Behind the bench: Toby Petersen excited for first season as Texas Stars’ head coach

Toby Petersen’s first game as a head coach was far from perfect.

But when you consider everything in a 6-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings top prospects on Saturday in Frisco, it wasn’t that bad.

Petersen is the new head coach of the Texas Stars, which means he gets to direct the prospects in their annual games. He lined up alongside AHL assistant coaches Max Fortunus and Travis Morin, who are good friends and former teammates, and the night was a great first step.

“It was an experience,” Petersen said. “It was exciting. There was a lot of preparation, a lot of work, and anticipation for the night. It obviously didn’t go the way we were hoping, but it was a good experience.”

With the Texas Stars not playing any preseason games, this will be the first warmup for the trio before the AHL regular season starts for the Stars’ top prospects in a few weeks. Petersen said the coaching staff has been preparing in such a manner to make sure it gets the most out of these two opportunities.

“We are treating this as a preseason game,” Petersen said. “We know that this is it for the three of us, so we’re taking notes and that’s why we want to find our rhythm and be ready for the first game.”

The Stars as an organization have made several changes over the summer. Head coach Pete DeBoer was fired in early June, and Glen Gulutzan was named the new head coach in Dallas on July 1. AHL head coach Neil Graham was promoted to be one of Gulutzan’s assistant coaches, so Petersen was hired away from Colorado to fill the spot vacated by Graham. The decision had a lot to do with the familiarity of the group, as Petersen played with both Fortunus and Morin, and Gulutzan coached all three of those players.

“I really liked this, because I knew every one of these guys,” Gulutzan said. “Both staffs are very familiar and I think they know each other very well. It’s nice to have everyone connected. Communication is huge for us.”

Petersen was described as a cerebral player, and that has been key for the prospects in the few days they have interacted. The 46-year-old spent six seasons as an AHL assistant coach and then joined Colorado two seasons ago as a skill coach. He said it will take some time for him to get his bearings on the bench and said that quickly slipping into his new role will be made easier by the fact he has good relationships established.

“It’s important for these guys to get a good look at what we do and get themselves ready for camp,” Gulutzan said. “It’s a great first step, and it’s good to play a good team like this.”

Detroit has missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons and has loaded up its prospect group as a result of some heavy drafts. Dallas has been to three straight Western Conference Finals and depleted its pool as a result of trading away draft picks in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup. That just makes the challenge of these two games a little tougher. That said, camp starts on Thursday and the six-game preseason schedule begins Saturday, so getting things done efficiently is key.

“It was interesting to see, because I hadn’t been behind the bench with them before,” Petersen said of coaching with Fortunus and Morin. “I know them as people really well. They are both great hockey minds and good teachers, so I think we have a lot of promising things in the future.”

And that is a fun place to be. The relationship doesn’t guarantee wins, but it offers a fantastic base to make sure everyone is on the same page. If the Stars need some depth players – and they always do – Petersen is hoping to have said players ready to assimilate.

“It’s a great question, and there’s no perfect answer,” Petersen said when asked about juggling the need to win in the AHL with the need to make sure players could be called up seamlessly. “The most important thing is we’re a development league, and we want them to know the system inside and out that Dallas is running. And not just the system, but the things that they hold important.”

That’s another word for culture, and Petersen has that in spades.

“There’s so many great things about Petey, but the No. 1 thing is he’s a great person,” Gulutzan said. “I think when you mix that with all of the communications skills and intelligence, that just makes this a great fit.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.