The Dallas Stars didn’t have a horrible season during the 2018/19 NHL regular season. The team played a total of 82 games and won a total of 42 matches with only 32 losses in the Western Conference. You cannot deny that the National Hockey League is a harsh environment, not only for the players but the coaching staff as well. It’s for this very reason that we decided to take a closer look at the coaching staff behind the Dallas Stars hockey team to see who is calling the shots from behind the scenes.
Head Coach – Jim Montgomery
Jim Montgomery became the head coach of the Dallas Stars on 4 May 2018 and is regarded as the 23rd head coach in the history of the franchise and the 8th in the history of the Dallas Stars. Montgomery previously spent five years as the head coach for the men’s hockey team in the University of Denver. He impressed with a 125-57-26 record and was considered the second-winningest head coach during his time in college hockey.
Assistant Coach – Stu Barnes
Stu Barnes decided to re-join the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach during the 2017/18 season, staying in the same position he previously held with the Stars for three seasons from 2008 until 2011. He also spent 16 years as an NHL player, accumulating 597 points in 1,136 regular-season matches with Dallas, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Florida, and Winnipeg.
Assistant Coach – Rick Bowness
Rich Bowness decided to join the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach during the 2018/19 season, bringing with him more than 30 years of valuable coaching experience. Bowness has spent the last five years with Tampa Bay Lightning where he took the role of the associate coach for the team. During his time at Tampa Bay, the team impressed with a 238-135-37 record and appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs four times.
Assistant Coach – Todd Nelson
Todd Nelson joined the Dallas Stars during the 2018/19 season. He previously spent three years with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL where he was the head coach from 2015 until 2018.
Goaltending Coach – Jeff Reese
Jeff Reese will enter his 3rd season with the Dallas Stars as their goaltending coach. He initially joined the team during 2015 after he spent the last six seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the same role. Before he joined the Flyers, Reese spent a total of 10 seasons with the coaching staff of the Tamp Bay Lightning team where he was in control of the goaltenders. He was also an assistant when it came to amateur goaltenders in the Entry Draft of the NHL.
Video Coach – Kelly Forbes
Kelly Forbes will enter his 9th season with the Dallas Stars as video coach. Kelly works exceptionally closely with the players and coaching staff, breaking down film in post-game and in-game. He is also in charge of video scouting reports of other teams when it comes to game preparation.