The Stars enter this season with the forward position as good as it’s been in a long time. The team actually has a true top-six instead of a top-four and two late line grinders and signed a couple of guys to shore up a horrific power play.

It’s a solid mix of veterans, a couple of guys in their primes on the verge of superstardom and a rather talented group of young prospects just starting their careers. All in all, I’m pretty damn optimistic about the group of forwards that the Stars are going to put onto the ice this season.

With that said, on to the previews and prognostication.

Jamie Benn

Benn has improved his numbers each year throughout his short career and the face of the franchise should have another great (albeit shortened) season this year. He’s healthy and should be more comfortable playing center in this system now.

He’ll most likely anchor a line with Loui Eriksson and Jaromir Jagr that should have Stars fans giddy with anticipation. Benn is in a golden situation with those two on the wings and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t manage a point per game pace this year. He’s got a great rapport with Loui and Jagr should take some of the load of responsibilities off of his shoulders. It’s time for Benn to really cement himself as one of the foremost sports figures in the Dallas area this year.

Benn’s been keeping in shape during the lockout by playing hockey over in Germany so he’s good to go. He would have probably been able to put career numbers again this year if it had been a full season but his half season should still be quite impressive.

2013 Prediction: 24 goals, 29 assists, 53 points, +16, 28 PIM

Loui Eriksson

It’s good to be Loui Eriksson. The most consistent player on the Stars gets more help this year as he’s going to be playing with Benn and opposite Jagr. He’ll be primed to do one thing all year, shoot the puck.

It’s very tough to see a situation in which he doesn’t score at least 20 goals with the chances that he should be able to get himself this year. He’s been consistent for the last three seasons for at least 25 goals and 40 assists and should be able to get close to that many goals again (but not that many assists).

He should be able to get some numbers back on the power play with the additions of Jagr, Ray Whitney and Derek Roy to the team.

Like Benn, Loui would have easily been able to put up career numbers across the board if this had been a full season.

2013 Prediction: 24 goals, 22 assists, 46 points, +19, 2 PIM

Texas Stars

This past week couldn't have gotten much better for the Texas Stars. They had two back-to-back games on the road against the Abbotsford Heat (the top team in the AHL at the time) and came away with three out of four points. They've gotten 10 out of 14 points since the beginning of December and have been on roll since mid-November.

The Stars outplayed the Heat in both games and probably would have won the second game if not for the goaltending of Barry Brust (he stopped 39 of 40 shots). He was able to hold on to beat Jack Campbell and the Stars in the shootout.

Campbell and Cristopher Nilstorp split the two games and both guys did well. Nilstorp saved 20 of 21 shots in the Stars 3-1 win while Campbell saved 25 of 26 shots. It's one of Campbell's best games of the year sothat was really good to see as he had been struggling for the past month.

It was another week and another goal for Reilly Smith as he continues to play very well in December. He now has four goals in December and his six points this month has doubled his yearly total.

Cody Eakin had a goal and two assists last week and he now has a three games point streak. He has a point in five of the last six games and continues to lead the team in points with 18 (which really isn't all that much). No Stars player is in the top-60 in the AHL in scoring so it's good to see this team succeeding as a team.

Dec. 19 - San Antonio Rampage @ Texas Stars

Dec. 21 - Texas Stars @ OKC Barons

Dec. 22 - Texas Stars @ OKC Barons

The Overseas Pros

Note: Just about all European leagues had last week off so there's not much to write here.

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

The DEL was the one league in Europe that didn't go on a holiday but as luck would have it, the Freezers somehow had no games scheduled last week. Benn returned to North America during that time and should be back in Germany this week as the NHL lockout is still in full effect.

There were some rumblings that he might stick around here until after New Year's so who knows. Hamburg has three games this week so it'll be interesting to see if he suits up.

Season totals: 19 games, 7 goals, 13 assists, 30 PIM, +8 rating

Dec. 18 - ERC Ingolstadt @ Hamburg Freezers

Dec. 21 - Ausburger Panther @ Hamburg Freezers

Dec. 23 - Hamburg Freezers @ Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

A week of rest should only make Jagr more unstoppable as he spends the week soaking in the fountain of youth. He enters this week with eight goals and nine assists in his last 11 games.

