Central Hockey League welcomes Allen, Texas franchiseMiller is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EXCO Resources, Inc., a local independent oil and natural gas company. He has been a major contributor to youth hockey in the Dallas area for the past 17 years, providing financial support to countless families so that their sons could remain in the sport. For the past nine years, Miller has subsidized the Dallas Stars AAA Midget Hockey Club.
Duchesne is a former three-time NHL all-star defenseman who played in 1,113 career games over 17 seasons. The high-scoring defenseman ranks 17th on the NHL’s all-time defensemen scoring list and has won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. He retired after that accomplishment. Since moving to the Dallas area in 2003, he has been very active in the youth hockey community and was a coach for the Dallas Stars Midget AAA Hockey club in 2007.
The league also announced a developmental affiliation between the new franchise and the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars.
“We believe that given the hockey experience the Top Shelf organization brings to the CHL, an affiliation with them will be strategic as one of the spokes of that player development strategy,” said Jeff Cogen, President of the Dallas Stars. “We wish them great success in the undertaking, and look forward to working with them in developing future NHL Dallas Stars.”
The as-of-yet unnamed team will become the eighth active CHL franchise in the state of Texas and will call the new state-of-the-art Allen Event Center home. The new venue will seat 6,235 fans for hockey and is currently under construction with an opening planned for this November. The announcement follows the approval from the Allen City Council on the team’s lease with the new Allen Event Center.
Temporary offices have been set up for the team just adjacent to the event center in the new Village at Allen development and permanent offices for the hockey club will eventually be located on site at the facility.
Dwight Mullins has reportedly been tapped to be the team’s head coach and director of hockey operations and will be joined by Bill McDonald, who will serve as assistant coach.
Mullins comes to the Allen Franchise after being the head coach of the Texas Tornado (NAHL) franchise. He was previously the head coach for the Dallas Stars Midget AAA team for six seasons. In 2007, Mullins was named National Coach of the Year by US Hockey News for leading the Stars to their best season ever which included a record 50+ wins, five tournament championships, and a state championship.
The former right wing from Calgary, Alberta was drafted in the 5th round of the 1985 Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars and played six seasons in the Western Hockey League. He spent three seasons with the Fort Worth Fire and in his final season, won the Central Hockey League Championship while playing for McDonald.
A native of Port Arthur, Ontario, McDonald has more than 19 years of professional hockey experience as a director of hockey operations, head coach, assistant coach and player. He most recently served as head coach and director of hockey operations for the Dayton Bombers (ECHL) for the past two seasons.
He spent two seasons with the CHL’s Fort Worth Fire, winning the Ray Miron Cup as league champions in 1997. After taking the Fort Worth Brahmas to the WPHL President’s Cup Finals in 1998, McDonald joined the Dallas Stars organization. McDonald served as an assistant coach with the Stars during the 1999-2000 season, and coached the team’s top affiliate, the IHL’s Michigan K-Wings for two years.
McDonald returned to the WPHL in 2000 and led the Lubbock Cotton Kings to the President’s Cup Finals in his first season. He then spent two and a half seasons with the CHL’s New Mexico Scorpions before heading to the Austin Ice Bats as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
Nearby, the Texas Brahmas welcomed a new rival to the area.
"This is so exciting to have a cross-town franchise," Texas Brahmas General Manager Mike Barack said. “Fans remember the old Dallas-Fort Worth rivalry, which has now been re-established in the suburbs of North Richland Hills and Allen. We believe this will enhance the overall interest in professional hockey and the CHL throughout the Metroplex."
The two teams are separated by 42 miles, tied for the shortest distance between two teams in the league (Colorado Eagles and the Rocky Mountain Rage).
"It is tremendous for the league in so many great levels. It makes for a great cross-town rivalry which will generate more community involvement, it lightens the travel load for our players and most importantly it adds a great new owner in Doug Miller to the CHL family," said NYTEX President Frank Trazzera.
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