Dallas Stars: Season's Top 5 Off-Ice Antics

It shouldn’t come as a shock that our favorite hockey players do such a stand-up job of keeping us entertained. But sometimes, the things they come up with are so far out of left field that we can’t help but be surprised and of course, delighted. And, maybe I’m a little partial, but the Stars seem to employ some of the best entertainers in the business. Take a look back over the last season and you’ll see what I mean. Between paying up super-bowl bets, carrying out pranks, breaking huge team news the tech savvy way, and in every way in between, the Stars have demonstrated that they know how to keep fans feeling invested in the team even when they’re off the ice. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revel in the five greatest instances of the Dallas Stars’ off-ice antics (and maybe a few bonus on-ice ones, too.)

1.The beard shaving.

Jordie Benn isn’t nicknamed “the bearded one” for no good reason. And I doubt that I’m the only one that wishes my head of hair was as thick and luscious as Jordie’s facial hair seems to be (am I the only one? Is that a weird thing to wish? Oh well). Unfortunately, this Canadian national treasure was defaced (yes,

defaced

) due to the fact that, well, boys will be boys. Carried away in all the Superbowl hype, Tyler Seguin and Jordie Benn wagered that if the Patriots lost, Jordie would shave Tyler’s head and that if the Seahawks lost, Tyler would shave Jordie’s beard. And the Seahawks really let us

all

down, if we’re being honest with ourselves. I refuse to even enter the realm of trying to decide which out of a beardless Jordie or a bald Tyler would have been the biggest travesty. Either way, the rest is history, and Tyler got to de-beard the bearded one, in a rather sad, somber procession that has been digitally saved for posterity. Thankfully, though, facial hair grows back, or else the convenience of distinguishing between Benns based on beards would have been sorely missed for much longer than it was.

2. Dude Perfect.

But dude, it really was perfect. Not only did this youtube feature put on display the sick talent of our two top forwards, but it also showed the laid-back, silly sides of these players, which are not always front-and-center in pressers or media scrums in between and after difficult, taxing games. The trick shots they came up with in this video are unbelievable. And if you watch for it, I think you’ll recognize that one of Tyler’s props has made a recent comeback and will probably take quite a while to fade back into obscurity. Ps, I’m not talking about the donut.

3. The mom pranking.

The brainchild of TSN’s Cabbie, this prank not only involved Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, but also their poor mothers. But really, was I the only one who felt bad for them? Lesson learned: if you ever need help fudging the truth a little or flying under the lie radar, have Tyler and not Jamie teach you. Also, remind me never to lie to Tyler’s mother.

3.5 The mom pranking retaliation.

While it seemed a little insensitive to have the guys play a prank on their moms, having their moms play a prank right back on them was nothing short of poetic justice. How often in professional sports do fans get this sort of glimpse into player’s personal lives (excluding the times that their personal lives get them into trouble with the law)? Not to mention, these guys really take after their moms. Did you notice it, too?

4. Periscope, for the win.

While this one didn’t involve a prank and wasn’t really an “antic” per se, it does definitely demonstrate the Dallas Stars’ commitment to keeping their fans involved in team matters and being flexible enough to evolve their methods of doing that. Live streaming from their Party in the Park event at the close of Development Camp, the Stars management took this great opportunity to announce to everyone gathered, physically and digitally, the blockbuster trade for Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns.

5. The Art Ross anti-speech.

It’s not news to anyone that Jamie Benn isn’t really the speech type. Which is why, if you’re like me, you were super excited that he was literally going to

have

to make a speech when he accepted the Art Ross trophy at the 2015 NHL Awards in Las Vegas (it’s not that I was looking forward to watching him stumble through it and was planning on counting how many “umms” and “uhhs” made an appearance, but). Well, Jamie Benn does things his own way, a fact which is made even clearer in retrospect, and the NHL Awards were no different. There was a little controversy over who initiated this little deviation from the norm, but clearly, I’m team Jamie-had-the-whole-thing-planned. What about you? (This video is two for the price of one: you get to not only experience his epic shyness, but you also get a nice recap of how Jamie got to be Mr. Arty in the first place)

And when you have such an animated and vivacious team as the Dallas Stars, it’s understandable that some of their most entertaining moments would end up spilling over onto the ice as well.

6. That physics-defying Kessel hit.

So I know that it’s kind of a thing now to acknowledge that Phil Kessel is not a petite guy. A fact that I’m pretty sure didn’t escape Antoine Roussel when he levied this monster hit that sent the 202 lb. Kessel

literally

flying. Like, please buckle your seatbelts, we will be experiencing some mild turbulence-

flying

7. Patch-rik the Pirate.

After missing most of the season recouping from an injury that left Nemeth resorting to Kevlar, he was borderline attacked by a flying puck in an area that you can’t realistically cover in Kevlar. In another weird, twilight-zone, physics-defying mind bender, a puck lodged itself between Nemeth’s visor and his face- his eye, to be exact. No worries, he was fine, folks. But it did give him a pretty piratey vibe for all of a few seconds.

At the end of the day, for sports fans, it really all comes down to more than just the game. The players, the organization, and the little extras that happen even when the puck isn’t in play all add up to an experience. When fans feel connected to the game and its players, it establishes a sense of community and camaraderie. The Dallas Stars are world-class at offering this kind of experience to their fans, and hopefully their approach won’t change anytime soon. As we approach another season full of off-ice silliness potential, what was your favorite antic from this season?

Next: Dallas Stars Seeking Defensive Diversity

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