First Shift 🏒
Arttu Hyry is an example of one of the things the Stars do best as an organization.
Dallas signed Hyry as a free agent out of Karpat in Finalnd in 2024 and has developed the versatile forward over the past two seasons. Now, he’s ready to step up and help the big team in a key playoff series against the Minnesota Wild.
“He’s big, he’s a good skater, great on faceoffs, smart,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “He’s got the whole package, so it’s just a matter of giving him the opportunity and trusting what he can do.”
In Game 3, Hyry (pronounced hoo-roo) played 20:34, more than Jamie Benn, Justin Hryckowian, Colin Blackwell and Oskar Bäck. He was a huge part of the penalty kill, especially in overtime, and he won 12-of-23 faceoffs. That’s high cotton for a first-year playoff performer.
The 24-year-old played 20 playoff games over four seasons in the Finnish Elite League and then was a key part of the Texas Stars in 14 AHL playoff games last season. That has helped prepare him for this test.
“I feel like the last couple of springs have helped me,” he said. “The first one [in Finland] was good and I followed that up with the World Championships. Then last spring, in the AHL, those were meaningful games.”
Hyry played for Neil Graham, who coached the Texas Stars last season and is now the assistant coach for the Dallas Stars. That has helped his transition. So has the fact several players from that team have advanced – and the room is full of fellow Finns. Dallas has the strongest Finnish heritage in the NHL with Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Mikko Rantanen and Hintz.
Hintz is an interesting force. His absence is the reason Hyry received a chance, and the two play similar games. They are both big two-way forwards who are good on faceoffs.
“The good thing about all of the injuries we have had this year is we got to see different guys,” Gulutzan said. “With the last injury to Roope and the injury at the Olympics with [Radek Faksa], it allowed us to bring Artty up and give him some runway to see what he could do.”
He took it and ran. And while he was a healthy scratch in Game 1, he came back in Game 2 and has helped Dallas win two in a row.
Wednesday’s double overtime game ended at about 1 in the morning, and Hyry said that was a new one.
“I’ve never before played until 1 a.m,” he said. “That’s the longest game I’ve played in. It was an awesome experience to have.”
Was it awesome when you’re killing two penalties in overtime?
“You try to just play hockey, trust your PK, trust your team,” he said. “You can’t think about it too much or you will panic for sure.”
But he didn’t, and that is a great part of getting players like Hyry to add to the soup. When Hintz returns from his lower body injury (he’s skating right now), the coaches will have to make a decision. If they scratch Hyry again, they at least know what they have.
“That was the plan,” Gulutrzan said. “When he got up, we were like, `We’re going to play him and we’re going to see what he does.’ He’s played good hockey in the games where we brought him up. He’s been a positive force.”