Season totals: 24 games, 18 goals, 25 assists, 24 PIM, +15 rating 

Dec. 19 - Kladno vs Pardubice

Dec. 21 - Kladno vs Chomutov

Dec. 23 - Kladno vs Ceske Budejovice

Loui Eriksson - HC Davos

Loui has only had a short debut week of hockey so far this year so it's good to see him back on the ice. He certainly didn't need the rest last week and has to be itching to go again.

Season totals: 2 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, 0 PIM, +1 rating

Dec. 18 - Davos vs Servette

Dec. 21 - Davos vs Kloten

Dec. 22 - Davos vs Zug

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Expect more of the same from Wandell this week. Lot's of ice time and not too much on the scoresheet.

Season totals: 21 games, 1 goal, 7 assists, 12 PIM, -3 rating

Dec. 20 - Severstal Cherepovets vs Vityaz Chekhov

Dec. 22 - Severstal Cherepovets vs Dinamo Minsk

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Just one game for Larsen this week. Larsen and his team have much of next week off as well for Christmas so this will be the only game played from Dec. 9 till Dec. 27.

Season totals: 21 games, 5 goals, 7 assists, 22 PIM, +9 rating

Dec. 18 - Lukko vs Jokerit

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Robidas' contract ran out with Helsinki and the team chose not to bring him back. Thus, the Stephane Robidas overseas experiment is over and done with. 

Final season totals: 15 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 22 PIM, -11 rating

Texas Stars

It was another positive week for the Texas Stars as they went 2-0-1-0 in their three games last week. They squeaked out an OT win over the Milwaukee Admirals before falling in overtime (their third straight overtime game) to the Houston Aeros. They closed the week with a resounding 4-1 win over the Peoria Rivermen.

Cristopher Nilstorp started all three games and did quite well, even though he didn't face the high number of shots that he usually does. He stopped 65 of 69 shots and earned first and second star honors in the first two games of the week. He's been a great signing for the Stars.

On the non-goalie front, Reilly Smith had his second multi-point game of the month with two goals in the win over Peoria. He's been in a pretty good groove lately and seems to have finally adjusted to the speed of the pro game. He's been one of the most aggressive players on the team for the past few weeks and it's showing on the scoresheet. He, Colton Sceviour and Matt Fraser have been the best forwards for Texas during this good stretch of games.

Texas gets a weird scheduling quirk this week as they play the Abbotsford Heat on back-to-back nights on the road.

Dec. 14 - Texas Stars @ Abbotsford Heat

Dec. 15 - Texas Stars @ Abbotsford Heat

The Overseas Pros

Note: All European leagues are taking this week off so there will be no games played by anyone anywhere at anytime.

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

After two weeks without any points, Jamie Benn finally got himself back on the scoresheet. It was a big week offensively for the Freezers and Benn was in the giving mood. He had five assists in three games last week as the Freezers went 2-1-0. He was also earned second star honors so all is well again in Benn-land.

The Freezers don't play again until Dec. 18 so Benn gets a rest this week.

Season totals: 19 games, 7 goals, 13 assists, 30 PIM, +8 rating

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

Kladno had a terrible week as it lost all three games but Jagr once again played well with two goals and two assists for another great week. He's no had eight goals and nine assists in his last 11 games. He may be as old as dirt but he can still play at a high level.

The only problem last week was that his team lost all three games by a combined 14-6 margin. His team sits fifth in the Extraliga table, 10 points behind the leader.

Hopefully he sticks around for one more NHL season with the Stars next year. 

Like Benn, Jagr and his team don't play again until Dec. 18 so the old man gets extra rest this week.

Season totals: 24 games, 18 goals, 25 assists, 24 PIM, +15 rating 

Loui Eriksson - HC Davos

Loui made his overseas debut on Friday for Davos and got himself a goal and a front row seat to a 8-1 thrashing of Lugano. He's playing on a line with Petr Sykora and Joe Thornton and should be able to tear through the Swiss league once he gets more comfortable there.

Like most of Europe, there are no games in the Swiss league next week so Loui has to wait until Dec. 18 before he gets back on the ice again.

Season totals: 2 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, 0 PIM, +1 rating

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Robidas' contract ran out with Helsinki and the team chose not to bring him back. Thus, the Stephane Robidas overseas experiment is over with. 

