Empty-handed in the first round, Dallas restocked their pipeline by snagging OHL standout Ryan Brown and betting on raw physical tools to bolster their organizational depth.
The Dallas Stars arrived in Buffalo this weekend without a first round pick, a price paid for the Mikko Rantanen trade, and with one of the thinnest prospect pipelines in the league they needed a strong showing across the later rounds.
After opening day two with Czech defenseman Jakub Vaněček in the second round, Dallas turned their attention to the later stages of the draft, where their scouting staff went to work finding the kind of value that can quietly reshape an organization's future.
Fifth Round: Ryan Brown, LW, London Knights (OHL)
The best value pick of Dallas's entire draft weekend may have come in the fifth round, where they selected Canadian left winger Ryan Brown out of the London Knights. Brown was viewed as high as a second or third round talent by some scouting outlets, making his availability at this stage a significant find for the Stars organization.
The 18-year-old took a major step forward this past season, jumping from 41 points in 68 games in his sophomore OHL season to 63 points in 67 games this past year. That kind of leap signals genuine development and real offensive upside, and Dallas getting him in the fifth round looks like a steal on paper.
Sixth Round: Anton Emil Wilde Larsen, G, Frederikshavn White Hawks (Denmark)
Dallas took a swing on pure projection in the sixth round, selecting six-foot-four Danish goaltender Anton Emil Wilde Larsen. The numbers from this past season in Denmark are not pretty, as Wilde posted a 4.80 goals-against average and a .850 save percentage while struggling to find wins with Frederikshavn White Hawks, and at the U18 World Championships he managed just one victory.
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But at six-foot-four, the frame and the blueprint are there, and Dallas is clearly betting on long-term development over any kind of immediate return. Wilde is a project in every sense of the word, but late sixth round is exactly the right spot to take that kind of swing.
Seventh Round: Jasper Kuhta, F, Ottawa 67's (OHL) and Mikhail Cherepanov, D, New Hampshire Mountain Kings (NAHL)
He also stood out at the World Juniors this past January, recording two goals and six assists for eight points in seven games on the international stage. Kuhta has shown he has legitimate top-end talent and will put it to the test next season when he joins UMass in the NCAA.
Russian defenseman Mikhail Cherepanov rounds out the class as a physical, gritty six-foot-one blueliner who also flashes some offensive instincts.
His past season in the NAHL with the New Hampshire Mountain Kings produced five goals and 26 assists for 31 points alongside 99 penalty minutes, a combination that shows both his willingness to play a hard game and his ability to contribute offensively. Cherepanov will face his toughest competition yet next season, making the jump to the NCAA with Lake Superior State University.
The Stars came into this draft with one of the weakest prospect pipelines in the league and left Buffalo having taken meaningful steps toward changing that. It was not a flashy weekend, but it was a productive one.
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