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Hockey Club Dallas to become Texas Tigers Hockey

By Hockey Club Dallas, 04/27/18, 11:00PM CDT

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TEXAS TIGERS HOCKEY

Contact: Mike Salekin
Hockey Director

mike.salekin@texastigershockey.com

 

HC Dallas to become Texas Tigers Hockey

Top DFW youth hockey organization ceases operation as HC Dallas and becomes the Texas Tigers located at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch

FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS – In an effort to strengthen and further build the foundation of youth hockey in Dallas, Hockey Club Dallas (HC Dallas) has announced that it has ceased operations and will now operate as Texas TIGERS HOCKEY for the 2018-19 season. In addition, the Texas Tigers will now call the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch its home arena.

Mike Salekin, the new Hockey Director for the Texas Tigers, made the announcement. “This is an exciting day for youth hockey in Texas as we take a huge step in enhancing our program to continue to build a culture of successful young hockey players both on and off the ice. We have worked closely with the Dallas Stars to create a new and improved product which will bring great value to the youth hockey community. We want to thank the Dallas Stars for the unwavering support and assistance during this transition,” said Salekin.

TIGERS HOCKEY has set a core standard of values that sets them apart as a premier organization focused on hockey development. First, they want kids to dream and strive to reach the highest levels of hockey. Second, the Tigers strive to advance their players. Next, the Tigers want to develop players to the maximal potential, and finally, the Tigers want to have great teammates and teams on and off the ice.

We want every player to be properly challenged to become the best they can be and help them advance to the next levels of hockey,” continued Salekin. “This starts with an exceptional line-up of coaches with the Texas Tigers that are focused on age-appropriate development for our players. Additionally, we have begun the immediate process to strengthen the relationship with the Dallas Stars, the Texas Amateur Hockey Association, and surrounding hockey community leaders.”

As part of the announcement, the Texas Tigers have reached an agreement with the NHL’s Dallas Stars to operate the organization out of the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch starting in the 2018-19 season. The location is near three of DFW major highways and is well positioned for the Texas Tigers base. The year-round two sheet facility is currently undergoing some state-of-the-art upgrades that are scheduled to be completed in time for the 2018 NHL Draft, which is being hosted by the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 22-23. Some of the upgrades to the new home of the Tigers include: a new Dallas Stars Alumni Center, a Texas Hockey History Center, newly remodeled pro shop and professional skate sharpening, updated lighting and furniture in the lobby, a remodeled bar area with updated furniture and more HD TV’s, new flooring, refurbished party and meeting rooms, and a new LED marquee sign on the front of the building. In addition, the quality of the ice will be improved thanks to a new control system, cooling tower, dehumidification upgrades and improved air circulation with new fans. “We are excited for the upgrades and will reap immediate benefits operating the Tigers out of the two ice sheet facility compared to one. Families and guests will be able to enjoy the newly renovated viewing area as well as the concession and bar,” said Salekin.

On the ice, every TIGERS HOCKEY team and players will see more ice time than they had last season. Maximizing ice time is critical to development and will provide the players at least four ice times a week. In addition, players and parents will enjoy improved ice slots at more optimal times at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Farmers Branch. Off the ice, TIGERS HOCKEY is currently developing and will be building a state-of-the-art off-ice training facility ready for the start of the season. Off-ice training is extremely important and critical to the individual development the players. TIGERS HOCKEYrecognizes this and is excited for the off-ice hockey specific training they will provide the community. In addition, TIGERS HOCKEY will have a personalized off-ice shooting program for every player in the program.

Salekin is passionate about TIGERS HOCKEY and dedicated to creating an environment to develop players to their maximum potential and move them onto the next level. His experience as a professional hockey player, Director of the Dallas Stars Elite girls program, and extensive experience as a high-level coach will ensure we have an exceptional program focused on player development at all levels. “We are in the business of building an organization that encourages and fosters leadership, teamwork, and hockey development. The vision of the organization is to maximize player development in order to advance players onto the next level. We do this by creating an atmosphere that promotes hard work, skill development, discipline, respect, teamwork, and fun. We all believe that TIGERS HOCKEY will allow players to be all they can be pushing them to the next level, allow them to dream big, and develop into good people. Important to note we provide this service and do so by giving tremendous value to the hockey community. Camp numbers this Spring are well above average and I believe the community is already seeing the benefits that TIGERS HOCKEY culture will provide, stated Salekin.”

The roster of head coaches for the Texas Tigers includes many Tier I coaching backgrounds which provides the Tigers teams with a strong working relationship to move players onto Tier I. All the coaches bring a wealth of hockey experience and unique skill set. Each was strategically placed with their respective age group to take advantage of their specific strengths and knowledge of the game. “The quality and experienced coaches are vital to our TIGERS HOCKEYvision. Coach Seal (10U A), Mudgett (10U AA), Young (12U A), McKay (12U AA), Hana s (14U A), Kaebel (14U AA), Falzone (16U AA) and MacNicol (18U AA) bring a high amount of care, experience and passion to develop the players. We want to have these players reach their potential as not only players but as people. A big part of that will be the instruction and communication they are receiving from our coaches.” said Salekin.

The current Spring Camp schedule is unchanged and will continue to operate out of Valley Ranch as the Texas Tigers. Texas Tigers tryouts will align to the DSTHL published schedule and Tigers teams will have the same coaching staff recently announced. Please bookmark our new website as HC Dallas will transition all communications in May (www.texastigershockey.com). The Texas Tigers will host an open house on Saturday, May19th 3:00pm to 5:00pm @ Farmers Branch. We will discuss the details that will make the Texas Tigers a top development organization. We welcome the DFW hockey community and future Tigers to join us.

About The Texas Tigers
Texas Tigers Hockey (formerly HC Dallas) is a Tier II USA Hockey-certified organization that is focused on providing the Dallas/Ft. Worth community with a high value youth hockey program that develops athletes with character and discipline to compete at higher levels through exceptional coaching, on and off ice development, and competitive pricing. The goal is to continue to provide the players ample ice time for development, strong and experienced coaches, and the promotion and advancement of players.
Texas Tigers Hockey is a 501c3 non-profit organization.