ESPN

The Dallas Stars head into this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft with six picks, including the 14^th overall selection in the first round. And when it comes time for the Stars to make their choice they’ll go with the best player available, rather than try to fill a hole at a certain position.

Chances are the players taken in the draft will be a few years away at the earliest and who knows what the teams needs will be when those players might be finally ready for the NHL.

“I think the philosophy has always been take the best player. Your needs certainly change as you go along. If you draft on need, I think you are looking for trouble,” said Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. “I think we addressed some of our deficiencies on the blue line last year with the trade for Alex Goligoski and our defense is much more mobile now. Things always change in our game, the game is always evolving. If you take the best players available it leaves you with the best opportunity to move forward.”

While things change in the game and a team’s needs can change, the there are some constants the Stars always look for in a young prospect.

“Character is the important thing,” said Les Jackson, Stars Director of Scouting and Player Development. “The game has evolved, there’s the new CBA and new rules have come in, but the one thing that never changes is the quality of the people – guys who care and work. That’s always the number one criteria. If they have an understanding of the game and some skill attributes, potential to grow and mature, then those are important parts too.”

Nieuwendyk believes the Stars are starting to collect a good stable of young prospects for the future. He mentioned players like forwards Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith and Scott Glennie. And the goal is bring more prospects into the mix.

“I think the focus is to continue to try to stockpile the prospects that we have. I know we are going to get a good player at 14,” Nieuwendyk said. “There could be good possibilities that present themselves where we move down or we move up. Those are things that we discuss as we lead up to the draft.”

With the Stars already having lost a pick in this year’s draft (3^rd round/75^th overall) due to the Jamie Langenbrunner trade, a trade down to add an extra pick would seem more likely. Jackson said this year’s draft is a deep one, where teams can get good prospects in later rounds.

“I think it’s got good depth. I find that the team’s that do their work and do a thorough job through the season, they find players,” Jackson said. “I think this draft has some real high-end guys and it’s got real good depth all the way through. That’s the one of the reasons you can talk about moving back. You can move back and protect yourself.”

While media and fans work off several of the available rankings of prospects from scouting services and media outlets, each team puts together its own list. Jackson said the Stars’ list is basically completed in the spring but isn’t finalized until just before the draft.

”We’re basically there [with our list] and have been for the last two-and-half-months,” Jackson said. “There’s a lot of work to do with who we are going to select at 14. Our team psychologist does a lot of work and he’s busy with his own job, so we take up until a couple days before the draft to get all the information and finalize it. We can always change. You get information as you along and tweak the list, but generally if we had to go to the draft in May we could have done it.”

2011 NHL Draft

Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Round 1: Friday, June 24, 6 p.m. (Versus)
Rounds 2-7: Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m. (NHL Network-US)

Stars’ draft picks

The Stars have six picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. They don’t have a 3^rd round pick. That was traded to New Jersey as part of the deal that brought Jamie Langenbrunner to Dallas last season.

1^st round (14^th overall)
2^nd round (44^th overall)
4^th round (105^th overall)
5^th round (135^th overall)
6^th round (165^th overall)
7^th round (195^th overall)

Top prospects

Here’s a look at the top 30 prospects in the draft based on a compilation of five separate rankings by scouting services and media outlets.

Here’s a look at what some of the various mock drafts have the Dallas Stars doing with the 14^th overall pick in Friday’s first round of the NHL Entry Draft.

I picked 14 mock drafts, including some of the more notable independent scouting services, top media sites and resources that I use.

Finnish right wing Joel Armia, Swedish defenseman Jonas Brodin and center Mark McNeill, who plays for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League, led the way with three mentions each. There were five other players that some of the experts thought the Stars could take at No. 14.

*ESPN.com: Jamie Oleksiak, D, Northeastern (Hockey East) - Profile

Comment: A blueliner who will scare opposing wingers when they come down his side of the ice. Oleksiak says that he's going back to Northeastern, and if he's not flexible on that he might slide down the board somewhat. Stock was buoyed by an impressive combine and good interviews.

*Red Line Report Draft Guide 1: Joel Armia, RW, Assat (Finland) - Profile

Comment: They love their Finns in Dallas, and Armia could a really nice replacement for James Neal in a couple of years with a similar size and hands combination busting off the wing.

*Red Line Report Draft Guide 2: Vladislav Namestnikov, C, London (OHL) - Profile

Comment: Not that he’s even close to being ready, but Namestnikov could be the right pick for franchise that could lose Brad Richards.

*Int'l Scouting Services Draft Guide: J.T. Miller, RW, USA Under-18 (USHL) - Profile

Comment: Miller could be considered a bit of a reach at this point but his similarities to Dallas captain Brenden Morrow can’t be ignored, and the idea of having another Morrow in the system could be very appealing to the Stars.

*TSN: Mark Scheifele, C, Barrie (OHL) - Profile

Comment: A great skating, two-way centreman. Scheifele can create offence, he can play all areas of the game. He's a top player.

*The Hockey News: Nathan Beaulieu, D, Saint John (QMJHL) - Profile

Comment: Stars ‘D’ corps needs more weapons and big Saint John star can contribute at both ends of ice.

*Sportsnet.ca: Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden) - Profile

Comment: The Stars could use another puck-moving defenceman coming up in the system and likely would have drafted Cam Fowler in last year's first round if not for the fact Jack Campbell was still on the board. Dallas has never shied away from the Swedes in the draft and had some success with a second-round steal in Loui Eriksson several years ago. Brodin is a highly-skilled, offensive defenceman with a fluid skating stride.

*Future Considerations Draft Guide: Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden) - Profile

Comment: Dallas has depth up front with some big bodies and some skill as well as their future franchise goaltender all in the system, adding more defensive help is needed. Brodin gives them a potential top four defenseman coming through the pipeline.

*The Sports Forecaster: Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL) - Profile

Comment: The road to rebuilding the Stars will soon begin, as the pending loss of UFA center Brad Richards will hurt. McNeill would be a nice start to the retooling plan. They may go in another direction, but centers are needed.

*The Art of Scouting: Jonas Brodin, Farjestad (Sweden) - Profile

Comment: None

*NHL.com 1: Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL) - Profile

Comment: Stars could be in the market for a big-time center, and McNeill has big-time potential.

*NHL.com 2: Joel Armia, RW, Assat (Finland) - Profile

Comment: The 6-3, 191-pound forward had 18 goals, 29 points in 48 games as a rookie in top Finnish league.

*NHL.com 3: Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL) - Profile

Comment: Center had a big year, posting 81 points in 70 games.

*NHL.com 4: Joel Armia, RW, Assat (Finland) - Profile

Comment: Big (6-foot-3) forward with great hands could be an eventual replacement for the departed James Neal.