NHL Draft 2018: 15 first-hand takeaways from a weekend in Dallas
By Josh Clark
3. Texas hockey thrived in the spotlight
As part of the week leading up to the NHL Draft, the Dallas Stars put on a handful of events for the fans. These events primarily centered around the growth of hockey in the state of Texas, and for good reason.
Ever since the Stars franchise moved to Dallas, the concept of professional hockey in Texas has been questioned by outsiders. Though Stars fans have grown in it and are convinced it is a thriving market, others aren’t so sure. That being said, the Dallas Stars set out to change that.
On Wednesday night, they hosted the official opening for the Texas Hockey History Center. The museum, which sits inside the Stars’ practice rink in Farmer’s Branch, shows off the long and detailed history of how the sport started in Texas.
Thursday was dubbed “Hockey Day in Texas” and gave Dallas a chance to host various events pertaining to hockey in the state. The biggest of these events was the Top Prospects Youth Hockey Clinic at the rink in Farmer’s Branch. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop paired with some of the top prospects in the draft to put on a skating and skills session with a few lucky youth hockey players from the area.
To an outsider, this may have just seemed like an extra event that would likely be skipped by most of the hockey fans, barring the parents of the young kids.
But upon arriving at the rink, it was clear that this was not the case. The parking lot (which is rather large) filled up quickly and they had to resort to overflow parking. Once inside, the arena was filled with fans young and old, wearing green primarily, though there were some visiting fans in attendance as well.
The event went remarkably well as the youth of Texas showed off their immense talent and provided an interactive look at how far the sport has come in Texas. Not to mention the packed building eager to see Stars players as well as the young talent.
It’s a sport that is rapidly growing through the state. The NHL got a chance to see that in person this past week.