Final season totals: 15 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 22 PIM, -11 rating 

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Three games for Wandell and Severstal last week and he managed to actually get an assist. Any point for Wandell is a big bonus at this point so don't expect too much from him.

Season totals: 21 games, 1 goal, 7 assists, 12 PIM, -3 rating

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Just one game for Lukko last week and Larsen registered an assist during that game. Larsen had one assist in Lukko's three games last week. Larsen ended November with a solid couple weeks of play with five points in three weeks. He's doing quite well for himself over in Finland.

Season totals: 21 games, 5 goals, 7 assists, 22 PIM, +9 rating

Texas Stars

It was a pretty difficult, though in the end rewarding, week for the Texas Stars. The team had four games last week, all on the road, and came out of it with a 3-1-0 record. There was a squeaker 5-4 win and another that ended after a 10-round shootout. There was a little bit of everything last week.

Jack Campbell and Cristopher Nilstorp alternated starts for the four games and Nilstorp is still looking to be the more impressive goalie (this year at least). Campbell was 1-1-0 and allowed seven goals on 76 shots. Nilstorp went 2-0-0 and allowed four goals on 64 shots (not including stopping nine out of 10 shots in the shootout win). 

A good number of skaters had a good week (like Alex Chiasson and Colton Sceviour) but the two that stood out for me were Reilly Smith and Jordie Benn. Smith scored the first pro goal of his career on Tuesday and had two more by the end of the week. He had the most shots among all the forwards last week (11) and was active all over the ice. He had a lot of promise coming out of college and it's nice to finally see him getting on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Benn was just as dangerous a sniper as Smith was last week. Benn had three goals of his own, along with one assist, and had the most shots out of anyone of the team (13). It's the best offensive output Benn has had since November of last year.

One worrisome note from last week was the puck possession for the Stars. Texas was outshot in three of the four games and outshot overall by a 137-101 margin. Opposing teams are controlling the game and putting a ton of pressure on Campbell and Nilstorp. It hasn't been a problem for most of the year though so hopefully it doesn't become a recurring issue.

Dec. 05 - Texas Stars @ Milwaukee Admirals

Dec. 07 - Houston Aeros @ Texas Stars

Dec. 08 - Peoria Rivermen @ Texas Stars

The Overseas Pros

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

The Freezers only had one game last week and Jamie Benn wasn't around to see all of it. Benn got himself a game misconduct during the third period of a 5-0 win over the Iserlohn Roosters after a heated tangle with Mark Bell after Bell took expection to a clean (and rather tame) hit that Benn put on one of Bell's teammates.

Benn went pointless in the game and has now gone two weeks without a point. He did play well though and just couldn't get some help from his line in the shooting department. He is now below the point per game pace though.

Highlights of the game can be found here. 

Season totals: 16 games, 7 goals, 8 assists, +3 rating

Dec. 04 - Dusseldorfer EG @ Hamburg Freezers

Dec. 07 - Kolner Haie @ Hamburg Freezers

Dec. 09 - Hamburg Freezers @ Hannover Scorpions

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

The Czech Extraliga cannot contain Jaromir Jagr. The yet-to-suit-up-in-a-Stars-sweater Dallas Star had another goal and two assists in two games last week for HC Kladno. That's now six goals and seven assists in the last eight games for veteran. Unfortunately I'm now resigned to the fact that despite signing with the Stars, we'll never see Jagr play a game for the team. He leads the team in points and assists. 

Season totals: 24 games, 16 goals, 23 assists, +17 rating

Dec. 04 - Kladno vs Kometa Brno

Dec. 07 - Kladno vs Vitkovice

Dec. 09 - Kladno vs Sparta Prague

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Helsinki had two games last week and Robidas did not register a point in the one game that he played in.  

Season totals: 15 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, -11 rating

Dec. 05 - Helsinki vs SaiPa

Dec. 07 - Helsinki vs Hameenlinna

Dec. 08 - Helsinki vs Ilves

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Two games for Wandell and Severstal last week and he was back to his usual no point self. It's difficult to imagine that Wandell actually did explode for three points during the Thanksgiving week.

Season totals: 19 games, 1 goal, 6 assists, -2 rating

Dec. 03 - Severstal vs Avangard (already played. Wandell actually had an assist in a 2-1 OT win)

Dec. 05 - Severstal vs Barys

Dec. 07 - Severstal vs Yugra

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Larsen had one assist in Lukko's three games last week. Larsen ended November with a solid couple weeks of play with five points in three weeks. 

