Jim Nill Interview, Part One: Stars GM Discusses Dallas' Influx Of Elite Young Talent The Dallas Stars have been hot lately with a 8-2-0 record in their last ten games. The winning culture has started to trickle down throughout the organization with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League also igniting a hot streak that is taking over the league by storm. The AHL Stars are 9-1-0 in their last ten games with forward Cameron Hughes leading the way with a Player of the Week nod after recording four goals and four assists, totalling eight points in his last three games. The 28-year-old Alberta native told the Hockey News that the recent hot streak spurred out of confidence in himself and his teammates. "I try to approach every day the same, fortunate to play hockey for a living. So I have a lot of fun around the rink and have pretty good teammates to play with too," he said "As the year goes on, I'm confident in my own abilities that if I put the work in and come to the rink with a good attitude and the results will come so it's been nice to get them lately." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDrVeVZ0II[/embed] The former Bruins sixth-round draft pick noted the Stars have started to piece together their defensive structure and how it's been the driving force behind the team's recent run of success. Texas has allowed more than two goals in just one of their last ten games, which proves to be a significant improvement over their prior six games where they went 1-5-0 with four or more goals allowed in each of the losses. "It was taking us a little time to figure out some of our defensive side of the game. We were scoring a lot of goals but also giving up a lot," Hughes said "I think we've played that up a lot and I think our d-zone has been a lot better, defending off the rush is a lot better so I think it's all kind of coming together and it's been a nice little run here." Swedish Goaltender Magnus Hellberg has played a pivotal role in keeping opposing offences off the board with a 16-5-1 record and a 2.59 goals against average this season. The former Red Wings goaltender has a wealth of experience with 26 NHL games and 240 AHL games played during his lengthy career. The 33-year-old has proven to be a gamer when he needs to be and could help Texas win their first Calder Cup since 2014 with a 1.97 goals against average in five career AHL playoff games. Texas can hopefully stay hot with three of their next five series coming against the bottom three teams in the Central division in the Iowa Wild, Rockford IceHogs and the Manitoba Moose. Hughes finished off by saying the Stars have Calder Cup aspirations with his motivation stemming from back-to-back losses in the Finals when playing with the Coachella Valley Firebirds over the past two seasons. "The last two years with the long runs and losing at the end of the season, I've always thought now that all I want is to win the last game of the year and that's the goal," he said "The end goal is the same for every team and we want to win and win at the end." The Stars will look to keep their hot streak alive and win their fifth-straight when hosting a back-to-back versus the Milwaukee Admirals this weekend at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Tickets are very reasonable for Saturday's game with the lowest pair being sold at roughly $36USD [https://www.ticketmaster.com/texas-stars-tickets/artist/1364900] to see Hughes and some of the Dallas Stars top prospects like Lian Bichsel and Arttu Hyry in action.
