Finding a way to make that happen will fall to Laxdal. Those who played for him in the AHL said he liked to get consistent units and let those units develop chemistry.
"We got to the point where we really knew where each other was," said Justin Dowling, who was one of the team's offensive leaders in Cedar Park. "You get that through chemistry and repetition. When you have an extra guy, you don't have to see him, you just have to know he's there. When I was on the halfwall there, I always knew I had somebody in the middle of the ice, and that just made everything work."
Laxdal said he doesn't want to give away any secrets, and also said he's going to have to learn the skills of the NHL players.
"It's different," he said. "Obviously, these guys are NHL players and they've got some set ways. We're just trying to give them information and try to take a step and be a little bit more efficient."
Laxdal is in a good place as far as understanding both veterans and young players. He leaned heavily on players like Dowling and Travis Morin to find success in the AHL, but also helped many of the younger Stars players develop. Among the players who have spent time with Laxdal are Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov, Jason Dickinson and Esa Lindell.
"He was really good with my development," Dickinson said. "He encouraged me to be what I was and not what I wasn't. You've got to find that balance, because some guys like myself figured, `Oh if I score points, I'm going to make the NHL,' and that's not always the case. You've got to find that balance, and he really helped me embrace that."
Juggling an AHL roster isn't easy. Players are trying to move up, so you often lose your best players. And when a prospect comes back after a stint in the NHL, he's usually disappointed. But Laxdal found the right buttons to push and helped develop prospects and won some games.