"This is really a dream come true," said Jack Campbell on being selected by the Dallas Stars No. 11 overall of last night's NHL Draft. According to Campbell and Brandon Worley of ProHockeyTalk, it's extra special for Campbell. In addition to being the first American player drafted -in a draft that tied the record for most Americans selected in the first round- Campbell wanted to be drafted by the Stars all along but had his doubts when two of the highest rated defensemen were still available for the Stars to draft at No. 11 in Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley. Said Campbell:
"I had no idea where I was going to end up," Campbell said. "Fowler kept dropping, and this really is the true definition of the draft. You just don't know what's going to happen and you really just have to enjoy the process. To be picked by the team I wanted to be [picked by] the most, it's really a dream come true."
Of course as with nearly any draft, the first round selection did not come without scrutiny.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News analyzes some of the risk involved in selecting Campbell in favor of either Fowler or Gormley. Heika says:
But in passing up on Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley, the Stars may have spit in the face of a gift from the hockey gods. Yes, the two highly-rated defensemen did indeed fall to the Stars at the 11th spot, so teams obviously had some concerns about two players who were supposed to go in the top five. But they were both there and the Stars could have chosen either. Two of the best 18-year-old defensemen in the world were sitting there ready to help the Stars out in their biggest area of need...and the Stars passed on both.
Brad Gardner at Defending Big D discusses that same issue that seems to be irking Stars fans. Gardner writes:
If you were to tell us that the Dallas Stars selected U.S. goaltending prospect Jack Campbell at #11, and we hadn't seen any of the other picks or the way in it unfolded, we would not have been surprised. We had been hearing (rather "off the record," so to speak) that the Stars were quite taken with the young man, and were zeroing in on him as well as Derek Forbort. I adjusted the draft preview on Friday morning to match, thinking there was a good chance they'd take him.
The problem is, we do know how it unfolded and we're left now to look back on a weird first round that has most Stars fans scratching their heads. The bottom line is that Dallas had a chance to draft what the hockey community considered "top 5" talent at #11, and they passed on it without any apparent hesitation.
Gardner does, however, go on to defend the selection a bit.
So let's just take a deep breath. I was disappointed when the pick was announced, but I can see why the made it. These are all gambles at this stage. These are all prospects.
I am going to stay defiantly positive on this one for a change. Jack Campbell is a veritable bad-ass, and pardon my bubbling patriotism, he's an American who just won us a gold medal at the World Juniors. I like it. We'll see you in 2-4 years, Mr. Campbell. Make this pick worth it.
GM Joe Nieuwendyk and Stars scouting director Tim Bernhardt share some comments on the selection of Campbell at No. 11:
via NHL.com
Lastly, the draft is set to resume at noon CDT. There's some trade rumors floating around, including that Mike Ribeiro continues to be available according to Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. Durrett goes onto say:
I get the sense the Stars aren't simply going to deal Ribeiro just to deal him.
They also don't have to trade him today. Only the first round is today. Any trade involving picks for Ribeiro would be second-day picks, so they could conceivably have discussions tonight and make a deal at some point tomorrow. But if I were betting on it, I'd bet that Ribeiro remains a Star for now. But we'll see.
According to Durrett as well, the Stars could end up trading their second round pick to acquire more picks in the draft. Dallas holds No. 41 overall in addition to No. 71 and No. 131. It's feasible that you could see the Stars trading down from No. 41 to add more selections.
To talk about and follow the draft today as it unfolds, head over to Defending Big D and their draft thread.