Texas Stars Shuffle Defense With Trade, Signing and Recall

Ben Gleason
(Credit: Texas Stars)

Three big moves for Texas today. First, the Dallas Stars made a trade, acquiring Taylor Fedun from Buffalo in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Fedun was immediately assigned to the Texas Stars. He's a veteran of 346 games played in the AHL, including some time in Oklahoma City from 2011-14.

Ben Gleason got his first NHL recall as Dallas had Roman Polak under the weather. Polak ultimately could not play, and Gleason is making his NHL debut this afternoon against Nashville.

Finally, to backfill Gleason, the Stars signed D Brady Norrish from ECHL Idaho.

With two new defensemen on the roster with no time to practice, it should be an interesting night regardless. It will be very interesting to see the power play units that Texas rolls out. With Heatherington, Hanley and Gleason in Dallas, someone is going to get a tryout on the point.

Here is the Fedun release:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Taylor Fedun from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft. Following the trade, Dallas has assigned Fedun to the Texas Stars.

Fedun, 30, has recorded five assists (0-5=5) in nine games this season with the Rochester Americans (AHL). Among Rochester defensemen, he ranks third in assists (5) and fourth in points (5). Last season in seven regular-season NHL games with Buffalo, Fedun recorded one assist (0-1=1).

The blueliner has appeared in 46 regular-season NHL contests over five seasons with Edmonton, San Jose, Vancouver and Buffalo, registering 15 points (2-13=15). Fedun has amassed 176 points (40-136=176) in 346 AHL regular-season contests and posted eight points (4-4=8) in 31 Calder Cup Playoff contests.

The 6-foot, 200-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta was originally undrafted and signed as a free agent by Buffalo on July 1, 2016.

Here is the Gleason/Norrish release:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has recalled defenseman Ben Gleason from the Texas Stars. Gleason is now the fifth Texas player to be recalled by Dallas and joins Dillon Heatherington, Denis Gurianov, and Joel Hanley on the roster.

In an additional transaction, Texas has signed defenseman Brady Norrish from the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads.

Gleason, 20, is tied for fifth among all Texas Stars players and leads Texas defensemen with six points (2-4=6) in 11 AHL games so far in his first professional campaign. Gleason also leads club defensemen and shares fifth among all Texas skaters with two goals this season.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Ortonville, Mich. was originally undrafted and signed with Dallas as a free agent on Sept. 13, 2018. Gleason has recorded 125 points (22-103=125) in 236 career regular-season OHL games with the Hamilton Bulldogs and London Knights.

Norrish, 25, has played 13 games for the Steelheads as a rookie. The blue liner has earned 11 points (4-7=11) and is tied for second in scoring on the roster. Norrish is second among all ECHL defensemen in scoring and sixth among all rookie skaters in the league. The Strongfield, Saskatchewan native played four seasons at RIT before turning pro, earning 55 points (11-44=55) in 100 NCAA games.