Colin Blackwell is headed to Dallas’ Texas Stars affiliate after a 70-game NHL season. Arttu Hyry is headed there after 20 appearances. Dallas announced the loans Monday, while its opening group included returning forward Joel Kiviranta. The moves put two quite different player evaluations outside the first NHL roster.
Blackwell has a longer recent record of doing a supporting job for the Stars. Hyry has a shorter sample with a few promising details. Treating their assignments as an identical verdict would miss that distinction. Dallas has selected its starting group, but the decisions leave useful questions about the options behind it.
The immediate consequence is real: Kiviranta has a place in the NHL group, and Blackwell and Hyry do not. Calling a move reversible should never obscure that difference for the players involved. It should, however, discourage a grand conclusion about what either can contribute over the rest of the season.
Blackwell’s case begins with something more valuable than a flashy box-score line: he supplied Dallas with 70 NHL appearances in 2025-26. He scored four goals and added 11 assists for 15 points, averaging 11:54 per game. That is modest offense, but it came over a meaningful stretch of the regular season rather than a cameo measured in a handful of nights.
Blackwell put 61 shots on net and converted 6.6% of them. Those figures help explain why his offensive contribution, while useful, would not make every selection decision automatic. A supporting player can supply meaningful work without producing enough offense to make his place untouchable. Dallas now has to weigh that established contribution against what its selected forwards offer.
The strongest argument for Blackwell is the amount of work already demonstrated. Seventy appearances give the organization considerably more to assess than a brief audition. The counterargument is in the same line: four goals and 11 assists leave room for a club to seek a different combination. Both points survive Monday’s decision.
Hyry presents a different question because his NHL sample was much smaller. He played 20 games in 2025-26, producing three goals and two assists while averaging 11:47 per game. He also scored once shorthanded and won 57.9% of his recorded faceoffs. Those details provide legitimate reasons for interest: Hyry showed some finishing and produced a notable result in the faceoff circle.
Hyry’s shorter record makes the next evaluation different. He took 24 shots, scored three times and recorded five points. That is enough to justify further interest without establishing a full-season offensive level. Dallas should be looking for those useful moments to become a more sustained contribution. The assignment gives him a different place to work toward that, while leaving his NHL case open.
Kiviranta returns after three seasons in Colorado, following his first four NHL seasons with Dallas. Familiar surroundings may make the move easier to understand, but familiarity should not finish the assessment either. His place in the group provides the first opportunity. What he does with the opportunity will be more important than the comfort of a familiar name.
