Stars' Sgarbossa Makes Early-Season Return to Old Stomping Grounds

Oct 10, 2026

The Texas Stars opened the 2026-27 campaign with a two-game slate against the Iowa Wild, skating off with a 4-3 shootout win on Friday night but falling short in the same fashion — and by the same score — on Saturday. Collecting three of a possible four points would have been impossible without contributions from every player, but one Star in particular shone bright among the rest: Mike Sgarbossa.

Sgarbossa kicked off his 15th professional season and first as a Star with a three-point weekend against the Wild. The veteran forward collected an assist on Texas', first goal of the season on Friday night to give the Stars a 1-0 lead just 4:04 into the first period. On Saturday, Sgarbossa found the back of the net twice, once on a power play in the middle frame and again just 17 seconds into the third period, to solidify himself as both a formidable opponent and an integral part of this Stars roster.

“It's been great,” Sgarbossa said about his time with the organization so far. “The fans have been great. I didn't know how big hockey was going to be coming here… I think the building has great energy.”

Looking ahead, the Stars are in for a weekend full of firsts: they will travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania, for their first road trip of the 2026-27 campaign and their first-ever regular-season series against the Bears on Oct. 10-11. It will also be the first time the teams have met since the 2010 Calder Cup Finals.

And, for the first time since leaving Hershey to head overseas at the end of the 2024-25 season, Sgarbossa will return to GIANT Center, this time to face-off against his former team.

Instability characterized much of Sgarbossa’s early career; as he played in 10 different cities within his first eight professional seasons. It was not until he joined Hershey ahead of the 2018-19 campaign that the tides began to change for the Campbellville, Ontario native, who spent the next seven seasons with the organization.

“From the moment I went there, just morally, naturally, we just clicked,” Sgarbossa said about Hershey. “Wanting to kind of give (my family) some stable ground… (the organization and I) kind of understood what we wanted from each other.”

His memories of winning the Calder Cup in 2023, scoring the Teddy Bear Toss goal in 2025, and being called up to the Washington Capitals to skate in 45 NHL games are fond, but only crack the surface of his most special moments in Hershey.

“My kids were both born there,” Sgarbossa said. “Something that was really great that came from (my time in Hershey) was them. But the Teddy Bear Toss goal, the Calder Cup, those were all fun memories. Too many to count, but those are the major ones. If everyone could see them online, those were probably the ones that they would recognize the most.”

Despite the milestones he achieved both personally and professionally in Chocolatetown, Sgarbossa noted that the feather in the cap of his time with the organization was the growth of his game.

“Establishing myself as a player that could be called up, too, was a good memory for me. Obviously, playing with (Alexander Ovechkin), playing with (Nicklas) Backstrom, I learned a lot from John Carlson, (Tom) Wilson, all these guys that helped me quite a bit as a human being, too.”

In fact, it was this very mindset that led him back to North America. After an unstable 2025-26 season in Switzerland, Sgarbossa returned to the American Hockey League confident that he will accomplish more.

“I always felt that I had more to give, and my time over here wasn't done,” Sgarbossa added. “I still believe that I'm an NHL-caliber player, and so part of me in the back of my mind felt like going over there was not giving up, but I had more to give.”

And there was no better fit for Sgarbossa than Texas.

“(Scott White) had watched me play a ton. They had a gap or a void that they needed to fill here, and when I was trying to figure out what I was going to do in Switzerland, and how to get out of there, they were one of the first teams that was interested in going through the process of free agency,” Sgarbossa said.

He added: “A lot of the time, the first team is the team that's most interested. It's the team that wants you the most… We understood what (the other) wanted, and I thought I could bring a lot of value to the team, and he felt the same, obviously. So happy that we connected, and I think it's been a good start so far.”

Despite his deep history with the Hershey Bears organization, Sgarbossa did not forget which side he plays for ahead of the weekend.

“I'm hoping that it's just about playing and trying to get a win, and I can kind of zero in and focus,” Sgarbossa noted. “Obviously, it's going to be emotional, and a lot of memories are going to kick back up. I think there are still some guys that I played with when I was there… I didn’t know if I'd ever go back, or if I'd ever be back in this league. And you know, fate just aligns. So, I'm looking forward to it. But you know, I want to make sure that the main focus is on winning.”

Puck drop in Hershey this weekend is slated for 6:00 pm CT on Saturday, Oct. 10, and 4:00 pm CT on Sunday, Oct. 11. Catch all the action on AHLTV on FloHockey.

The Texas Stars are the primary development affiliate of the NHL's Dallas Stars. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStars.com.