Texas Stars
American Hockey League team in Cedar Park, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars.[1][2] They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center.
| Texas Stars | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | Cedar Park, Texas |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Central |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Operated | 2009–present |
| Home arena | H-E-B Center at Cedar Park |
| Colors | Victory green, silver, black, white |
| Owner | Tom Gaglardi |
| General manager | Scott White |
| Head coach | Toby Petersen |
| Captain | Curtis McKenzie |
| Media | KBVO (TV) (channel 14) AHL.TV (Internet) |
| Affiliates | Dallas Stars (NHL) Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1999–2001 | Louisville Panthers |
| 2005–2008 | Iowa Stars |
| 2008–2009 | Iowa Chops |
| 2009–present | Texas Stars |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1 (2013–14) |
| Division titles | 3 (2012–13, 2013–14, 2022–23) |
| Conference titles | 3 (2010, 2014, 2018) |
| Calder Cups | 1 (2014) |
 Current season | |
History
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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.
In 2023-24, despite the Stars having a relatively disappointing 33-33-4 record during the regular season, Mavrik Bourque was the AHL’s top scorer and was awarded the league’s regular season MVP award, posting 26 goals and 51 assists for 77 points in 71 games.
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season it was announced that head coach Neil Graham would be promoted to the Dallas Stars, with former player and AHL assistant coach Toby Petersen being named as the new head coach of the Texas Stars.[13]
Season-by-season results
| 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 | — | — | — |
| 2024–25 | 72 | 43 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 89 | .618 | 240 | 210 | 2nd, Central | 2025 | BYE | W, 3–0, GR | W, 3–2, MIL | L, 2–4, ABB | — |
Players
Current roster
Updated March 9, 2026.[14][15]
Team captains
- Landon Wilson, 2009–2010
- Brad Lukowich, 2010–2012
- Maxime Fortunus, 2012–2015
- Travis Morin, 2015–2017
- Curtis McKenzie, 2017–2018, 2021–present
- Justin Dowling, 2018–2019[16]
- Dillon Heatherington, 2019–2020
- Cole Schneider, 2021[17]
Retired numbers
| No. | Player | Position | Career | No. retirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Travis Morin | C | 2009–2019 | October 19, 2019[18] |
Notable alumni
The following players have played both 100 games for Texas and 100 games in the National Hockey League:
Head coaches
- Glen Gulutzan, 2009–2011
- Jeff Pyle, 2011–2012
- Willie Desjardins, 2012–2014
- Derek Laxdal, 2014–2019[10]
- Neil Graham, 2019–2025[19]
- Toby Petersen, 2025–present[20]
Team records
- Single season
- Goals: Matěj Blümel, 39 (2024–25)
- 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
