The best-kept secret in hockey might be playing in the great state of Texas. Texas?! Yes, that Texas. The non-traditional hockey state that is known more for football, cowboy hats and rattlesnakes is also home to one of the best players in the NHL. I’m not talking about new Dallas signing Jaromir Jagr or Ray Whitney, but a soft-spoken Swede named Loui. Eriksson that is.

Loui Eriksson is the proud owner of three consecutive seasons of 70 points or more. While he hasn’t topped the 30-goal mark since his third full year, Eriksson is generous with the puck to a fault. Dallas fans will be urging the 27-year-old Swede to pull the trigger more often as his shot numbers have only topped 200 once in his six-year career.

It will be interesting to see how Eriksson plays now that he has someone to feed him the puck. With the talent to be a 50-goal scorer, all he needs to do is shoot. Grizzled graybeard snipers like Jag and Whitney can lend their expertise in that department.

The addition of veteran offensive players like Jagr, Whitney  and Derek Roy can only help the silky smooth right-winger. Any of these players should be able to transition well to Eriksson’s natural facilitating style and he could see a spike in productivity on the wing of an offensive star like Roy.

The playoffs are the ultimate goal for Dallas, but the Stars have been a one-trick pony with Eriksson carrying the scoring load. A finesse player by nature, Eriksson won’t get you the dirty numbers like hits, penalty minutes or blocked shots. With the help that Dallas brought in, Eriksson could and should get to the next level from a scoring standpoint.

With the right wing position fairly thin, consider Loui Eriksson a late first round steal to possibly an early second round swipe. At his age, Eriksson is entering his prime production years. and could be set for a career year offensively.  If  you’re a fan of sturdy Swedish (Dallas)Stars, Eriksson is your man.