The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin,[1][2] with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the team's top developmental affiliate.

Texas Stars
CityCedar Park, Texas
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1999
Operated2009–present
Home arenaH-E-B Center at Cedar Park
ColorsVictory green, silver, black, white
       
Owner(s)Tom Gaglardi
General managerScott White
Head coachNeil Graham
CaptainCurtis McKenzie
MediaKBVO (TV) (channel 14)
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesDallas Stars (NHL)
Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
Franchise history
1999–2001Louisville Panthers
2005–2008Iowa Stars
2008–2009Iowa Chops
2009–presentTexas Stars
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2013–14)
Division titles3 (2012–13, 2013–14, 2022–23)
Conference titles3 (2010, 2014, 2018)
Calder Cups1 (2014)
Current season

History

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The Stars playing at the Milwaukee Admirals in 2024

In April 2008, the Iowa Stars announced that they would no longer affiliate with the Dallas Stars and changed the team's name to Chops for the 2008–09 season.[3] For the 2008–09 season, Dallas made agreements to send their AHL prospects to four other teams, while a few remained with the Chops.[4] AHL teams that received Dallas Stars prospects were the Hamilton Bulldogs, Manitoba Moose, Peoria Rivermen, and Grand Rapids Griffins.[5]

On April 28, 2009, the AHL granted a provisional Austin-area franchise to Tom Hicks, owner of the NHL Stars, with the stipulation that Hicks purchase an existing AHL franchise within one year.[6][7] That condition was met on May 4, 2010, when the AHL approved the Texas Stars' ownership group's purchase of the Iowa Chops franchise, which had been suspended for the 2009–10 season.[8]

The team's inaugural season was a successful one. After finishing second in the West Division, the Stars swept Rockford in the first round of the playoffs, then claimed their first division championship by defeating Chicago four games to three. The Stars then won their first Robert W. Clarke Trophy by defeating Hamilton in another seven-game series to become the Western Conference champions. The Stars eventually fell to Hershey in game six of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals.

The Stars won the Calder Cup in 2014, defeating the St. John's IceCaps in the finals. After the season, head coach Willie Desjardins resigned to accept the head coaching position with the Vancouver Canucks.[9] In July 2014 he was succeeded by Derek Laxdal, who won a Kelly Cup championship with the Stars' ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads, in 2007.[10] Also during 2014, the Stars were purchased by Tom Gaglardi's ownership group, thus having the AHL affiliate under control of the parent club.

On June 11, 2015, the Stars unveiled their new logo, color scheme, and jerseys to more closely match the parent club's identity.[11]

In 2018, the Stars once again made it to the Calder Cup finals, but lost to the Toronto Marlies in seven games.[12] During the 2019–20 season, head coach Laxdal was promoted to the Dallas Stars as an assistant and the Texas Stars promoted Neil Graham to head coaching position.

Season-by-season results

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Calder Cup Champions Conference Champions Division Champions League leader
Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts PCT GF GA Standing Year Prelims 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
2009–10 80 46 27 3 4 99 .619 238 198 2nd, West 2010 W, 4–0, RFD W, 4–3, CHI W, 4–3, HAM L, 2–4, HER
2010–11 80 41 29 4 6 92 .575 213 210 4th, West 2011 L, 2–4, MIL
2011–12 76 31 40 3 2 67 .441 224 251 5th, West 2012 Did not qualify
2012–13 76 43 22 5 6 97 .638 235 201 1st, South 2013 W, 3–1, MIL L, 1–4, OKC
2013–14 76 48 18 3 7 106 .697 274 197 1st, West 2014 W, 3–0, OKC W, 4–2, GR W, 4–3, TOR W, 4–1, STJ
2014–15 76 40 22 13 1 94 .618 242 216 2nd, West 2015 L, 0–3, RFD
2015–16 76 40 25 8 3 91 .599 277 246 3rd, Pacific 2016 L, 1–3, SD
2016–17 76 34 37 1 4 73 .480 224 265 7th, Pacific 2017 Did not qualify
2017–18 76 38 24 8 6 90 .592 223 231 2nd, Pacific 2018 W, 3–1, ONT W, 4–1, TUC W, 4–2, RFD L, 3–4, TOR
2018–19 76 37 31 4 4 82 .539 238 231 6th, Central 2019 Did not qualify
2019–20 62 27 28 3 4 61 .492 171 192 6th, Central 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 38 17 18 3 0 37 .487 117 124 5th, Central 2021 No playoffs were held
2021–22 72 32 28 6 6 76 .528 219 230 5th, Central 2022 L, 0–2, RFD
2022–23 72 40 20 9 3 92 .639 265 210 1st, Central 2023 BYE W, 3–0, RFD L, 2–3, MIL
2023–24 72 33 33 4 2 72 .500 234 240 4th, Central 2024 W, 2–0, MB L, 2–3, MIL