Season totals: 20 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, +8 rating

Dec. 17 - Rauman Lukko vs Assat

Texas Stars

Some steam left the Texas Stars train last week. The Stars were heading into the week on a three-game winning streak but ended up losing two of three games last week (one in overtime). Cristopher Nilstorp's back-to-back shutouts were quickly forgotten as he gave up six goals in the Wednesday game against the OKC Barons.

Nilstorp started all three games and ended up missing the third period of the game Sunday with some kind of food poisoning. Overall, Nilstorp allowed nine goals on 78 shots.

Colton Sceviour had a solid offensive week with two goals and two assists and Jamie Oleksiak continues to be a nice playmaker from the blueline (two more assists). Matt Fraser also looks like he's the only guy on the team who can score on the power play (four in the last two weeks).

Cody Eakin didn't miss any games last week after suffering an injury while blocking a shot. He had one assist in the Stars' three games.

The Stars have a busy week as they have the final four games of their road trip this week.

Nov. 27 - Texas Stars @ Rockford Icehogs

Nov. 30 - Texas Stars @ Grand Rapids Griffins

Dec. 01 - Texas Stars @ Grand Rapids Griffins

Dec. 02 - Texas Stars @ Peoria Rivermen

The Overseas Pros

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

Shockingly, Jamie Benn had no points in the Freezers' two games last week and was actually held without a shot against the Krefeld Pinguine. It's Benn's worst week since he's been in Germany.

Nov. 30 - Iserlohn Roosters @ Hamburg Freezers

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

While Benn might have had an off week, Jagr continued to tear through the Czech League with another two goals and five assists in three games. At this point, I'm just pissed that there's a lockout and we can't see a little bit of this with the Dallas Stars. If this lockout goes the full season, Stars fans may never see Jagr skating the ice in a Stars sweater.

Nov. 29 - Kladno vs Karlovy Vary

Dec. 02  - Kladno vs Liberec

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Not much for Robidas last week. Two games for Helsinki, two losses and no points for Robidas. It's the first time in the past month that Robidas has gone a week at least without a point.

Nov. 27 - Helsinki vs Assat

Dec. 01 - Helinki vs Espoo

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Thanksgiving week provided a miracle for Tom Wandell. He had a goal (a real actual goal!) and two assists (two whole assists!) for three points in three games last week. The goal was Wandell's first of the season and the first time that he's had a point in nearly a month. His scoring output is surprisingly low (even for him) for a guy playing top minutes so it's nice to see him get on the scoresheet. Hopefully he can keep it up.

Nov. 28 - Severstal vs Tractor Chelyabinsk

Nov. 30 - Severstal vs Yekaterinburg

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Larsen had another pretty good week last week. He followed up a two goal week with a goal and an assist in three games. Four points in two weeks is quite excellent for Larsen. He's been without a point for almost all of November so two straight weeks with points is great.

Nov. 27 - Rauman Lukko vs Ilves

Nov. 29 - Rauman Lukko vs Karpat

Dec. 01 - Rauman Lukko vs Tappara

Texas Stars

To put it succinctly, it was the Cristopher Nilstorp show last week for the Texas Stars. Nilstorp put up back-to-back shutouts (including a 1-0 shootout win in which he stopped eight of nine attempts) and carried the Stars to their longest win streak of the year (three games).

Nilstorp might have been fired up by the competition that Josh Robinson presented in his recent call-up. Whatever it was, he was great in stopping all 43 shots that he faced and he was huge in overtime against the Charlotte Checkers. He's made a solid case to be the main guy going forward as Jack Campbell stumbles along. Campbell just needs to regain some confidence as he's let some very stoppable shots get by him lately.

Other guys that impressed this weekend include: Matt Fraser and his second multi-goal game in the last two weeks and Jamie Oleksiak. Oleksiak has settled down in the past couple of weeks and has been playing very well. Patrik Nemeth filled in for the injured Jordie Benn and did decently enough, though he did have penalty problems.

Scott Glennie also scored his first goal of the season last week.

On a less positive note, Cody Eakin was injured midway through the Checkers game and did not return after blocking a shot. He'll be a huge loss if he misses any amount of significant time.

