The Dallas Stars made an American center their first selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft with the 50th overall pick in the second round. Nico Sacchetti (pronounced suh-ketti) is a skilled forward from Virginia, Minnesota, who plays with a lot of grit. His scouting report boasts good puck skills with a nose for the net. Sacchetti is solid on his feet, he sees the ice well, and he is good at aggressively pursuing the puck. He is listed at 5-11, 189-pounds.

Brett Hull, Nico Sacchetti and Doug Armstrong

Sacchetti says that defenseman Matt Niskanen (Dallas' first round pick in 2005) has had the most influence on his career because "he worked out with me and taught me a lot about what it takes." Niskanen also went to Virginia High School and signed a pro contract with the Stars this past spring. Sacchetti says he patterns his game after Sidney Crosby, who is his favorite player. "I want to pattern my game after the best," he said. "I'm an offensive type of forward and I hope to score a lot of goals."

The right-hand shooting center scored 38 goals with 52 assists for 90 points in 25 games for Virginia High last season. His most memorable hockey game: winning the 2005 Section 7A final and becoming the first team in school history to reach the State Championships (Virginia beat Hibbing in the final, 5-3.)

"Dallas is honestly the team I was hoping to pick me," said Sacchetti. "I went to high school with Matt Niskanen and he tells me great things about the organization. This is a dream come true to wear this sweater."

Bob Gernander, Dallas' Minnesota scout on Sacchetti: "Nico has a big time shot and has always been a scorer. He has good speed, good puck skills, and a great set of hands and vision. He is a creative player who led his league in scoring at least two years. He is a Luc Robitaille type player."

The Stars didn't have to wait long to make their second selection in the draft, taking Sergei Korostin, a right wing from Russia, with the 64th overall pick in the 3rd round. Listed at 5-11, 180-pounds, Korostin played for Dynamo Moscow last season. He was ranked as the 8th best prospect among European skaters for this draft.

Sergei Korostin

A skilled forward with good offensive instincts, Korostin's scouting report also lists him as a dynamic skater with speed and mobility. He is elusive along the boards and effective in one-on-one situations. Korostin sees the ice well and has good puck-handling ability.

Korostin played well at the Under-18 World Junior Championships, scoring in big games against quality teams. He scored five goals and was part of the reason that Russia was successful at the tournament. Korostin's upside and overall attitude are listed as strengths for his future prospects.

Dallas Director of Amateur Scouting Tim Bernhardt: "Sergei is a scoring winger with outstanding hands and a great shot. He always seems to be around the puck and is a very creative player once he gets the puck. He is an outstanding offensive prospect."

Borys Protsenko, Dallas Russian Scout: "Sergei is a good skater with excellent hands. He was very impressive with Russia during the World Junior Championships. He has a knack for scoring goals and is a very offensive minded player."

The Stars traded their first 4th round selection, the 94th overall selection (originally from LA as part of the Norstrom trade), to Columbus for overall picks 128, 129 and 149.

Right wing Colton Sceviour (pronounced SEE-vee-yur) was Dallas' fourth round selection (112 overall), who played with Portland in the Western Hockey League last season. The 6-0, 199-pound Alberta native led the Winter Hawks in assists with 26 last season and added 12 goals for 38 points in 49 games. Sceviour served as team captain for Portland.

Bernhardt: "Colton is a very good player at both ends of the ice and we really like his size. His father played professional hockey so he has good bloodlines. He is a solid prospect and we are glad to have him."

Brad Robson, Dallas' Alberta Scout: "He is a big kid with a high upside. He has good size and the ability to play in all situations, whether that's the power play, penalty kill or even strength. Colton has two seasons of junior left but he is a very solid two-way player."

Full bio on Sceviour at Portland Winter Hawks web site

The Stars' first pick in the fifth round (the 128th overall) had a Texas feel to it -- Austin Smith, a 5-11, 160-pound winger who was born and raised in Dallas. He played high school hockey for a couple of years at Jesuit College Preparatory and is currently going to a prep school in Connecticut (The Gunnery).

Austin Smith

"Being drafted by the Stars is phenomenal. If there was any team that I wanted to go to, it was Dallas," said Smith. "I've always followed the team and it's always been my favorite team. I played in Dr Pepper StarCenters growing up. I spoke with Les Jackson before the draft and I thought there was a chance I might be selected."

A good stick-handler and skater, Smith recently committed to play hockey at Colgate in the fall of 2008 on a full scholarship. He scored 25 goals and had 38 assists for 63 points in 30 games last season for the Gunnery.

