{"id":115282,"date":"2025-07-08T00:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/115282\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T00:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:05:11","slug":"dallas-stars-take-bold-gamble-on-cameron-schmidt-as-their-next-jason-robertson-style-draft-steal-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/115282\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Stars take bold gamble on Cameron Schmidt as their next Jason Robertson-style draft steal | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DallasPhoto by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images At the Dallas Stars\u2019 development camp last week, the team\u2019s blueprint for building a contender was on full display: invest in raw offensive skill, even if it means taking risks on undersized players. It\u2019s a plan that produced NHL<\/a> stars like Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Logan Stankoven\u2014players picked outside the top of the draft but transformed into top scorers. Now, the Stars hope Cameron Schmidt is the next name on that list. For the 18-year-old Vancouver Giants forward, this summer\u2019s camp was less about proving himself immediately and more about soaking up lessons that could help him break through\u2014despite the size questions that made him slide to the third round.<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars\u2019 NHL Draft plan: turning WHL prospects like Cameron Schmidt into the next Jason Robertson<\/p>\n

Joe McDonnell, the Stars\u2019 director of amateur scouting, spoke candidly during the Frisco camp about why the team prioritizes scoring talent in the NHL Draft. \u201cYou have to find ways to maximize your value,\u201d McDonnell said on the ice at Comerica Center. \u201cYou look at players who score goals or get high point totals, and those players have value in the league.\u201dIt\u2019s a philosophy that\u2019s paid real dividends. Jason Robertson<\/a>, drafted 39th overall in 2017, is in the final year of a deal worth $7.75 million annually\u2014and is positioned to top $10 million on his next contract. Roope Hintz, selected 48th overall in 2015, is locked in at $8.45 million AAV over eight years. Johnston, picked late in the first round, is starting a five-year, $8.4 million deal. Even Logan Stankoven, traded to Carolina as the main piece in the Mikko Rantanen deal, signed an eight-year deal worth $6 million annually with the Hurricanes.\u201cYou have to take some big swings sometimes and see if they pay off,\u201d McDonnell said at the camp.Schmidt represents one of those swings. Standing at 5-foot-8, he posted 78 points in 61 games last season with the WHL\u2019s Vancouver Giants and added 9 points in 5 playoff games. Size questions knocked him to the third round (94th overall), but the Stars saw real upside.<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars\u2019 Frisco camp: developing NHL Draft picks, WHL prospects, and Cameron Schmidt<\/p>\n

Jordie Benn, working in player development with the Texas Stars, ran drills at Frisco and watched Schmidt closely. \u201cThe kid can skate,\u201d Benn said after a morning session at Comerica Center. \u201cHe is very smooth on the ice. He\u2019s a nice guy. It will be nice to get to know him well.\u201dRich Peverley, the Stars\u2019 director of player development, also shared his optimism at the camp. \u201cSpeed, skill, tenacity, we\u2019re lucky we got him,\u201d Peverley said. \u201cObviously, the size is a knock, but there are lots of comparisons to Logan. They\u2019re similar players. I would say he\u2019s a faster player.\u201dFor Schmidt, the week was about listening and learning. \u201cIt\u2019s just learning. This week is all about learning,\u201d he said at camp. \u201cJust listen. Just taking the little things from them and focusing on that.\u201d He credited Stankoven as a role model: \u201cTo see what he has done to be able to make it to this level and then maintain his spot, it\u2019s kind of cool.\u201dGeneral manager Jim Nill summed up the team\u2019s thinking while standing in Frisco last week: \u201cIt\u2019s not just the drafting, but what happens now. We\u2019ve got a great staff that works on the development part. We\u2019ve had results from it, so we\u2019re pretty comfortable.\u201dAs the Stars continue to invest in skill-heavy prospects, they\u2019re betting that Cameron Schmidt will follow the same path\u2014from overlooked to undeniable. \u201cIf you can even get one player a year,\u201d McDonnell said, \u201cyou can build a team from that.\u201dAlso Read: Columbus Blue Jackets make surprise move, sign Christian Jaros for NHL comeback<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images At the Dallas Stars\u2019 development camp last week, the team\u2019s blueprint for building…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[662,196,147,5278,5,1800,20630,4,465,20629,197,4659,1578,20628],"class_list":{"0":"post-115282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-cameron-schmidt","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-stars","11":"tag-dallasstars","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-jason-robertson","14":"tag-jordie-benn","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-nhl-draft","17":"tag-rich-peverley","18":"tag-stars","19":"tag-texas-stars","20":"tag-vancouver-giants","21":"tag-whl-prospects"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114814695736622529","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}