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Bob Sturm's avatar

Voluntary Open Ballot:

STARS RANKINGS - Sturm

1. Mikko Rantanen

2. Miro Heiskanen

3. Roope Hintz

4. Thomas Harley

5. Jason Robertson

6. Wyatt Johnston

7. Jake Oettinger

8. Matt Duchene

9. Esa Lindell

10. Tyler Seguin

11. Lian Bichsel

12. Jamie Benn

13. Mavrik Bourque

14. Sam Steel

15. Nils Lundkvist

16. Oskar Bäck

17. Radek Faksa

18. Casey DeSmith

19. Nathan Bastian

20. Ilya Lyubushkin

21. Colin Blackwell

22. Vladislav Kolyachonok

23. Alexander Petrovic

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Bob Sturm's avatar

Apparently the only one to put Mikko above Miro. A fascinating topic, indeed! I just need to see Miro's next and final level before I go that far.

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Sean Shapiro's avatar

I found the Hintz placement a fascinating one because how do I balance the peaks and the valleys with him

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CScotty's avatar

I can’t recall watching a player who was so exciting to watch… only sometimes?

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Timothy Wilkes's avatar

I also had Mikko above Miro, but the distance from 2-3 on this roster is not much...

I had Hintz at 8, because I don't see him playing better than 7 players on this team a majority of the time. When he's on, he's on... But I'm going to give him the Dez Bryant "takes plays off" treatment.

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David Castillo's avatar

Wooo, my boy! Kolyachonok over Petrovic is the most based take of the day. (No I'm not being ironic)

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Timothy Wilkes's avatar

I will admit that I have no idea about him at all... Now I'm curious

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Delaney's avatar

This was incredibly fascinating. Great read, thanks!

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Dylan's avatar

I'm just surprised Spittle only put Blackwell at 17! Are we sure that wasnt a 7?

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Laura's avatar

This was interesting, great read!

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David Castillo's avatar

What?!? I feel like I've been Harley's biggest stan since jump street, but having him over Robertson seems...sports wrong?

All the same, thanks for putting this together. Feels like a ton of room for debate, and a lot of positions I find shocking beyond Harley.

For my part, the way I interpreted the rankings was a hyperspace between best and most important. Those are two very distinct things, but I tried to pay respect to how the general public would rank them. Perhaps a dumb interpretation, but if I had put too much of myself into these rankings, it would have been bizarro world.

Nonetheless, here's what I had. (Again, this is based off my interpretation of the exercise.)

1. Miro Heiskanen

2. Mikko Rantanen

3. Jake Oettinger

4. Jason Robertson

5. Wyatt Johnston

6. Roope Hintz

7. Thomas Harley

8. Esa Lindell

9. Matt Duchene

10. Tyler Seguin

11. Jamie Benn

12. Lian Bichsel

13. Mavrik Bourque

14. Casey DeSmith

15. Sam Steel

16. Nils Lundkvist

17. Ilya Lyubushkin

18. Radek Faksa

19. Colin Blackwell

20. Nathan Bastian

21. Alexander Petrovic

22. Oskar Back

23. Vladislav Kolyachonok

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Timothy Wilkes's avatar

I should say that I had Wyatt Johnston at #1 in my list I sent to you because I truly believe that this season may rest upon his stick. If he has a fantastic season, I think the league is in trouble. If he plays like last year in the playoffs (where he basically disappeared), I think the Stars are in trouble. We all know that Rantanen, Heiskanen, and Oettinger are going to bring it, because that's who they are. With Robertson's uncertainty to stay on the team (with the contract and trade rumors), it made Wyatt my #1 ranked player on this team. The kid is destined to be the next captain, and I fully believe where he goes, this team will follow.

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Sean Shapiro's avatar

all fair and reasonable points! thanks for contributing! and more importantly thanks for being a reader here.

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Robert Tiffin's avatar

In retrospect, I should have ranked everyone as tied for first place because they’re all flawed human beings and who are any of us to judge, really

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Angie's avatar

They're all much better at hockey than I am, too.

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Lewis Confair's avatar

Great read from one of the best Stars writers on the planet!

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CScotty's avatar

Thanks for a great overview!

One

Week

To camp!!!!

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