Tufte Earns Dallas Callup as Harley, Scheel Rejoin Texas

(Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars)

The Dallas Stars called up forward Riley Tufte, reassigned defenseman Thomas Harley to the Texas Stars, and recalled goaltender Adam Scheel from the Idaho Steelheads to the Texas Stars this afternoon.

On a day full of roster transactions for Dallas, Riley Tufte earned his first callup to Dallas. So far this season, Tufte is leading Texas in goals with five and is second in points with seven. When Dallas placed Blake Comeau and Tanner Kero on waivers today, it looked as if a callup from Texas was inevitable and Tufte, a first-round draft pick from the 2016 NHL Draft, was the one to get the call. Tufte has yet to play a game for Dallas, but will be looking to make his debut in the next few days after playing in 99 games for Texas over the last three seasons.

In the midst of all of today’s transactions, Thomas Harley was reassigned to Texas. Harley played in four games for Dallas after being called up from Texas earlier this year, often playing alongside Miro Heiskanen. During this four-game stint with Dallas, Harley registered five shots, spent an average of 14:11 on the ice per game, and also was in the starting lineup for one game. Upon return to the Texas lineup for Harley, it will be interesting to see if Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham reunites Harley with Alex Petrovic after the two played together often before Harley’s callup to Dallas.

Dallas has also recalled Adam Scheel to Texas from Idaho. In six games for the Steelheads this season, Scheel has posted a 0.917 SV% and 2.37 GAA. Most recently, Scheel saved 33 of 34 shots he faced last night for Idaho against the Rapid City Rush. With the callup of Scheel, Texas now has three goalies on the roster and all three of them have played games in net for Texas over the last two seasons. Jake Oettinger has had some struggles recently, but will likely continue to take the lion’s share of starts for Texas, so it will be intriguing to see how the remaining games will be distributed between Adam Scheel and Colton Point.

Here is the official press release for the Tufte and Harley transactions:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today the team has recalled forward, Riley Tufte, from the Texas Stars. The team has also reassigned defenseman, Thomas Harley to Texas.

Tufte, 23, has recorded seven points (5-2=7) in 10 AHL games so far in 2021-22. The forward is tied for 15th in the AHL and leads Texas with five goals, while he is tied for second on the team with seven points (5-2=7). Tufte has skated in 99 career regular-season AHL games, all with Texas, and has tallied 31 points (11-20=31).

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound native of Coon Rapids, Minn., was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Harley, 20, has skated in four NHL games with Dallas this season, registering five shots on goal, five blocked shots and four hits with an average time on ice per game of 14:11. The defenseman has also recorded one assist (0-1=1) and nine shots on goal in six AHL games played with Texas so far in 2021-22.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound native of Syracuse, N.Y. was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (18th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.

Here is the official press release for the Scheel recall:

The Texas Stars, American Hockey League Affiliate of the NHL's Dallas Stars, announced that goaltender, Adam Scheel has been recalled by the Dallas Stars from the club's ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads, and assigned to the Texas Stars.

Adam Scheel was assigned to the Idaho Steelheads on October 21, 2021 where he played in six games, going 3-3. Scheel spent the later part of the shortened 2020-21 season with the Texas Stars where he played in 12 games with a record of 4-7-1. Scheel signed a two-year entry level contract with the Dallas Stars on April 1, 2021 after three seasons at the University of North Dakota. Scheel played in 78 career games at UND, where he collected 52 wins with an average save percentage of 0.915%.