“There are a lot of young people who like to play hockey in the area. There are more and more requests. The rinks are pretty full all the time. Besides, we pick up a lot of young people from the Houston area.”
The question posed to Alain Nasreddine was not at all related to the fate that awaits the Coyotes and their possible move following the negative result concerning the referendum for the construction of a new amphitheater.
She was instead focused on the future of her two sons Loïc and Alec who spent the last season in the prestigious Hounds program of Notre-Dame, in Saskatchewan.
The Stars assistant coach found it difficult to be separated from his family (his wife Josiane and daughter Kaelle remained in New Jersey).
“It was good at first. Everything was new, we made a lot of trips in the East. But, it became more and more difficult. Especially when you live beautiful moments like yesterday [lundi]. In times like these, it’s fun having close family. Unfortunately, they weren’t there,” he said.
A recognized program
The 47-year-old father believes he has found a solution to bring everyone back to him.
“The guys liked it there, but we discovered that there was a good hockey program here. It’s called the Dallas Stars Elite. It is recognized and renowned across the United States. Blake Coleman [joueur des Flames]who is from Texas, came out of this program.”
Moreover, recently, the U16 team of this program won a prestigious national tournament in Minnesota.
In an interview with the Dallas Stars website, Eric Silverman, program director and U16 coach, said, “I think we’re probably the healthiest minor hockey market in the country.”
Obviously, the establishment of the Stars in Dallas in the 1990s is not unrelated to the growth of hockey in this state. And although we’re in the realm of the NFL Cowboys and the MLB Rangers season is underway, it seems the Stars are getting a lot of attention.
“There is starting to be a lot of enthusiasm around our team. It’s normal because we are one of the four teams still alive, said Nasreddine. But there is a good base of hockey fans in Dallas. When you turn on the TV, it often talks about us.
The Texas market seems healthy. Is it big enough to accommodate a second team, located 44h30 away from the first? Gary Bettman must know the answer.