Dallas Stars fans may be waiting on a very different piece of news, but for the meantime they’ll have to deal with another new prospect. Defenseman Ben Gleason has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Stars after standing out at the recent prospect tournament. Gleason is an undrafted free agent who spent last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL.
Gleason, 20, was a huge part of the OHL Champion Bulldogs this season, leading their defense corps in scoring with 48 points in 63 games and adding another 18 in the playoffs. His five points also led the entire Bulldogs team in the Memorial Cup, and put him behind only Josh Mahura and Noah Dobson among defensemen in the short tournament. Though there are a lack of standout skills for Gleason, he moves the puck quickly and efficiently and has experience logging big minutes in junior. That should help him transition to the professional ranks for the Texas Stars, where he’ll try to prove that teams overlooked him in the draft.
He was actually ranked 58th among North American skaters in 2016, his first eligible draft year, but never did see his name up on the board. That’s likely because of his size—or lack thereof—which still limits him today. The Stars obviously saw enough to give him a professional contract, and hope he can be the next great undrafted player to make it all the way to the NHL.