The NHL’s Dallas Stars delighted local hockey fans, and Boise returned the favor
Well, Boise, the Dallas Stars enjoyed their stay.
The Idaho Steelheads’ NHL affiliate held their first-ever training camp at CenturyLink Arena in Boise over the weekend, and players and coaches left pleasantly surprised by what the City of Trees had to offer.
“This city, it actually blew me away,” said Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin, who is a native of Brampton, Ontario, and spent the early years of his career in Boston. “I didn’t really know what to expect here. I thought it was going to be more of a small town, but it really wasn’t. There’s a lot of people and fun things to do.
“I was sitting in Dallas last weekend and I was looking kind of on the map and I didn’t know if Boise was up, left, right or down. I had no idea where it was, but (Boise) was very good to us this weekend.”
The Stars’ three-day training camp wrapped up Sunday with an intrasquad scrimmage that was open to the public. Russian Denis Gurianov led Team Victory Green to a 5-3 win over Team White with a pair of goals during a 50-minute on-ice session.
“These are NHL hockey players and a lot of future Dallas Stars with some of the younger draft picks here as well,” Idaho Steelheads coach Neil Graham said. “To get that in our arena and our community for the minor hockey kids, our fans, our season ticket holders, to be able to watch those guys and the pace and speed and crispness of the game, those are good things for the growth of hockey in our area.”
With the rare chance to see NHL-caliber hockey in Boise, fans arrived at CenturyLink Arena regardless of their professional loyalties. Besides the numerous Dallas Stars and Idaho Steelheads jerseys, there were also fans showing their support for the Chicago Blackhawks, Vegas Golden Knights, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, among others.
No one seemed to mind, except maybe Dallas Stars mascot Victor E. Green. The furry green alien with hockey sticks for antennas teased a young Blackhawks fan, covering him up with a Stars jersey and then patting him on the head.
“It’s a great rink,” Dallas Stars coach Jim Montgomery said.
If the decision were entirely up to Montgomery, the Stars would make a return trip to Boise for future preseason training.
“This town was awesome. This is a great place,” Mongomery said. “We were talking how it would be great to play an exhibition game here, like maybe one of our last ones, and spend four days here when we’re really down to like 30 players. It’s such a great place and we can do a lot together.”
Seguin, who signed an eight-year, $78.8-million contract extension with the Stars the day before the start of camp, thinks the environment in Boise helped the team bond and build chemistry in preparation for the season.
“This is really just the starting block, where you first form that team identity. It’s through the practices and new systems and new coaching staff and teammates and players, but it’s also off the ice. You get new chemistry there as well,” Seguin said.
“I love this location because you kind of almost had to be together. You get to walk everywhere, and they’re all staying right here attached to the hotel, so you got to meet a lot of new guys you haven’t before and catch up with old teammates. We’re together 24/7, so it’s fun.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 3:39 PM.