Nov. 21 - Oklahoma City Barons @ Texas Stars

Nov. 23 - Abbotsford Heat @ Texas Stars

Nov. 25 - Texas Stars @ San Antonio Rampage

The Overseas Pros

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

Benn continues to tear through the DEL as he had another goal and two assists in two games last week. He had each of his points on a different unit of his team. He scored while short-handed and assisted on even strength and the power-play so Benn has been all over the place for the Freezers.

He's the only player on his team averaging over a point per game and he sits just three behind the team leader in points despite playing seven fewer games.

Nov. 23 - Eisbaren Berlin @ Hamburg Freezers

Nov. 25 - Hamburg Freezers @ Krefeld Pinguine

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

The bye week gave Jagr some time to rest and he put that to good use. Jagr had three goals in three games last week as he stays hot (though his team didn't do so well by losing all three games). He started out really slow for Kladno this year but he's been their most efficient player for the past month.

Nov. 20 - Kladno vs Slavia Prague

Nov. 23 - Kladno vs Plzen

Nov. 25 - Kladno vs Litvinov

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Robidas actually had a goal last week as Helsinki went split their two games. Robidas has been getting about one point a week for the past month so he's been consistent.

Nov. 20 - Helsinki vs Tappara

Nov. 24 - Helinki vs Kalpa Kuopio

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

At this point it would be a huge shock to see Wandell tally a point at all. In two games last week, Wandell somehow managed to go pointless despite Severstal scoring eight goals. Keep in mind that he plays top line minutes for the Cherepovets so I would have hoped that Wandell would have at least gotten one assist, but no.

Nov. 21 - Severstal vs SKA St. Petersburg

Nov. 23 - Severstal vs UHC Dynamo

Nov. 25 - Severstal vs Dinamo Minsk

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Larsen had a solid week with two goals in two games for Rauman Lukko. They were his first points of November and the first time he's been on the scoresheet at all for a month. Two goals in two games was basically an explosion for him.

Nov. 21 - Rauman Lukko vs Saipa

Nov. 22 - Rauman Lukko vs Jokerit

Nov. 24 - Rauman Lukko vs Tappara

Texas Stars

The best thing you could say about the Texas Stars this week was that the team got progressively better as the week went on. They lost 3-0 to the Toronto Marlies, a 5-4 shootout loss to the Lake Erie Monsters and then finally got back in the win column with a 4-2 win over the Houston Aeros.

Goaltending is still the big issue with this team as both Jack Campbell and Cris Nilstorp are letting really simple saves get past them. Campbell saved 22 of 26 in his only start last week while Nilstorp stopped 40 of 45. Both of the netminders need to up their game if the Stars hope to go on any type of extended winning streak.

The defensemen actually played well last week. Big Jamie Oleksiak probably had his best week so far as a pro as he looked a more fluid on the ice. He was making a bigger impact on the game and that's definitely a welcome sight. Other defensemen that impressed: Cam Barker (no really, he was quite good) and Brendon Dillon. Jordie Benn suffered an injury during the Aeros game and he'll be out for a while. Patrick Nemeth will have to pick up the slack while Benn is out.

The standout forward for the week was Tomas Vincour. He scored two goals and had one assist, but he was all over the ice and had a ton of energy out there. He's working really well with Cody Eakin. Another positive from last week; the Stars scored three power play goals which equaled their total for the entire season.

Nov. 15 - San Antonio Rampage @ Texas Stars

Nov. 17 - Charlotte Checkers @ Texas Stars

The Overseas Pros

All European leagues had last week off so no games were played. By anyone. At all.

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

The younger Benn has been on a tear in the DEL so hopefully the week off didn't take away his momentum.

Nov. 16 - Straubing Tigers @ Hamburg Freezers

Nov. 18 - Hamburg Freezers @ Adler Mannheim

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

Jagr has also been just as hot as Benn lately so hopefully his good play continues coming off the bye week.

