Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced on Tuesday that the club has named former Idaho Steelheads head coach Neil Graham as an assistant coach.
The 40-year-old Graham was the head coach of the Steelheads from 2015 to 2019 where he collected a 166-91-31 record in 288 regular season contests. He led Idaho to three consecutive 40-win seasons, guiding the Steelheads to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in all four seasons at the helm.
Prior to being named head coach on Aug. 7, 2015 he served as Steelheads assistant coach for two seasons, after a role as a player/coach during the 2012-13 campaign.
“We could not be happier for Neil and his family on reaching his goal of becoming an NHL coach,” Eric Trapp, President of Idaho Sports Properties, said in a statement. “When we hired Neil back in 2012 it was very clear that he was going to be a successful coach. We were very fortunate to have him in Boise for seven years and wish him all the best in Dallas.”
Graham spent the last six seasons as the head coach of the Texas Stars, Dallas’ affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), posting an 183-140-40 record in 363 regular-season games. Texas reached the Calder Cup Playoffs in all four of his seasons as head coach in which the AHL postseason was played, most recently guiding the team to the 2025 Western Conference Final.
He began his time with Texas during the 2019-20 campaign as an assistant coach before being named to the head coach position on Dec. 10, 2019.
(Photo Courtesy of the Idaho Steelheads)