.
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