The saying “the NHL is not a developmental league” has become relatively popular around hockey. And it’s mostly true that you can’t have every prospect learning on the job as a teenager. But there’s a balance between careful development and helping players grow at the NHL level by placing them in roles engineered to help them succeed. Organizations like the Dallas Stars have done such an incredible job over the years at drafting and developing their young players, who are now thriving in big roles within the team.

For a younger veteran like Jake Oettinger, he was clear that the success with younger players starts with the General Manager, Jim Nill. 

“The way he treats his players and the respect he has for guys – I remember meeting him for the first time and then walking out and being like, ‘I don’t think that’s how most GMs are.’ He’s just such a good guym” Oettinger told Daily Faceoff. “That’s why this organization has been so successful, is just how well it’s run from the top down. Speaking for me personally, the coaching I’ve had from Jeff Reese from the start and the opportunity to grow – everyone goes through ups and downs, especially young guys, so I think patience is something that separates Jim and his staff from other staff — where I think they know that you’re going to go through the ups and downs, and instead of panicking, they’ll help you work through it. Hopefully you can turn to the other side, and I think that happens to a lot of guys here.” 

Wyatt Johnston is only 21 years of age, but he is now in his third full season in the NHL and has such a calming presence about him that you don’t see very often from a younger guy. His introduction to the NHL was a seamless transition, but few other prospects had similar opportunities early on in their careers to succeed as quickly as he has.

“I came in, and it was a weird situation. I couldn’t play in the AHL, so it was either that I was going to be here for my first year or go back to Windsor,” Johnston said. “I think just the way they handled it, they put me in with Joe Pavelski, and they put me on a line with Jamie Benn, I mean, I’ve pretty much played with him for my whole career so far in Dallas. Those two things — living with Joe Pavelski, you get to learn from a guy like that — learn how to be a pro, which I think has been so big for me. You just have that connection with one of the biggest leaders on this team and then you get to play with your captain, and so you get to build those connections.”

Johnston isn’t the only example of how the Stars develop their prospects. His teammates Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque are also starting to find themselves in this league as younger guys. “They put all the young guys in great positions to succeed, they also make sure that you’re ready”, Johnston added. “As you see, Stankoven, who easily could have made it last year — they put him in the AHL for a bit, and then he lit it up in the A, so they brought him up. Same with Bourquey, he could have made it last year, and they waited with him. So I think it’s just a combination of making sure we’re ready, from what I see, and just putting us in the best situations to succeed. It’s not even just within the team, it’s the coaching staff, who’s awesome, all the trainers. Jim has been amazing to me and all the other young guys.” 

Despite his youth, Johnston has already established what kind of player he is in the NHL; he has a very high ceiling to get to, but with only 202 games played, he’s proven how impactful he can be.

“I’m still really young, and I’m still trying to learn as much as I can,” he said this week before Dallas took on the New York Rangers. “The way I feel now compared to the way I felt two years ago coming into this building [Madison Square Garden] feels really different. I’m a lot more confident, I know a lot more of what it’s like. I’m still learning. I wouldn’t say I feel like a veteran or anything, but I also try to help out the younger guys like Bourqey and Stanky, who haven’t been around as long. I’m just helping them with some little things, whether they ask questions or whatnot. I’ve still got a lot to learn, it feels like I’ve been around for a fair amount of time, but my two linemates have played 1,000 games pretty much, right? So there’s so much learning to be done and I feel like I’ve still got a long ways to go — especially developing my game too. I can still get bigger and stronger and improve my game in a lot of different ways.” 

Johnston has made two Western Conference Finals and has scored a Game 7 winning goal, but despite his experience, he still has those moments where he appreciates what he has as a young guy. 

“It’s pretty awesome what we get to do,” he said. “Even playing in MSG, coming here it’s pretty cool, you definitely have some of those ‘Holy shit’ moments, and I try to take a step back, even during the national anthem and just think about how cool it is — I’m 21 years old playing in the NHL, it’s pretty awesome.” 

The Stars have been and will continue to be a competitive team for years to come with the amount of young talent within the organization, and it will be guys like Oettinger and Johnston who will help get them to the mountain top. 

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