Now More Than Ever, Texas Stars Picking Up the Pieces in Dallas

(Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)

DALLAS -- An NHL team is only as good as its AHL affiliate.

The Dallas Stars have been fortunate to have NHL-quality players down in Cedar Park for the past couple of seasons — the organization’s depth has certainly been tested in the past two. The injury bug has been cruel to the Stars starting last year, claiming core pieces for months at a time.

This season has not let up either, hitting the Dallas’ blueline in particular. Thomas Harley, Nils Lundkvist, and Ilya Lyubushkin have spent significant stretches this season watching from a luxury box.

The bug’s most recent addition to the VIP box list is Lian Bichsel, who is currently out for two months after suffering a lower-body injury earlier this month.

So it's been up to the Texas Stars to pick up the pieces in Dallas this season — currently, Kyle Capobianco, Vladislav Kolyachonok, and longtime Texas Star, Alex Petrovic, who started the season in Dallas, are responsible for maintaining one of the contenders in the Western Conference bluelines.

Petrovic, paired with longtime linemate Lian Bischel since their days in Cedar Park, has been stellar so far this season for Dallas. Capobianco and Kolyachonok were big unknowns with both under 100 NHL games to their names when they got the callup.

Despite the circumstances, the pair have done well in their roles, with Dallas head coach Glenn Gulutzan being impressed by their recent performances.

“[Kolyachonok/Capobianco] [has] done a great job playing the way we want to play and fitting in,” Gulutzan said. “I don’t even think they’ve held water — I just thought they’ve been good. They're making names for themselves.”

Capobianco enjoys being in Dallas, noting that he prefers the charter flights to Texas’ Southwest flights for road trips and the plentiful food options at his disposal.

“That is what is find hardest is not to eat as much here,” Capobianco said. “There is so much food available.”

One of the hardest aspects of making the jump from Dallas to Cedar Park, especially in the long-term capacity, like in Capobianco’s case, is the schedule adjustment from the AHL to the NHL.

Cedar Park is the AHL’s island, with the closest team to Texas being the Tucson Roadrunners, which creates a peculiar situation, schedule-wise. Texas has large swaths of downtime before home games, and while on the road, they follow a more traditional schedule of games every other day.

Now up in Dallas, Capobianco has been thrown into the gut of the NHL club’s schedule. He said that with the hectic schedule from games and practices, he’s been left living out of hotel rooms.

“Our schedule has been crazy that I haven't even been able to get settled up here,” Capobianco said. “It’s just been hotel to hotel, it’s been quite fun, but same time, a little hectic.”

With Dallas’ schedule not slowing down anytime soon, Capobianco will probably have to wait until the Olympic break in February to get his belongings down in Cedar Park — that is, if he stays with Dallas that long.

Capobianco and Kolyachonok have put up solid performances during their time in Dallas this season — the duo has combined for seven points and a positive plus/minus so far. While they are not Harley or Bichsel, they have been able to keep the pace on Dallas’ blueline.

Lundkvist, who made his return from injury on Dec. 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, acknowledged how well Capobianco, Kolyachonok, and the rest of the defensemen were playing during this most recent injury spell.

“Everyone that has come up and played big minutes has been doing [a great job],” Lundkvist said. “[Kolyachonok], [Petrovic], who has been playing 20 minutes a night, [Capobianco], [Lyubushkin] [Bischel] — everyone has taken another step when guys have been out.”