Texas Stars Name Dillon Heatherington Team Captain

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

With Justin Dowling firmly in Dallas, the Texas Stars announced today that Dillon Heatherington will be the team's seventh captain. Joel Hanley and Michael Mersch will serve as alternates for both road and home contests.

Heatherington joined Dallas via trade from Columbus where he won a Calder Cup. This year is his fourth in the Dallas system.

Texas will rely on its depth of veteran leadership, even beyond those wearing letters, this season. A bevy of new rookies will join the roster and look to a group that include the lettered leaders and Tanner Kero, Reece Scarlett, Gavin Bayreuther, Landon Bow and others for guidance.

"It is a great group and part of the message is that you don’t need a letter to be a leader," said head coach Derek Laxdal. "We believe that Dillon has earned the captaincy and his leadership is going to be a great fit for our team. He's the perfect example of the type of person you want to lead this team. He leads by example."