Texas Stars Announce 2026-27 Opening Night Roster
Oct 2, 2026CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced the club’s season-opening roster today, consisting of 23 players, including 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders.
For the sixth straight season and 14th time in franchise history, the Stars begin the season on home ice. Texas hosts the Iowa Wild on Opening Night at 7:00 p.m. Friday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The last time Texas and Iowa squared off to start a season was 2021-22, when the two division rivals split a weekend series in Cedar Park. Following Friday’s first game, the teams wrap up the weekend on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are on sale at www.texasstars.com/tickets and the H-E-B Center Ticketmaster Box Office. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for giveaway item both nights, including the 2026-27 Magnet Schedule on Friday and a local artist-designed T-shirt, presented by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, on Saturday.
2026-27 Opening Night Roster
Forwards (13): Jack Becker, Justin Ertel, Christian Fitzgerald, Jaxon Fuder, Emil Hemming, Dylan Hryckowian, Angus MacDonell, Ayrton Martino, Curtis McKenzie, Charlie Paquette, Ellis Rickwood, Matthew Seminoff, Mike Sgarbossa, Artem Shlaine
Defensemen (8): Jack Anderson, Tristan Bertucci, Kyle Burroughs, Ben Gleason, Kyle Looft, Aram Minnetian, Connor Punnett, Trey Taylor
Goaltenders (2): Brandon Halverson, Arno Tiefensee
BY COUNTRY
Canada: 13, USA: 7, Finland: 1, Germany: 1, Russia: 1
DALLAS DRAFT PICKS
First Round: 1 (Hemming)
Second Round: 1 (Bertucci)
Third Round: 2 (Ertel, Martino)
Fourth Round: 1 (Minnetian)
Fifth Round: 1 (Tiefensee)
Sixth Round: 2 (McKenzie, Seminoff)
Seventh Round: 1 (Paquette)
EXPERIENCE BREAKDOWN
Veterans (320 or more NHL/AHL/European Elite games): 4 (Burroughs, Gleason, McKenzie, Sgarbossa)
Rookies (25 or fewer NHL/AHL games): 10 (Anderson, Fitzgerald, Fuder, Hemming, Hryckowian, Minnetian, Paquette, Punnett, Rickwood, Tiefensee)
Average Age: 25
Of the 23 players on the Stars’ opening night roster, 17 played at least one game for Texas during the 2025-26 season, including longtime captain Curtis McKenzie, who returns for his 14th professional season and 11th in the Stars organization. Also back for the first time since 2022-23 is defenseman Ben Gleason, who enters his ninth pro campaign and sixth with Texas.
New veterans to Cedar Park include defenseman Kyle Burroughs, who is set to begin his 13th pro season, and former Calder Cup Champion Mike Sgarbossa, who gears up for his 15th year in pro hockey.
The Texas Stars open the 2026-27 season Friday at 7:00 p.m. against the Iowa Wild at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in the first of an eight-game season series between the two division foes. Season tickets and individual tickets are on sale now. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStars.com.