I'm sure people are happy that former Texas Stars Head Coach Neil Graham finally got promoted behind the Dallas Stars bench this upcoming season. It was a welcome sight after he was able to develop some of the best prospects Stars fans have seen in a while. While that happened, questions were swirling around who would be taking over Graham's spot in Cedar Park this season. That was answered this morning following a coaching search, and it's a former Dallas Stars player.
Toby Petersen was named the next coach of the Texas Stars. He was recently a development coach with the Colorado Avalanche. The rest of the coaching staff from last season will be returning, which is a positive development for Petersen, as some of them are former Texas Stars teammates of his. It feels like Jim Nill decided to reunite former Texas Stars players in hopes of getting the Stars to the Calder Cup Finals after they fell in the Western Conference Finals this past season.
I remember my senior year in high school when I started to drink a lot of water and was falling asleep as soon as I got home from being the football manager. My teachers were beginning to get concerned that I was developing "senioritis" after already committing to go to ACU for college. After going to the doctors with my mom, I was officially diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes with a blood sugar of over 500. It was not an easy time for me because my dreams of going to my dream college were starting to crumble.
When I was in the hospital, it was a very dull time because most of the time I was getting the Diabetes 101 crash course during the day. I remember one of the nurses talked to me about famous type 1 diabetics who were athletes, and one of them was Toby Petersen. She told me he would wear an insulin pump while taking or delivering checks on the ice. It was at that point that I knew that if I kept my blood sugar under control, I could do anything that I wanted to in life, including being a journalist.
This is an excellent signing for the Dallas Stars. I believe he will be an outstanding coach who will develop the next generation of Dallas Stars players. He's an inspiration not only to the hockey community but also to athletes with Type 1 Diabetes who aspire to play at the next level in any sport they participate in. It's going to be a great partnership between Glenn Gulutzan and Petersen. The future of Dallas Stars hockey is going to be brighter than ever with these two coaching in the organization.