Stars announce additions to hockey operations department

FRISCO, Texas- Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nillannounced today the following changes to the club's hockey operations department:

Ben Bishophas joined the department as player development coordinator.

Dr. Troy Van Biezenhas joined the club as director of sports performance.

Mike Donoghuehas joined the club as head strength and conditioning coach.

Matthew Crawleyhas joined the club as assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Daniel Almontehas joined the club as massage therapist.

Patrick Dolanhas been promoted to head video coach.

Chris Demczukhas joined the club as assistant video coach.

Dennis Soetaerthas been promoted to head equipment manager.

Nick Lazorhas joined the club as assistant equipment manager.

Bishop begins his first season as player development coordinator with the Dallas Stars, transitioning into a front office role following and 11-season NHL career as a goaltender. Bishop spent five seasons as a goaltender for the Dallas Stars from 2017-22. During his time in a Stars sweater, he earned a 74-48-11 record with a .923 save percentage, a 2.33 goals-against average and 14 shutouts in 143 career regular-season appearances. He also appeared in 16 postseason games with Dallas, logging an 8-8 record with a .920 SV% and a 2.67 GAA.

Originally selected by St. Louis in the third round (85th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Bishop amassed a 222-128-36 record with a career .921 SV%, 2.32 GAA and 33 shutouts in 413 career regular-season appearances with St. Louis, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Dallas. He also earned a 29-21 record with a .924 SV% and a 2.27 GAA in 52 postseason appearances. A three-time Vezina Trophy Finalist (2013-14, 2014-15, 2018-19), Bishop was twice named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team in 2015-16 and 2018-19 and made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014-15 with Tampa Bay.

Dr. Van Biezen is a board-certified chiropractor and has been in active practice for the last 25 years. He founded ChiroSport Specialists of Dallas, a premier Sports medicine performance facility. His clientele includes professional athletes from the NHL, NFL, PGA, MLB and the Olympic Games, and he has worked with the Dallas Stars for the last 15 years. He has been traveling with the PGA Tour as a chiropractor and performance coach for the last 21 years, working with the best golfers in the world. His players have won 12 major championships and over 100 wins worldwide.

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Dr. Van Biezen is married with two daughters. He attended University of Calgary, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in physical education, and played professional hockey in Europe before pursuing his Doctor of Chiropractic degree at Parker University in Dallas.

Donoghue served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) for the 2022-23 season. He spent the previous three seasons in the same role with the Florida Panthers and one season with the organization's AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Donoghue attended Springfield College where he was a member of the men's lacrosse team.

Crawley joins the Stars from the XFL, where he served as the head of player performance and sports science for the 2023 season. He spent one year with Sports Academy, where he worked as a sports performance manager and research lead, and four years with Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he was the strength and conditioning coordinator for their high-performance team. He also served as head strength and conditioning coach for the Canisius College Athletics' men's hockey team, the Buffalo Junior Sabres and IMPACT Sports Performance at HarborCenter and assistant strength and conditioning coach for the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits. Crawley is a Ph.D. candidate at Concordia University studying health and human performance and holds master's degrees in health and human performance and human nutrition from Canisius University.

Almonte owns and operates Evolution Corrective Bodywork, a private practice for soft tissue therapy. He has also worked as a sports massage therapist for the Dallas Mavericks, Major League Cricket and Southern Methodist University Athletics. Almonte received his license for massage therapy from Cortiva Institute and is a certified Active Release Techniques provider. He holds additional certifications from the CORE Institute and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Dolan enters his second season with the Dallas Stars and fifth season with the Stars organization in 2023-24. Dolan served as Dallas' assistant video coach last season after spending three seasons as video coach of the Texas Stars from 2019-22. Prior to his time with Texas, Dolan spent two seasons with the AHL's Ontario Reign from 2017-19, also serving as the team's video coach. Additionally, he spent one season as director of hockey operations with the Chicago Steel of the USHL in 2016-17, helping the Steel secure the 2017 Clark Cup for the club's first USHL Championship. The native of Fort Collins, Colorado attended Gustavus Adolphus College where he earned a bachelor's degree in management in 2014. During his time there, he also worked as the video coach for the men's hockey team for two seasons from 2012-14.

Demczuk spent last season as video coach for the Texas Stars. He joined Texas from Colorado College (NCAA), where he served as director of hockey operations in 2021-22. Prior to that, Demczuk held roles with the Stockton Heat (AHL) and Penn State's women's hockey program.

Soetaert enters his 18th season with the Dallas Stars in 2023-24. He served as assistant equipment manager for 13 years after spending his first four seasons (2006-10) with the club as equipment assistant. Before joining the Stars, Soetaert spent two seasons as head equipment manager of the ECHL's Columbia Inferno and one with the ECHL's Florence Pride. As assistant equipment manager with the AHL's Houston Aeros, Soetaert was part of the club's 2003 Calder Cup championship squad. Soetaert is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and currently resides in Frisco, Texas.

Lazor served as the head equipment manager with Texas Stars from 2021-23. Prior to his time with Texas, he held positions as head equipment manager for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays and the NCAA's University of Massachusetts Lowell and assistant equipment manager for the AHL's Bakersfield Condors and Rochester Americans. Lazor joined the United States Marine Corps in 2008 as an infantry assaultman. A decorated combat veteran, he was honorably discharged in 2014.