22 in 22 Series: Dallas Jr. Stars
August 22, 2013
The 22 in 22 series features an in-depth look into all 22 teams in the NA3HL for the 2013-14 season, with a new team being highlighted daily, leading all the way up until the start of the regular season on Saturday, September 7th as four NA3HL teams take to the ice on Opening Night.
22 in 22 will go in-depth into each NA3HL team and will include interviews with all 22 head coaches in the NA3HL, as they provide fans with their expectations and outlook for the 2013-14 season, including taking a look at their roster and their strengths as a team for the upcoming season.
It will also take a look back on the 2012-13 season and how each team fared and what they accomplished. Best of all, 22 in 22 is done to provide the fans of the NA3HL with an inside look at their favorite team and what to expect.
Dallas Jr. Stars
Head Coach: Jason Deitsch
2012-13 Record: N/A
2012-13 Leading Scorer: N/A
Playoffs: N/A
2013-14 Division: South
Home Opener: Fri, October 4th, 2013 7:10 PM vs. Sugar Land at Dr Pepper StarCenter-Euless
The NHL’s Dallas Stars unveiled new colors and a new logo this summer and will have a new Tier III junior team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) to help show them off. The Dallas Jr. Stars, based out of the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Euless, Texas, a Dallas/Ft. Worth suburb, is apart of the South Division that will be apart of the NA3HL for the first time in 2013-14. Given the task of coaching this new franchise is North American Hockey League (NAHL) & NA3HL alumni, Jason Deitsch.
Coach Deitsch, who spent four seasons in the NAHL including two in the DFW area with the Texas Tornado and one season with the Toledo Cherokee of the NA3HL, just capped off his pro career by captaining the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League to a Miron Cup Championship.
Winning championships is nothing new to Deitsch, as he has won league titles during his time in the United Hockey League (UHL), ECHL and NAHL, as well as ,at the NCAA Division III college level starring for St. Norbert College.
Joining Deitsch on his staff is former pro player and linemate, Chad Woollard. A veteran of 13 years in the pro hockey ranks, including time playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). Like Deitsch, Woollard will be in his first year coaching after recently retiring from the Ft. Worth Brahmas of the Central Hockey League (CHL).
“We have a good chemistry off the ice,” Deitsch commented about his new assistant, “and with the knowledge both of us have about the game, I think we will be able to help the players in all aspects surrounding the sport.”
Deitsch is excited about the prospect of talent that is going to be signing with his team for the upcoming year and has a specific goal in mind when building his team. “We are looking to build a team who want to move on to the next level,” Deitsch noted. “Our coaching staff will do whatever we can to help them achieve those goals.”
A major recruiting tool for Deitsch and his staff is the facility in which the franchise will be based out of. The Dr Pepper StarCenter in Euless has two ice sheets with one of the ice sheets having a locker room attached to it. The lockerroom is currently being remodeled so that it will accommodate 25 stalls for the team.
Upstairs at the facility is an onsite workout facility, which the team will have full access to and a personal trainer that will help them with their off-ice training throughout the week.
Fans in Euless will see a familiar jersey on the ice, but they will see it at a new level, as the Dallas Jr. Stars Tier III Junior program is ready to hit the ice for their inaugural season.
Next up in the 22 in 22 series: Flint Junior Generals
