Full Circle and Forward: Toby Petersen’s Return to Lead the Texas Stars

(Credit: Michael Connell/Texas Stars)

Eleven years ago in the center of the Cedar Park Center, a 35 year-old Toby Petersen let go of his crutches for just a moment and lifted the Calder Cup high above his head. Minutes later, he would tell me offstage that season was his last as a player. An injury had cut short his time with Texas in the playoffs, and he had his sights on what was next in his career: coaching.

“It's crazy how things come full circle in hockey,” Petersen told 100 Degree Hockey when reached by phone Friday afternoon. “I was out of sight, out of mind, working with different teams throughout the AHL and the NHL. You don't really give it much thought. Then all of a sudden out of the blue, you get a phone call, and you're quickly back in the mix."

I was happy to see when Petersen called me for the interview that his number was still the same as it was 13 years ago when we spoke about his Type 1 Diabetes and charitable efforts to support children who live with the condition. Petersen admitted he’d never get rid of his Minnesota area code.

“A lot of people are surprised when they reach out and it’s still me,” he laughed. “But I’m proud of my Minnesota roots."

Petersen wasn’t actively seeking an AHL head coaching role this summer. He still had another year on his contract as a skills coach with the Colorado Avalanche and had earned praise for his work keeping their injured players, including Gabriel Landeskog, ready for game speed when they returned.

Nevertheless, Dallas inquired with Colorado about his availability and got permission to speak with Petersen. “I was not actively putting my name out there for AHL vacancies, and that was simply because I'm thrilled with what I've been doing these last couple of years. At the same time, in the back of my mind, I knew that I had to take a step for me to advance my career. It probably wasn't going to be ‘skills coach’ forever. So I knew that in order for me to have a chance to move up the ladder and get better experiences, it was probably going to come through an AHL head coaching job."

Petersen's first return to Texas on February 13, 2016 with a Bednar-led Monsters club. (Credit: Texas Stars)

For Petersen, it really was an ideal scenario in Denver. Immediately after leaving Texas in 2014, he went to the Columbus organization, first in Springfield, MA and then Cleveland, working under Jared Bednar. Working under Bednar, Lake Erie won a championship in 2016, sweeping the Hershey Bears 4-0.

“It was really important for me to see that from the other side of the bench, to see how much work and how much preparation goes into it, when to panic, when to just relax. And for the record, [Bednar] doesn't panic much at all, if ever.”

After Bednar moved up to the NHL, a chance to work with him again and to live in Colorado, where Petersen played college hockey and where his wife wanted to raise their three kids, was an instant match.

In addition to what he learned from Bednar in the Columbus and Colorado systems, Petersen harkens back to what he saw from Texas head coach Willie Desjardins during his two-year run in Texas, ending in the 2014 Cup.

“Willie had his team humming on all cylinders as we entered the playoffs. We were building towards the playoffs all season. Jared did the same thing with the Monsters. In both cases, it just felt like an inevitability. Both teams were going to win because both were playing such exciting, but sound hockey.

“No matter how, no matter what the score was, no matter what the flow of the game brought each night, we just had this gut feeling in both teams that it was going to happen, we were going to get the win.”

Maxime Fortunus has mentioned this multiple times whenever asked about how that 2014 team felt in the locker room. There was a gut belief that the team would always pull out the win. There was never any panic in that squad, and it turns out other championship squads feel the same way.

Of course, the dual mandate of the AHL always rears its head anytime you get too excited about championships. Teams must also develop NHL talent, which is not always a clear and direct path to winning games. Petersen believes that the two can go together by committing the team to a clear set of non-negotiables in how they play the game.

Petersen at the 2001 AHL
All-Star Game in WBS
(Credit: AHL)

“Every team I've been on that's been successful, even if they didn't end up the champions of the league, the teams that have had a chance, and the teams that have been close, the non-negotiables were there. They didn't take shortcuts. You have to outwork your opponent and be ready to outwork your opponent. You have to raise your level to something that other teams hopefully are not able to keep up with and that begins in practice.

“The details that start from day one, our first meeting, we're going to start talking about what's expected from players, what's acceptable on the ice and what's not acceptable. And then, of course, you hold them to that standard, through video, through private conversations, through on the bench coaching. If you hold them to that standard, if everyone's developing and we're getting the most out of every player, you're going to win hockey games.”

In terms of what those non-negotiables are, Petersen expanded.

“It's how much they're moving their feet on the ice, how hard they're willing to work to get to the net front. What kind of hit are you willing to take to get first touch on a puck and a retrieval if you're a D man or a center? All those things start to add up. If your standard is high, and you hold guys to a high standard, over time it's inevitable that they are going to develop NHL habits.”

It certainly doesn’t hurt for Petersen that he’s entering a team environment that is focused on winning already and successful in that regard, coming off a trip to the Western Conference Final and returning many of those same players. 

“I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Neil Graham did an incredible job and took them very far. I'm just trying to maintain the standard and even just keep building on it year after year.”

Petersen skates to the bench to celebrate a goal by Brendan Ranford, followed closely by Morin and Fortunus. (Credit: Texas Stars)

He is also stepping into a role surrounded by familiar faces, including the GM who hired him, Scott White. “There's a lot of familiar faces still with the Stars from my time there between 2007 and 2014 even. It's a great sign that shows their loyalty and the way they reward success within the organization. I'm just thrilled to be back with some of the same people. On my own staff, like just having Travis [Morin] and Max as foundational guys that have been there is going to be a huge help for me.”

Petersen also notes fondly now-captain Curtis McKenzie, who was a rookie in his final season with Texas.

“When I watched his games this year getting ready for this position, it was almost comical how little he's changed. He's still doing the same positive things now that he was doing as a rookie. Driving the net, making the quote-unquote incidental contact with the goalies, answering the bell when things get physical. He does all the things you had hoped when he was a rookie. You hoped he'd turn into that type of player, and he's really refined that and taken it to heart. He's done a great job stepping into a leadership role and having success with teams because of it.”

His captain is a good symbol of what Petersen hopes to achieve with the Texas Stars, a high-effort AHL mainstay that finds success every year.

Professionally, the next official activity is the prospect showdown in Frisco in September, where Petersen, Fortunus and Morin will lead the youngsters in two games against Detroit. Personally, he is navigating a move from Colorado to Central Texas all while sending their oldest off to college for the first time. That last revelation in our interview had me feeling particularly old as I personally recall when Petersen, Fortunus and other Stars dads would serve as part-time coaches on off days for squads including their own kids, who were no taller than four feet.

As Petersen balances the whirlwind of a new head coaching role, a cross-country move, and sending his oldest off to college, he does so with a sense of grounded, inevitable confidence that mirrors his approach behind the bench. There’s a lot on his plate, but he’s steady—rooted in experience, belief, and family.

“It’s gonna be a pretty, pretty emotional couple of weeks there for the fam,” he said with a laugh, “but we’ll get through it.”