Texas Stars Return to Ice One Year Older, One Year Wiser

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Last season, the Texas Stars were a very young squad. There were no two ways about it. After the club won their division in 2023, they found themselves with a remarkable crop of rookies. Talent, but raw nonetheless.

This year, the club is packed with many of those same players, now a year further into their journey and fully knowledgeable of what it takes to win in the American League.

“If you look at our depth chart on paper, there's a lot of things to be excited about,” said head coach Neil Graham Wednesday afternoon at Texas Stars Media Day. “Most of our [younger] guys are at least second-year pros at this point. Our first year pros are actually a little older. Our first year pros this year are around 23-24 [years old]. Last year, they were all 19 and 20.”

Veteran defenseman Alex Petrovic, now entering his 13th professional season and fourth with Texas, agreed, “I could tell a lot of guys have matured and grown. Just the way they came into camp, and were ready to go physically. The pace is just as quick here [as in Dallas].”

The team is excited about veteran additions as well. Dallas is in win-now mode at the NHL level, but they haven’t forgotten the AHL club and the need to live the team mantra: “We Win Here”. One of those additions was Kole Lind, the scoring forward whose most recent accolades came from back-to-back trips to the Calder Cup Finals with Coachella Valley.

“You always want to come into a successful organization,” said Lind, whose linemate for those two runs, Cameron Hughes, also joins Texas this year. “Obviously, [Dallas is] in a win-now mindset right now, and I think we are too. It starts from the top down, and obviously just building that success throughout the organization and that culture is huge for sure.”

Lind also commented positively on the third of his trio from practice this week, Chase Wheatcroft. Look for that line on opening weekend.

Of course, it wasn’t just the forward ranks that saw additions. Dallas swung big to get the reigning AHL Defenseman of the Year, Kyle Capobianco, an offensive threat who can mentor the young guys and pot goals in bunches all while serving as a reliable recall option for the NHL side.

“He's a smooth player out there,” said Petrovic.” He's quick, smart. I've been playing with him a little bit in practice. He's easy to play with, definitely. There’s a reason why he was D-man of the year last year. He's just a great addition to our team.”

In case you missed that, a little hint as to defensive pairings is that Capobianco and Petrovic have been lining up together. I would put Bichsel on a line with Luke Krys in that scenario. That leaves the playoff pairing of Christian Kyrou and Michael Karow as 5-6 with Kyle Looft, Connor Punnet and Gavin White in the 7-8-9 spots. I would expect they’ll see how opening weekend goes and then make Idaho decisions.

In net, there was an upgrade as well. Matt Murray departed the organization for Milwaukee by way of Nashville. Dallas seemed set on Remi Poirier and Ben Kraws in Texas but then added veteran goalie Magnus Hellberg later in free agency. Hellberg is a legitimate, tested third option for Dallas in case of injury but can also push Poirier and Kraws, teach them pro habits and give them a safety net too. It’s a positive setup all around.

“Depth is a good thing,” said Graham. “Obviously, everyone's like, ‘Where does it all sort out? Who gets minutes? How does it all play out?’ It always solves itself. And it's a long year. Dallas plays 82 games. We play 72. Players get their opportunity.”

Speaking of those opportunities, Graham had no hesitation on nice things to say about Oskar Bäck, who will make his NHL debut tonight after making the squad as the 13th forward.

“I couldn't be happier for him. Obviously, the flashy news story is always the Bourques and the Stankovens, MVP, Rookie of the Year. Osckar Bäck has done his job consistently, day in, day out for three years. I say he’s a 401k. You set him and you forget him. He just does his job. We really enjoyed having him. There's not going to be a fan cheering for him harder than myself. I can't wait to follow his successes.”

With all that said, a full season of 72 games awaits starting with a brand new opponent on Friday. After countless opening nights among the entire squad, everyone agreed the first game of the season always brings the same energy, anticipation, nervousness and exhilaration.

“It's been, what, almost a month of training camp,” concluded Petrovic. “It was a short, short summer. I think we're all ready just get the game going on Friday and hear this place gett crazy. We were with all the season ticket holders last night and everyone's excited, everyone's ready to go and we're the same. We're definitely ready to go.”

Puck drop for the season opener against the Henderson Silver Knights is Friday at 7 PM.

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