Stars' shallow prospect pool lands them near the bottom. Young core provides hope, but draft capital limits future growth.
Going into the trade deadline, the Dallas Stars were widely considered a team with few trade assets and a prospect pool lacking depth. That perception was reinforced in a recent ranking by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler, who broke down the NHL’s top farm systems and placed the Stars 31st out of 32 teams.
Wheeler identified the Stars’ top prospect as 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming, followed by 2025 third-round pick Cameron Schmidt, who is emerging as a potential draft gem. The two recent selections were placed in a tier of their own.
The next tier includes two current Texas Stars players in the AHL. The third-ranked prospect is 2023 second-round pick Tristan Bertucci, followed by 2020 sixth-round pick and current Texas starting goaltender Remi Poirer.
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Wheeler’s remaining top prospects include 2025 fifth-round pick Atte Joki, 2023 fourth-round pick Aram Minnetian, 2025 fourth-round pick Brandon Gorzynski, and 2022 third-round pick George Fegaras. The ranking highlights that Dallas does not have a large number of long-term first-round caliber prospects.
This comes with the territory of being a perennial contender over the last seven seasons. During that span, the Stars have made six playoff appearances and won ten playoff series. Dallas also not well positioned to grow their prospect pool, as they are without first, second, or third-round picks in two of the next three drafts.
Despite this, Dallas has a core of young talent to build around with players like Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Mavrik Bourque, Justin Hryckowian, Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Lian Bichsel are all 26 years old or younger. These players provide a foundation for Dallas to remain a contender in the coming years even if the prospect pool remains shallow.
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