The Stars’ backup netminder opens up about hockey, Texas weather, and a whole lot more. Plus, Dallas beat Colorado last night, Hintz is a popular breakout candidate this season, and more.

Anton Khudobin wasn’t always a goaltender. Once upon a time, the Dallas Stars netminder instead played defense as a young hockey player. But perhaps it was inevitable that he eventually found his way between the pipes:

I started as a defenseman from seven to 10 (years old) and I kind of like try to catch the puck and block the shot or whatever... One time, maybe twice, we played against another team and puck hit me and went in our own net. On the bench, Coach came to me and said, ‘Maybe do you want to be a goalie?’ I took that as a serious question and after one weekend I was in goal.

After making the shift to goaltending, Khudobin worked tirelessly on his craft in hopes of one day making it to the NHL. People took notice of his excellent work ethic, which just came naturally to Khudobin:

I just didn’t want to lose the battle or whatever. Never lose the battle. I didn’t want to get scored on, right? So it was just normal. Pretty much stays with me right now. As a goalie, you don’t want to have more goals in the net.

You can hear more about Khudobin and both hockey and life in general in Sean Shapiro’s latest goaltender interview here.

Stars Stories

The Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche last night, and goaltending is pretty much the only reason why:

Here’s what the primary netminder, Jake Oettinger, has to say about his performance:

Take a look at this beautiful pass from Thomas Harley that set up the Stars’ first goal, courtesy of Scottie Upshall:

And here’s the game-winner by Michael Mersch. Take what you can get:

Around the League

The Ottawa Senators locked up Thomas Chabot for eight years at $8 million per year. Miro Heiskanen, take notes...

Roope Hintz is a popular “breakout candidate” according to beat writers across the NHL:

Speaking of Hintz and Heiskanen, the two Finns lead Dallas’ young core, but how do they stack up to the rest of the league?

Greg Wyshynski takes us back to the past in his latest Wysh List:

Elliotte Friedman discusses Dustin Byfuglien’s potential retirement plus a possible trade suitor for Julius Honka in his latest 31 Thoughts:

Finally, Ben Bishop is great and all, but maybe don’t draft him too high for your fantasy hockey league: