Doesn’t seem right with training camp here in Boise still three weeks away, but events on the ice are taking place that can (and likely will) have an impact on the Idaho Steelheads roster for the 2011-2012 season.

It’s called the Traverse City NHL Prospects Camp.  A handful of teams, including the Dallas Stars, Idaho’s NHL affiliate, send teams of prospects to Michigan to compete against one another for a few days.

The Stars roster includes three players who competed for the Steelheads last season – goaltender Tyler Beskorowany along with forwards Tristan King and Matt Tassone.  Beskorowany, slated to play in the American Hockey League this season, is likely just there getting extra work in.  He’s still a pup (born in April of 1990 … yikes, I’m getting old).  King and Tassone are both interesting prospects.  Both lost a lot of time to injury last season, so both are trying to show the Stars that they belong in the long-term plans as well.

Started well for the Idaho trio as Beskorowany got the win, King got an assist, and Tassone had a goal and assist in the team’s 8-2 romp over Carolina on Saturday.  Didn’t go as well for the Stars (or Idaho’s three players, though Beskorowany didn’t play) on Sunday, when Dallas was felled by the New York Rangers.  The Stars face St. Louis on Tuesday and then an opponent yet to be determined on Wednesday, when the tournament concludes.

Most of the Stars’ top-shelf prospects are there.  Former first-round picks Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, and Jamie Oleksiak are there, as is defenseman Brenden Dillon, forward Matt Fraser, and forward Brett Ritchie.  Any or all of them could turn into household names in the hockey world.

Steelheads head coach Hardy Sauter is there with the Stars this week.  Heard from him Monday morning and he said the three Steelhead players mentioned above have played okay thusfar, which is good news – especially for Tassone, who is recovering from a serious knee injury.   I received the following text message from Tassone Monday morning as well: “Good, good so far, just working away.”

Will we see any of those players back in an Idaho jersey this season?  I’d be stunned if Beskorowany were to return, there’s simply no reason for it at this point in his career.  He’ll share netminding duties in the AHL this season with another Steelhead alum, Richard Bachman.  King and Tassone?  Maybe, maybe not.  For their sake, I hope not.   I hope they do enough to show the Stars that they deserve to take that next step up the ladder.

This week is also a valuable evaluation tool for Sauter.  Some of these kids could be earmarked for Boise and this tournament gives Idaho’s bench boss a great opportunity to see them in live, full-speed game situations.  You cannot duplicate those kinds of situations and experiences in practice.  Only the bright lights, referees, and a different team on the opposing bench can create that environment.  That will benefit the Steelheads down the line if any of these players are assigned to Idaho since Coach Sauter will have had an opportunity to judge the player’s strengths with his own eyes over the course of this week.

After this week in Traverse City, some of the prospects will head to the main NHL camp with the Dallas Stars.  Others will take a few days off before heading to training camp with the AHL’s Texas Stars.  Still more will return to their junior-hockey teams to compete at that level this season.  Will any land in Boise for Steelheads traning camp, which begins on October 3?

Stay tuned …