Stars recall former first-round pick

The Dallas Stars recalled left winger Riley Tufte from the AHL’s Texas Stars on Wednesday, the team said in a release.

This is the second recall of the season for the 25-year-old after playing three games with Dallas in December 2022. Drafted 25th overall in 2016, Tufte has never replicated the offensive potential he showed in high school through four seasons in Texas. However, he is enjoying a career year in the minors, recording 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points with a +23 rating in 63 games.

Tufte comes up to the active roster with Joe Pavelski’s status for Game 2 of their First Round series against the Minnesota Wild in doubt. Pavelski exited the team’s Game 1 overtime loss after a hit from Wild defender Matt Dumba, which caused Pavelski to fall to the ice with head contact.

With the series taking an expected physical turn, Tufte could draw into the lineup ahead of Dallas’ extra forwards, Joel Kiviranta and Fredrik Olofsson. While Tufte has some goal-scoring upside, he is a power forward first and foremost and plays an extremely physical game, standing at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds.

Tufte does not have any NHL playoff experience and only 13 games of regular-season experience. He registered his first NHL goal last season in a 10-game stint.