"My play is kind of in the mold of a Jamie Langenbrunner, I think that's what the scouts saw in me," he said. "I'm pretty crafty with the puck, I like to make plays.

Les Jackson. Assistant General Manager: "Austin is an outstanding prospect and the fact that he is from Dallas really says something about the hockey development in the area. There are outstanding players in the Metroplex with a lot of opportunities to player with great players." Jack Foley, Dallas Scout: "He is a high energy guy with a lot of passion for the game. He has a good feel for the game and anticipates play really well. He is a good fore-checker with a big upside who is still growing."

Full athlete profile on Austin Smith at Dallas Stars Care's web site

Dallas selected Jamie Benn with the 129th overall pick, a 6-2, 185-pound left wing from Victoria. He had 42 goals and 23 assists for 65 points in 53 games for Victoria in 2006-07.

Benn says he looks to pattern his game after Joe Sakic "because I wanted a shot like his." He finished the 2006-07 season with Victoria ranked tied for first on the club in power play goals (19), second in goals (42) and third in points (65). Benn is scheduled to attend the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 2008. Robson: "He has outstanding size and really good hands. He really came on in the second half of the season and is great around the net. The strength of his game is his offense."

The Stars took center Ondrej Roman with their third pick of the fifth round (the 136th overall). Roman is a 6-0, 168-pound native of the Czech Republic who played with Spokane in the WHL last season (70 games, 4-44-48 points).

Roman led Spokane in assists (44) and ranked tied for fourth in points (48). During the 2007 WHL playoffs, he finished with five points (1-4-5) in six games, ranking second in assists and tying for second in points. Roman patterns his game after Edmonton's Ales Hemsky.

Dennis Holland, Dallas Scout: "We think he is one of the best passers in the Western Hockey League. He is a very good playmaker who is very creative and has great vision. He definitely makes players around him better and we have liked him for a while now."

Michael Neal, the brother of Stars prospect and 2005 second round pick James Neal, was taken by the Stars with the 149th overall pick. The younger Neal is a 6-2, 188-pound winger who played with Belleville in the Ontario Hockey League last season (52 games, 4-4-8 points). He appeared in all 15 playoff games with Belleville during their OHL playoff run, collecting one assist.

Bernhardt: "He's a big kid with a lot of room to fill out. He has not shown a lot of offense until now, but his skills are really developing. He loves to play the physical game, similar to his brother James, who we have been very happy with."

Michael Neal's player page on Belleville's web site:

The Stars' final pick of the 2007 draft came with the 172nd overall pick, which Dallas used to select left wing Luke Gazdic from Erie of the OHL. He's a 6-3, 210-pound native of Toronto.

Gazdic appeared in 58 games with Erie last season, scoring five goals and eight assists for 13 points. He ranked third on the team in penalty minutes with 136.

Bernhardt: "Luke is a great, big kid who plays a physical game and creates room for his teammates. He is an aggressive kid who is more than capable of handling himself."

Dallas did not have a seventh round pick, trading it to Florida last year in exchange for Niklas Hagman.

"We feel good about the players we selected today," said Tim Bernhardt, Dallas' director of amateur scouting. "We took some offensive skilled players early on and we took some physical, big players in the later rounds. We didn't select any defensemen because we feel secure in that area in our organization. We were looking for some forwards and we feel like we got them. We are especially excited about the three center icemen we took because that is an area where we feel like we are thin in our development group. The scouts all did a great job this year and we are very happy with this draft class."

2007 DALLAS STARS NHL ENTRY DRAFT SELECTIONS
Rnd.	Overall	Name	Pos.	D.O.B.	Height	Weight	Birthplace	Amateur Club	Shoot/Catch
2	50	Nico Sacchetti	C	8/21/89	5.11	189	Virginia, Minnesota	Virginia High	Right
3	64	Sergei Korostin	RW	7/5/89	5.11	180	Prokopievsk, Siberia	Moscow Dynamo	Left
4	112	Colton Sceviour	C/RW	4/20/89	6.0	201	Red Deer, Alberta	Portland (WHL)	Right
5	128	Austin Smith	RW	11/7/88	5.11	160	Dallas, Texas	Gunnery High (CT)	Right
5	129	Jamie Benn	LW	7/18/89	6.2	185	Victoria, BC	Victoria (BCHL)	Left
5	136	Ondrej Roman	C	4/8/89	6.0	168	Ostrava, Czech Rep.	Spokane (WHL)	Right
5	149	Michael Neal	LW	4/3/89	6.3	188	Whitby, Ontario	Belleville (OHL)	Left
6	172	Luke Gazdic	LW	7/25/89	6.3	210	Toronto, Ontario	Erie (OHL)	Left