Texas Splits Weekend Set in Southern California

The Texas Stars blew a late third period lead Saturday, allowing three goals in the span of 4:18 as the Coachella Valley Firebirds completed a 4 – 2 comeback win at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, CA. Alex Petrovic and Matěj Blümel recorded the goals for Texas. For Blümel, it was his team-leading 26th of the season. Despite a 41-save performance, Remi Poirier took the loss.

On Friday night in San Diego, Mavrik Bourque scored twice to lead the Stars to a 4 – 2 victory over the Gulls. Christian Kyrou tallied the opening marker, and Fredrik Karlström potted his 18th goal in the victory. Poirier earned the win, stopping 21 of 23 shots.

It’s been tough sledding this month for Texas, who are just 3 – 7 – 1 in March. In fact, since the Stars’ top player, Logan Stankoven, last played for Texas on February 21st, the Stars are just 5 – 9 – 1 in their last 15 games.

Speaking of Stankoven, despite missing roughly a quarter of the AHL regular season, the talented forward is still second on the team in scoring with 57 points. And Stankoven has not missed a beat since his promotion to the big leagues, tallying 11 points in his first 13 NHL games.

However, even considering Texas’ recent struggles, the team is still comfortably in possession of a postseason slot. Part of that has to do with getting off to a strong start through the All-Star break, where the team was 21 – 17 – 1 – 1. But, much has to do with the AHL’s playoff system, where ¾ of the league will make it to the postseason.

Under the AHL’s divisional playoff format, the Central will see five of the seven teams qualify for the postseason. Texas, currently in fourth place, is six points ahead of the Manitoba Moose in fifth place, and a whopping 13 in front of the Iowa Wild, who are on the outside looking in. The top three teams in the Central and North divisions receive byes, thus setting up #4 vs. #5 matchups for round one. Right now, that would see Texas oppose Manitoba in a best-of-three series to see who will earn the right to face the division’s top team, the Milwaukee Admirals in round two.

There is still small chance the Stars catch the third-place Rockford IceHogs, who are just one point ahead of Texas. But the IceHogs have three games-in-hand on the Stars, and Texas will not see Rockford again during the regular season.

If that seems crazy, just consider the fact the Pacific Division will be sending seven of it’s 10 teams to the postseason. Only the top finisher will receive a bye, whereas the North and Central automatically move three clubs each into the second round.

Stars Add Reinforcements for Playoff Push

The priority for all minor league clubs should be focusing on player development. The parent club relies on their affiliates to prepare the organization’s top young players for the eventual grind of the NHL schedule. However, part of the development process for the prospects should be playing meaningful hockey in high-pressure situations where its win or go home. In other words, playing playoff hockey.

That’s not lost on the Stars organization. While it was best for Dallas to promote Stankoven, the loss of their best player was certainly going to impact the on-ice fortunes of Texas. Management has made a few moves to fortify the roster in the absence of Stankoven, and with the NCAA season winding down, the Stars added two college free agents who will have a chance to make an impact for the Stars down the stretch.

From the official Texas Stars Media Release date March 21, 2024:

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced today that defenseman Luke Krys and forward Justin Hryckowian (pronounced ritz-COH-vee-in) have joined the team on amateur tryouts after signing entry-level contracts with Dallas this week.

Krys, 23, registered 17 points (6-11—17) in 35 regular-season games for Providence College (NCAA) during the 2023-24 season. Among team defensemen, Krys ranked first in goals (6), shared second in assists (11), and ranked second in points (17).

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defenseman played four seasons in the NCAA with Providence College and Brown University, amassing 15 goals and 55 points (15-40—55) in 127 regular-season games and was named to the NCAA All-Ivy League Second Team in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He played an additional five games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) during the 2020-21 season.

A native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Krys was originally undrafted before signing with the Stars.

Hryckowian, 23, recorded 43 points (13-30—43) in 32 games with Northeastern University (NCAA) during the 2023-24 season. He led the team in assists (30) and points and ranked third in goals (13) and is nominated for the Hobey Baker Award for the NCAA’s top men’s ice hockey player of the year. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound forward played three seasons for Northeastern from 2021-24, appearing in 94 games and posting 101 points (35-66—101). In 2023, he was named Hockey East Best Defensive Forward and was named to the Hockey East Second All-Star Team.

Prior to his NCAA career, the L’Ile-Bizard, Quebec native played 61 games in the USHL with Sioux City and Cedar Rapids and earned a total of 52 points (21-31—52). He was undrafted before signing with the Stars.

With Lian Bichsel, the organization’s top defensive prospect, back in Sweden where he felt his development would best be served, and the inclusion of Artem Grushnikov in the Chris Tanev deal with Calgary, Texas has been a bit light on the back end much of the year. Krys has the size and mobility to be an effective two-way player at this level. In two games, he’s yet to record a point, is a plus-1, and has four PIM’s.

Hryckowian has the look of prototypical bottom-six center. He has a stocky build and plays an all-around game with some feistiness. He was one of the top faceoff guys in the NCAA and was team Captain at Northeastern University. Through his first two AHL contests, Hryckowian has one assist and is a minus-2 with two PIMs.

As mentioned in the Stars release, neither player was drafted by an NHL club and should probably be considered long shots to make an impact at the NHL level. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be quality professionals capable of contributing to a Texas team hoping for a long playoff run.

Officially, with each having inked two-year ELC’s, the duo is currently on ATOs, which allows them to play in the AHL without burning off the first year of their deals.