Why long-term relationship building defines undrafted free agent signings
Using Stars forward Justin Hryckowian as a case study on an important topic.
For Justin Hryckowian it had become more of a question of when rather than if he’d sign with the Dallas Stars last spring.
An undrafted free agent and captain at Northeastern University, Hryckowian mulled over several options, but said it was never a difficult decision to pick the Stars a year ago when he decided to leave college after his junior season.
It’s a move, that a year later, has panned out well for both sides.
Hryckowian has already made his NHL debut this season, appearing in five NHL games with Dallas, and is tied for the AHL lead in rookie scoring with less than a month remaining in the season.
“It’s been a whirlwind for sure, it’s been like one continuous adventure since leaving college last year,” Hryckowian said. “Obviously I’ve been pretty happy with my decision.”
And that decision, for a undrafted free agents, typically comes down to two things.
Relationships
Organizational depth chart
The reality is that with the NHL entry-level contract situation, teams are unable to woo undrafted free agents from college or major junior with financial incentive. All contracts are effectively equal at this point, so it’s the other finer points of recruiting that come into play.
And Hryckowian’s signing with Dallas is a good case study in that.
The Stars first tried to sign Hryckowian after his sophomore season at Northeastern, where had 36 points in 31 games, the two sides had good talks, but in the end the player wanted to return to Northeastern for another season of college hockey.
The Stars, Hryckowian said, accepted that right away, and told him they’d be in touch after his junior season and if he ever needed to reach out, the line was open.
When the Stars played in Boston on Feb. 19, 2024 of last season, Hryckowian was invited to watch the game with some of the Stars management. After the game, Hryckowian was introduced to some of the current players, and had an extended chat with then Stars forward Joe Pavelski about the organization.
“He was just kind of talking to me about the staff and the path and the way they handle things in Dallas,” Hryckowian said. “The entire time he’s talking about the culture of the organization and how they approach things, and it just sounded like a place I wanted to be part of.”
While no one else knew it at the time, that effectively locked in Hryckowian’s eventual signing with Dallas. He valued the way the Stars respected his decision to return to college for his junior season, and he valued the time they took in February, even if no formal contract was discussed.
I think this is an important story right now, especially with the NCAA tournament starting tomorrow, and with each loss another batch of college free agents will be available to sign their first professional deal.
In Dallas, the Stars have already signed defender Trey Taylor out of Clarkson, who is expected to join the Texas Stars later this week alongside his former Clarkson teammate, and Stars draft pick, Ayrton Martino.
Like the situation with Hryckowian, the Stars and Taylor had past history no one else knew about. They had strong conversations last spring, and while a contract was never offered, the Stars had invited Taylor to NHL Development camp, even though he was unable to attend.
Throughout this season, when the Stars would check in with Martino, they also took time to meet with Taylor, building a relationship that eventually came to an NHL contract.
It’s something that’s a key part of the job for Rich Peverley, the Stars director of player personnel, who has been involved in college free agency signings since he was effectively hard-launched into it back in 2017 when Dallas signed Gavin Bayreuther from his alma mater, St. Lawrence University.
Peverley, who has the makings of a future NHL GM, is going to attend at least four NCAA tournament games this week, including the double-header tomorrow in Toledo, Ohio featuring Ohio State-Boston University and Michigan State-Cornell.
I spoke with Peverley about it earlier this week, and how things have evolved for Dallas in his decade with the organization, and how it’s something that the Stars have to rely on even more after trading away Logan Stankoven and three first-round picks this season in deals that brought Mikko Rantanen to Dallas.
“You always have to find ways to add to your pool of players, especially with the salary cap, you need to be able to bring in guys that can fit well and fit early,” Peverley said. “And it’s not like we were planning on not having first or second round picks for a little bit here, but when you make a move like we did, you need to be ready to make up for it in other ways.”
So for the Stars, and the rest of the NHL for that matter, the spring is about recruiting and signing college free agents, trying to find uncovered gems that can make a pro impact. The teams that have the most success in this space, however, have often been putting in the work on potential signings months, and maybe years, in advance.