CHICAGO — Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock shed some light on responsibilities for his assistant coaches in an interview on Friday. Stu Barnes will run the power play, Rick Wilson will run the penalty kill, and Curt Fraser will be in charge of “big-picture” elements and game planning. That could mean Fraser will watch […]
Rick Wilson, Stu Barnes, and Curt Fraser re-hired as Stars assistant coaches
When Ken Hitchcock was hired (or more properly, re-hired) by the Dallas Stars in April he spoke about the importance of having strong assistant coaches. He wanted a staff of what he called “coordinators” that understood what it’s like to work with the detail-oriented coach. Hitchcock wanted assistants that could serve as a conduit to […]
STARS MAILBAG: Too quiet on the movement front? Russian mentors and setting goalie market
In two weeks the NHL Entry Draft will be held in Chicago, which means my annual draft guide will publish next week for subscribers. The draft guide features scouting reports and notes on more than 100 prospects and stories on how the Stars will approach the draft. In the past it’s been built as a […]
Wrong Side of the Red Line Podcast: Hitch is back
The Dallas Stars official hired Ken Hitchcock as their new head coach on Thursday. Ryan Satkowiak was unavailable due to other commitments, so we had the first solo podcast as I dove into the hire and shared a bit of audio from my first interview with the new head coach in Dallas. You can catch […]
STARS MAILBAG: Hitch is back, expansion, free agency, and trading Cody Eakin?
I wanted to start today’s mailbag with a story about Ken Hitchcock, who was introduced as the Dallas Stars head coach at a press conference on Thursday. In October 2015 I was in Traverse City covering the annual prospects tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. Hitchcock, then the St. Louis Blues coach, was watching […]
Dallas Stars officially introduce Ken Hitchcock as head coach
DALLAS — Ken Hitchcock is officially back as the head coach of the Dallas Stars. On Thursday the team held a press conference to introduced the 65-year-old as the new coach, confirming earlier reports that Hitchcock would indeed be filling the vacancy left by Lindy Ruff. It’s a multi-year contract for Hitchcock and includes a […]