All It Takes is One: How Jack Anderson Turned Opportunity into a Pro Hockey Reality
By Kelly Kaelblein
Nov 3, 2026Perhaps better than anyone else, hockey players understand the importance of being able to capitalize on seemingly small opportunities. This proved to be especially true for Texas Stars defenseman Jack Anderson, as the ability to capitalize on a series of single opportunities was the very thing that led him to his career as a professional hockey player.
“For me, it was always just one opportunity,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to take advantage of it. Out of youth hockey, it was one offer to the (North American Hockey League). Then after the NAHL, it was one decent year, and all of a sudden, you get one offer to play Division I hockey and you take it. It felt like everything… like it's part of your plan, and when you get the opportunity, you should take it.”
Anderson was destined to be an athlete; raised by two former NCAA Division I athletes themselves, as his father played baseball at Clemson University and his mother played softball at Kansas University and Winthrop University, the St. Louis, Missouri native fell in love with hockey when his two older sisters introduced him to the sport, and the rest is history.
“I had two older sisters who began playing hockey before I did,” Anderson said. “So, in the garage, we had roller skates and I started putting them on, and kind of just followed in their footsteps. Now here we are.”
Anderson began his career outside of his garage by playing for a collection of AAA teams, including the St. Louis Blues AAA 12U team. Following his high school career, he received just one offer to join a NAHL team.
“After St. Louis, I got one offer with the El Paso Rhinos in the North American Hockey League, so I'm familiar with Texas and in this area too,” Anderson explained. “It’s kind of fun to be back in Texas. I remember being in El Paso, and Dallas played the Arizona Coyotes in a little preseason game in El Paso. It’s kind of funny… [Stars defenseman] Ben Gleason was playing in that game. He’s my roommate [this season] on the road, and we talked about it. I was like, ‘wow, he was in that game,’ and I was just in the stands watching in El Paso.”
In hindsight, Anderson was not sure he actually deserved a spot on El Paso’s roster ahead of his season with the Rhinos, but he decided early that regardless of how the opportunity presented itself to him, he would work tirelessly during the offseason ahead of his year in the NAHL to prove to himself, and everyone else, that he belonged there.
And his hard work paid off: in 57 games with El Paso during the 2021-22 season, Anderson collected 24 points (5g, 19a) and 136 penalty minutes, enough to secure him an offer to play NCAA Division One hockey as a part of the inaugural roster at Lindenwood University in his hometown. It was his only offer.
While deep in the process of deciding if he wanted to stay in El Paso or take the opportunity to play at Lindenwood, Anderson sought advice from one of his greatest role models: his father.
“(I had) such a calm conversation with my dad that I will forever hold in my heart closely,” Anderson said. “It was one of those moments that I was just like, I'm just going to let God do His thing and let me have this opportunity that He's given me and just take it. Looking back on it, that was the best decision of my life.”
“My first three years at home were special,” Anderson added. “I got to play in front of my grandpa, who passed away this past summer, and in front of my friends and family that all get to come to St. Louis from Knoxville and Colorado and all these places to see me play.”
Anderson played 90 games as a Lion, tallying 25 points across three seasons. Ahead of his senior year, though, he got an unexpected phone call from his head coach: Bill Muckalt.
“I was planning on staying at Lindenwood for four years with my coach, and I think in the middle of May, I got a call [from Muckalt] … ‘hey, I'm leaving to go to Michigan Tech,’ and I’m like, okay, well, this is kind of crazy,” Anderson said. “The portal opens up for 30 days after a coach leaves, so I went in two weeks after, and decided to do that and test my luck.”
“I wanted to go with him because in the middle of the summer, it was pretty much my only offer,” Anderson explained. “It's so late in the portal season. So I went with him and trusted him, and all of a sudden, things exploded. He put me on the power play; I took advantage of it.”
The decision to transfer proved to be crucial for Anderson’s future; in one season at Michigan Tech, the defenseman nearly matched his point total from three combined seasons at Lindenwood with 24 points (11g, 13a), attracting the attention of professional scouts.
For the first time in his career, Anderson had the luxury of choice for his next step.
And he chose Texas.
“There's a bunch of stories where I just feel like you could say [I was waiting for the next opportunity],” Anderson said. “There were times where I was like, ‘is this going to work out for me,’ or ‘is this going to be the dream that I want? Should I take a different path?’ And for me, it was always that I did it because I loved it, and whatever it took and wherever it ended up for me was how it was supposed to be. I did it because I loved it. And this opportunity that I have here [in Texas] is… it's a dream.”
He added: “When you talk to teams and do Zoom calls and all this stuff, you're looking at the prospect pools, but also, you're looking at the development side. What teams are the best at developing these free agent players like I was, right? And looking at Dallas, they have a great track record of having guys in the AHL and developing them the right way, and giving them the opportunities, and giving them what they need to be the best players that they could be,” Anderson said. “It was a no-brainer. When you sign and you have 15-20 text messages from all these players that have played in the past, and they're like, ‘man, you just picked one of the best spots you could have picked.’ The coaching, the development staff here is just unbelievable, and everyone that I've talked to has said the same. So, it was pretty easy for me.”
His decision to join the Stars organization proved to be one of the best in his life. In fact, Anderson believes he’s transformed into a completely different player from the one he was in college a mere seven months ago, for the better.
The rookie defenseman joined the Stars in March of last season. He collected three points (2g, 1a) in 12 regular-season games and appeared in two playoff games during Texas’ series against the Chicago Wolves during the 2025-26 campaign.
“I got those games in, took it into the summer, got to work with people and had development camp,” Anderson said. “You go to these places, and you learn so much more, and then it's your first training camp. You're playing with the [Thomas] Harleys, you're playing with the [Jason] Robertsons. All these guys in the NHL. Being able to do that, knowing it's time to go to work and see what you can do.”
During NHL training camp in September, Anderson made his preseason debut in the Stars’ first game of the exhibition slate against none other than the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 19 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. To add to the memorable night, he collected an assist on Arttu Hyry’s goal in Dallas’ 2-1 win.
“I took a shot. Cameron Hughes then passed it to [Hyry], who scored 16 seconds in, and there's a photo of my parents high fiving and us celebrating. It's the coolest photo,” Anderson said. “That’s why you do it, too. Because they worked so hard feeding you and taking you to all these practices, and all of a sudden, you're doing what they know you want to do, and they never did it for themselves. It was amazing.”
Since the AHL regular season started, Anderson has collected two goals, one of which was the first goal of the season for Texas in the Stars’ 4-3 opening night win against Iowa.
“I don't think I've ever done that,” Anderson said. “Getting the first goal of the season. But it was good, just to get the guys going and get into the season.”
Anderson hopes to continue making an impact on the Stars organization by bringing his best to the rink every day.
“It's not a job for me. It never will be,” Anderson said. “It's something that you love doing. It's something that, you know, it was my dream as a 10-year-old kid… why would I ever take this as a job? Come to the rink with a smile on my face and just get better. That's all I can do. And if it takes me to the NHL, it takes me to NHL. But if not, it's okay.”