Cameron Hughes' Veteran Experience Key to the Texas Stars' Postseason Success

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Leading into this season, Texas had the opportunity to bring in some of the league’s quality veterans to fill out its roster. Picking up Magnus Hellberg, Kyle Capobianco, Kole Lind and Cameron Hughes – all four of them have become instant fan favorites and impact players this season. “Historically, our teams have been very close off the ice and have always gone along,” Graham said. “We bring in high-character people for a reason.” Being major contributors in the two-time Western Conference champion, Coachella Valley Firebirds' deep runs in the Calder Cup playoffs, there are few players in the league with more playoff hockey experience in the past two years than Lind and Hughes. Earning the “A” on his jersey in his first season as a Star, Hughes brings a wealth of experience to a team stacked with premier leadership. Learning insights from his previous deep playoff runs in Coachella Valley, Hughes’ presence brings consistency and leadership on and off the ice. “It's not one guy or one person's gonna change it, you just take it with the series that you got, try to advance as [far as] you can,” Hughes said. “I remember with our group at Coachella. We never talked always about winning the Calder Cup. We just stayed present and tried to advance as far as we could, I think that's the way of doing it.” It has certainly not been a detriment to the season’s overall success as the Stars qualified for their fourth consecutive playoff berth. Texas ended the season with its highest win total since their Calder Cup championship season when the league had four more games than the current 72. “[In the] playoffs, everything's magnified, so you definitely learn more,” Hughes said. “There are guys throughout this team that are veterans as well. So I think we all just kind of help each other that way.” Hughes played an additional 44 games these past two seasons, more than any of the current Stars on the roster in that period. Most would assume that additional workload, especially in a physically-demanding sport like hockey would affect a player's on-ice performance. Despite the extra marination, its effects have not caused Hughes to miss time away from the ice; missing only three games this season for Texas. Neither has it had much change to his performance, compiling a third consecutive season with 50-plus points. “It's [been] short summers, the past two years,” Hughes remarked. “[My] body was good throughout the year, [and] maintained quite a bit.” Hughes and the Stars will start their 2025 Calder Cup playoff run against the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight at 6 PM at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.