I’m Thuper Thuper Excited

Players are arriving at the Dr. Pepper Stars Center in Frisco to start skating because it’s almost my favorite time of the year.  Training camp is coming up, and the idea of that makes me giddy. 

The thing I love about training camp and the preseason is that we get to have a look at the prospects, and we have some pretty cool kids in the system.  Top picks like Scott Glennie and Jack Campbell aren’t quite ready for the NHL, but they will be in a few years.  Focusing on the present, we’ve got some good prospects in the Texas Stars like Colton Sceviour, Ondrej Roman, and (probably) Philip Larsen.

If you remember, Ondrej signed an entry-level contract in February after he had some contract issues with his team in the Czech Republic.  According to Mark Stepneski,  Ondrej is pumped. Here’s what the fabulous Mr. Roman had to say about finally being able to play some games after not playing a game in awhile:

It’s been a long time.  It was like back in February or January and it was a game in a Czech junior league, so that doesn’t really count. I’m pretty excited.

I’m so excited for this kid, no lie.  From YouTube yoinkage and stuff I’ve read, Ondrej is super promising.  Glennie and Campbell are a few years off, but Roman isn’t.  I think we could see him as a potential call-up, along with Aaron Gagnon.  No matter what, though, he’ll be one of the top centers on the Texas Stars.

Moving on, let’s talk about the guy I’ve started calling Phil, Philip Larsen.  He played in the final two games of last season, and his debut was overshadowed by the Modano/Turco/Lehtinen drama.  From what I saw in those two nigts, I was impressed.  Unlike someone we know (cough, Matt Niskanen), Phil didn’t look completely lost out there.  Of course, that’s slightly meaningless.  Larsen did only play two games, which doesn’t tell us a lot.  But he wore 36, my favorite number, so I’m automatically rooting for this kid to make it. 

Unfortunately, Larsen is pretty much our only defensive prospect.  Like GM Joe did at this year’s draft, it’s essential that we stock the cupboard with future d-men.  That’s not awesome, but we’re wirking on it.

Tomorrow, a bunch of our prospects fly to Traverse City for the annual prospects tournament.  Recall, we won the tourney back in 2008.  This is just a further sign that hockey season is almost here.

Be patient, y’all.  Only about a month until the season starts.  Let’s make it happen.

Let’s Get Excited About…Ondrej Roman!

Today the Stars signed Ondrej Roman to an entry-level contract.  He is czech and completely gorgeous.  Seriously:

Anyway, he’s pretty talented too.

Over Twitter, Wrap Around Curl told me:

 “You’ll love Ondrej. He can move a puck and is great with assists and passing. Bonus, he’s gorgeous…He was on the team that won the Memorial Cup. He’s played for the Czech for World Jrs too.”

I like to think of Wrap as my chief (no pun intended) source of information on the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.  Since she’s seen him in action, I’ll take her word for it.

Bottom line, I’ve so far heard nothing but good stuff about the Roman, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the grren black and gold.  Gotta love Baby Stars, right?