Players

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Current roster

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Updated December 16, 2024.[13][14]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
27   Jack Becker F R 27 2024 Dellwood, Minnesota Texas
28   Matej Blumel RW L 24 2022 Tabor, Czech Republic Dallas
18   Kyle Capobianco (A) D L 27 2024 Mississauga, Ontario Dallas
10   Justin Ertel LW L 21 2024 Kitchener, Ontario Dallas
35   Magnus Hellberg G L 33 2024 Uppsala, Sweden Dallas
9   Justin Hryckowian C L 23 2024 L'Île-Bizard, Quebec Dallas
19   Cameron Hughes (A) C L 28 2024 Edmonton, Alberta Dallas
12   Arttu Hyry RW R 23 2024 Oulu, Finland Dallas
26   Michael Karow D L 26 2022 Green Bay, Wisconsin Texas
34   Ben Kraws G L 24 2024 Cranbury, New Jersey Dallas
4   Luke Krys D R 24 2024 Ridgefield, Connecticut Dallas
15   Christian Kyrou D R 21 2023 Toronto, Ontario Dallas
17   Kole Lind RW L 26 2024 Swift Current, Saskatchewan Dallas
37   Kyle Looft D L 26 2024 Mankato, Minnesota Texas
25   Kyle McDonald RW R 22 2023 Ottawa, Ontario Dallas
16   Curtis McKenzie (C) LW L 33 2021 Golden, British Columbia Texas
7   Alex Petrovic (A) D R 32 2021 Edmonton, Alberta Dallas
20   Emilio Pettersen C L 24 2024 Manglerud, Norway Dallas
1   Remi Poirier G L 23 2022 Farnham, Quebec Dallas
36   Anthony Romano C R 24 2024 Richmond Hill, Ontario Texas
13   Matthew Seminoff RW R 20 2023 Leesburg, Virginia Dallas
40   Antonio Stranges LW L 22 2022 Ann Arbor, Michigan Dallas
29   Chase Wheatcroft F L 22 2023 Calgary, Alberta Dallas
8   Gavin White D R 22 2023 Brockville, Ontario Dallas

Team captains

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Retired numbers

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Texas Stars retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
23 Travis Morin C 2009–2019 October 19, 2019[17]

Notable alumni

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The following players have played both 100 games for Texas and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

Head coaches

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Team records

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Single season
Goals: Matt Fraser, 37 (2011–12)
Assists: Travis Morin, 56 (2013–14)
Points: Travis Morin, 88 (2013–14)
Penalty Minutes: Luke Gazdic, 155 (2009–10)
GAA: Richard Bachman, 2.20 (2010–11)
SV%: Richard Bachman, .927 (2010–11)
Wins: Richard Bachman, 28 (2010–11)
Shutouts: Richard Bachman, 6 (2010–11)
  • Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender
Career
Career goals: Travis Morin, 175
Career assists: Travis Morin, 385
Career points: Travis Morin, 560
Career penalty minutes: Luke Gazdic, 447
Career goaltending wins: Jack Campbell, 66
Career shutouts: Richard Bachman, Jack Campbell, 9
Career games: Travis Morin, 686

References

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  1. ^ Lorenz, Andrea (February 21, 2008). "Events center deal will bring Dallas Stars affiliate to Cedar Park". Austin American-Statesman. p. B03.
  2. ^ Watson, Gregg (February 20, 2008). "Cedar Park leaders praise planned events center". KEYE-TV. Retrieved February 21, 2008. [dead link]
  3. ^ "Iowa Stars and Dallas End Affiliation Agreement". OurSportsCentral.com. April 25, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
  4. ^ Krieser, John (July 29, 2008). "Stars have high hopes for kids". DallasStars.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  5. ^ Stetson, Mike (October 6, 2008). "Steelheads' lost affiliate creates new situation". Idaho Press-Tribune. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  6. ^ Barnes, Dan (April 28, 2009). "Austin, Abbotsford, Glens Falls joining AHL in 2009-10". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
  7. ^ Heika, Mike (April 29, 2009). "Texas Stars to play in Cedar Park next season". The Dallas Morning News.
  8. ^ "AHL approves franchise sale to Hicks Cedar Park". TheAHL.com. May 4, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  9. ^ "Willie Desjardins named Canucks head coach", National Hockey League, June 23, 2014. (accessed 8 July 2014)
  10. ^ a b Heika, Mike. "Stars name Derek Laxdal as head coach of Texas Stars" Archived 2014-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, The Dallas Morning News, July 3, 2014. (accessed 8 July 2014)
  11. ^ "Texas Stars Unveil New Logos and Colors". Texas Stars. June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  12. ^ Toronto Beats Texas 6-1 in Game 7 to Win AHL’s Calder Cup
  13. ^ "Texas Stars - Team Roster". Texas Stars. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  14. ^ "Texas Stars Roster". American Hockey League. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  15. ^ Texas Stars (2018-11-14). "Justin Dowling Named Texas Stars Captain". Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  16. ^ "Stars Name Forward Cole Schneider Team Captain". OurSports Central. February 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "Travis Morin Jersey Retirement". AHL. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  18. ^ "Dallas Stars appoint Neil Graham as Texas Stars Head Coach". Texas Stars. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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