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There’s been a rich combo of excitement and apprehension concerning the 2021-22 season in the Dallas Stars fanbase. But how much have you thought about how full seasons in the feeder leagues can change the team’s destiny?

We love our prospect talk here at DBD, so we made sure to get two of the best at it for this edition of Armchair GM. Guest host Mark Zimmerman spent more than an hour with DBD and FC Hockey prospect guru Derek Neumeier, as well as Stephen Meserve, the mind behind the go-to Texas Stars source 100 Degree Hockey. You can hear the results now.

Note: We recorded this podcast before yesterday’s big news about Ben Bishop. However, some of the Stars’ most pressing goaltending issues will still be there – indeed, they may be exacerbated – if the Seattle Kraken scarf up Big Ben. With that said, here’s what you can expect from this episode:

• No matter what happens in the NHL expansion draft, the Stars have supply issues in net – how do they solve them?
• Could the organization benefit from a Mike McKenna type, if not Mike McKenna himself?
• How do you feel about veteran depth – and are the Texas Stars suffering from not enough of it?
• Is Thomas Harley everything fans have built him up to be – and what will he need to succeed with the big team?
• How will Maxime Fortunus’ new role in Cedar Park affect the blueline pipeline?
• Who’s the best defender you aren’t talking about – and who gets the first call-up in 2021-22?
• What are the odds Riley Damiani gets 20 NHL games next season?
• Can Adam Mascherin force his way into the big squad’s forward corps?
• How close is Ty Dellandrea to becoming an everyday NHL’er?
• Can you really have too many bottom-six players – and how do they carve out a role?
• Which of the Stars’ European players should you be watching more closely?
• How many of the team’s issues are really leaguewide issues?
• How will the return of full seasons in the AHL help solve them?
• And what do you have to do in Jim Nill’s organization not to get a qualifying offer?

No one likes plus-minus as a stat, but sometimes it’s all you have. Let’s get into that. This is Stargazing.

Hey you! Want to be part of the next podcast? Post your puck questions in the comments, or find us @WesALawrence and @KETibbetts.

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