Dallas
Stars General Manager Doug Armstrong on Friday, made another
move yet to help the Stars depth along the blue-line, by
acquiring defenseman Shawn Belle from the St. Louis Blues
in exchange for goaltender Jason Bacashihua.
The 19 year-old Shawn Belle was the first round selection
for St. Louis (30th overall) in last year's draft. He also
won the Bobby Orr Fastest Skater Award at the 2003 CHL Top
Prospects Skills Competition.
Belle has played in 55 games for the Tri-City Americans of
the WHL last season, posting on the board nine goals and 20
assists for 29 points with 68 penalty minutes and a +5 rating.
in the last three season,Belle has shown is face in 157 games
with Tri-City,registering 17 goals and 51 assists for 68 points
with 196 penalty minutes.
In each of the past three years Belle, The 6-2, 225-pound
has played for Team Canada at different levels - winning
the silver medal this past Spring at the 2004 World Junior
Championships, picking up two gold medals with Canada's
Under-18 squad in 2002-03, and also winning a silver medal
with Team Pacific at the 2002 World Under-17 Challenge.
And the second consecutive year, he has been invited to
Canada's National Junior Team Development Camp this August
in Calgary along with the Stars' 2003 third round pick,
right wing B.J. Crombeen.
Now, lets talk about the 21 year-old Jason Bacashihua
who was the man who struck. In their development, Mike Smith
and Dan Ellis have made considerable strides over the past
year. Dan Ellis played his first game as a Dallas Star and
also picked up a win against the Columbus Bluejackets by
a 4-3 score. There were times when Mike Smith could have
walked in for Turco's place but he was on the IR for a good
while, and the time he was back, the playoffs where here,
and we did not want to take our chances.
Jason Bacashihua was the Stars first round selection (26th
overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 39
games with the Utah Grizzles last season, earning a 13-19-5
record with a 2.66 goals GAA and a .916 save percentage.
Join us tomorrow for the Stars in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft
in Raleigh, NC, on DSR Message Boards with live coverage
if you do not have ABC,ESPN etc... but the first round on
Saturday will be televised on ESPN2 (11 AM, CST). Dallas
owns the 20th pick in the first round, as well as three
of the first 56 selections (The Stars have picks 34 and
56 in round two).
|