Nov. 12 - Kladno vs Trinec

Nov. 14 - Kladno vs Ceske Budejovice

Nov. 18 - Kladno vs Zlin

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Nov. 15 - Helsinki vs Jokerit

Nov. 17 - Helinki vs TPS Turku

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Nov. 16 - Severstal vs UHC Dynamo

Nov. 18 - Severstal vs SKA St. Petersburg

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Nov. 13 - Raumann Lukko vs Hameenlinna 

Nov. 16 - Raumann Lukko vs Pelicans Lahti

Texas Stars

The Stars had only one game last week and it didn't go so well as they lost 4-1 to the Grand Rapids Griffins. It's been a tough couple of weeks for the Stars as they've lost five of their last six games (allowing at least four goals in all those losses) and the same problems keep cropping up. A listless power play (0 for 7 against the Griffins, now 3 for 38 on the year), taking too many penalties (six more times on the PK) and a surprising stuggle from the Stars' net minders.

The special teams troubles are a familiar problem to Dallas Stars fans and it seems to be a system wide issue. The power-play just doesn't work.

A couple things of note from the Griffins game were season debuts for Colton Sceviour and Scott Glennie. Sceviour returned from injury problems and scored a goal in his first game back. Glennie has been riding the pine the whole year and was pretty invisible on the ice. He looked really rusty in against the Griffins.

Nov. 9 - Toronto Marlies @ Texas Stars

Nov. 10 - Lake Erie Monsters @ Texas Stars

Nov. 11 - Texas Stars @ Houston Aeros

The Overseas Pros

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

It took a little while, but now Benn is really in a groove with the Freezers. In three games last week (all wins), Benn had three goals and an assist on nine shots to go along with first star honors in a game against Red Bull Munchen. It's his third solid week in a row and he's now the only Freezers player to be averaging a point per game. It's good to see Benn humming right along again and I just wish it was in a Stars uniform.

All European hockey is taking the next off so Benn has no games next week.

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

First off, is there any way we can bottle this Jagr for the Stars whenever the NHL returns? The Czech veteran was at his best last week with two goals and four assists in two explosive wins for Kladno. Jagr has really picked up his game in the last weeks and has shown up on the scoresheet a whole lot. Unfortunately for him, the league has no games this week so Jagr and his hot streak will have to wait until next Monday to continue putting points on the board.

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Robidas found himself on the scoresheet a couple of times last week with a goal and an assist in three games played. His team actually won two of games, which is double what they had for the previous two weeks and the defense was improved. His one-month long contract will be ending soon though, so it'll be interesting to see what he does then. The SM-Liiga has no games this upcoming week, so it's more rest for Robi.

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Wandell was his usual self this past week. He registered no points and six shots in three games (two losses) while struggling a bit at the face-off dot. He's been getting top-line minutes but just can't produce points. In 11 games with Severstal, he only has four points (all assists). Like much of Europe, the KHL has no games next week.

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Larsen had three games last week and had no points to show for it. He hasn't registered a point for the better part of a month now.

Texas Stars

After getting destroyed in three games a couple of weeks ago, the Stars went 1-1-0 last week and had a vastly improved defensive effort (well for one game at least). They beat the Milwaukee Admirals 3-1 off a strong effort from Jack Campbell and Jamie Oleksiak's first goal of his AHL career.

Things didn't go so well though against the Oklahoma City Barons. Cris Nilstorp got the start in that game and let three of the 12 shots he faced (two from Justin Schultz) get past him before being pulled in favor of Campbell. The team also still has that penalty problem, taking nine more in the two games last week.

On the positive side, Cody Eakin continues to impress (one goal and one assist last week) and he looks like he'll be a hell of a playmaker for the team this year. I can't wait to see how he does once he gets some time with the Dallas Stars.

Nov. 3 - Grand Rapids Griffins @ Texas Stars

The Overseas Pros

Jamie Benn - Hamburg Freezers

The week for Benn couldn't have gotten much better. He had two goals and two assists in two games last week and was subsequently named the first star for both games. He was aggressive again with 11 total shots on net (he's averaging a little over eight per game), and had points on the power play, short handed and even strength.

About the only thing that didn't go right was a rare failed shootout attempt. He still has a relatively low eight percent shooting percentage so his points should improve with time (in his NHL career, he's at 12%).

Oct. 31 - Hamburg Freezers @ EHC Red Bull Munchen

Nov. 2 - Hamburg Freezers @ Augsburger Panther

Nov. 4 - ERC Ingolstadt @ Hamburg Freezers

Jaromir Jagr - HC Kladno

Jagr had a bit of a resurrection last week with four goals and three assists in three games (including a hat trick and four point game on Sunday). He's been quiet for most of Kladno's season so it was nice to see him show up on the scoresheet. Kladno sits third in the Czech League and has been playing very well.

Nov. 2 - Kladno @ Pardubice

Nov. 4 - Chomutov @ Kladno

Stephane Robidas - HIFK Helsinki

Robidas had his first point for his team last week but overall didn't do too much. Helsinki lost both games last week and four of their last five while allowing goals in droves.

Oct. 30 - HIFK Helsinki vs Jyp Jyväskylä

Nov. 1 - HIFK Helsinki vs Blues Espoo

Nov. 3 - Kalpa Kuopio vs HIFK Helsinki

Tom Wandell - Severstal Cherepovets

Wandell does what he usually did this week. He got himself a lot of ice time (third most among forwards on his team), took a bunch of face-offs and didn't do too much on the scoresheet. He only had one assist this past week to bring his point total this season to four (all assists). He's not getting a lot of shots on net (five total last week) and is just trying to be a playmaker on the ice. He's been solid, but nothing much that excites fans.

Oct. 29 - Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg vs Severstal Cherepovets (game already played, Wandell scoreless again in a 2-1 win)

Oct. 31 - Metallurg MG vs Severstal Cherepovets

Nov. 2 - Traktor Chelyabinsk vs Severstal Cherepovets

Philip Larsen - Rauman Lukko

Larsen had three games last week and had no points to show for it. His team lost two of the three games last week and sits near the bottom of the table in SM-Liiga. 

Oct. 30 - Tappara vs Rauman Lukko

Nov. 2 - Rauman Lukko vs Assat Pori

Nov. 3 - Rauman Lukko vs Jokerit

Texas Stars

The Stars are off to a nice 2-0-0 start with wins over the San Antonio Rampage and the Charlotte Checkers. The standout performer so far has been the new guy, Cody Eakin. Eakin has looked like a hell of playmaker on both sides of the ice and finished up with two goals and an assist last week. He's connecting well playing with Tomas Vincour (who could've had a great week if it weren't for his stone hands) and Reilly Smith.

The Stars have a busy schedule with three games in three days this weekend.

Oct. 19 - Texas Stars @ Houston Aeros

Oct. 20 - Houston Aeros @ Texas Stars

Oct. 21 - Lake Erie Monsters @ Texas Stars

Hamburg Freezers 

Jamie Benn had a below average week with only one assist and nine shots in two games. He did receive third star honors in a 3-1 loss to the Straubing Tigers though, so he's still an effective player even if he's not scoring out there. He has a very low shooting percentage of 5% in his four games so far with the Freezers, so his stats should improve.

Oct. 19 - Hannover Scorpions @ Hamburg Freezers

Oct. 21 - Hamburg Freezers @ Düsseldorfer EG

HC Kladno

Jaromir Jagr had another low key week just one assist for Kladno in their two games. He hasn't been showing up on the scoresheet often in the past couple of weeks, though his team is still doing pretty well.

Oct. 18 - Kladno @ Karlovy Vary

Oct. 21 - Kladno @ Bili Tygri Liberec

Severstal Cherepovets

Tom Wandell went pointless in his second game with the Cherepovets in the KHL but he's been getting a lot of time on ice. He had 17:18 of TOI in his one game last week and once again led the team in the face-off dot, winning 14 of 23 (61%). He managed three shots but has still yet to register a point for his overseas team.

Oct. 15 - Vityaz Chekhov vs Severstal Cherepovets

Oct. 17 - Slovan Bratislava vs Severstal Cherepovets

Oct. 20 - Avangard Omsk Region vs Severstal Cherepovets

Rauman Lukko

Philip Larsen had two assists in his team's three games last week and continues to put up some nice points with his Finnish team. His team sits in the 11th spot out of 14 teams though so they haven't been winning many of those games.

Oct. 16 - Ilves Tampere vs Rauman Lukko

Oct. 19 - Rauman Lukko vs HIFK Helsinki

HIFK Helsinki

Stephane Robidas got his first taste of overseas hockey this year in a 5-4 loss to Karpat Oulu. He was thrust into the starting line-up, but didn't register a point in his first game.

Oct. 19 - HIFK Helsinki vs Rauman Lukko 

Oct. 20 - HIFK Helsinki vs Pelicans Lahti