As the Stars have never signed a player who has a surname beginning with ‘X’, we will be instead focusing on what the letter X means in the hockey world and the Stars’ history with the letter.
An ‘X’ next to a team’s name usually signifies that the team has qualified for the playoffs and this is commonly used in most leagues.
However, that is not the only letter used, as the NHL also use the letter ‘Y’ to indicate which team has qualified for the playoffs and won their conference title, and also the letter ‘Z’ for the same purpose but for divisional title winners.
Therefore, below you will find a history of the Stars playoff history across their 19 seasons of existence.
2001/2002: British National League Playoff Champions
The Stars went all the way in their first ever season and added a playoff title to their league championship.
They beat Coventry Blaze in the final, after eliminating Guildford Flames and Milton Keynes Lightning along the way.
Forward Teeder Wynne was the top scorer in the postseason with 12 goals and 16 assists in 10 games.
2002/2003: Semi-Final Loss
The Stars made it to the final four in their second year but fell to the league-winning Blaze, after defeating Fife Flyers in the Quarter-Finals.
Winger Patric Lochi provided the most points that postseason after scoring 9 goals and creating 8 more in 8 matches.
2003/2004: Preliminary Round Loss
Dundee qualified for the playoffs preliminary round-robin but that was as far as they would go in their third season.
After 10 games, two home and away against each of the other five qualified teams, forwards, Lochi and Jason Shmyr both had 12 points from the 10 matches.
2004/2005: British National League Playoff Champions
Despite finishing fifth in the league that year, the Stars claimed their second playoff championship in four years.
During their playoff run, the Stars had beaten the Flames in the final and Fife in the Semi-Final.
That year, the club’s top point scorer in the playoffs was right winger, Cory Morgan with 19 points (10G, 9A).
2005/2006: Northern League – Final Loss & Scottish National League – Final Loss
After finishing third in the Northern League, the Stars defeated Paisley Pirates in the playoff Semi-Finals and that set up the showpiece event with the Flyers but they could not prevail against their biggest rivals.
Whereas in the SNL, Dundee came second and were also runners up in the playoffs, again to Fife and also defeated Paisley to reach the Final.
2006/2007: Northern League – Final Loss & Scottish National League – Semi-Final Loss
A fourth place finish in the Northern League did not stop the Stars from knocking out the league winner, Fife in the playoffs and reaching another final, this time losing out to Whitley Warriors.
However, in the SNL, Dundee could not move past the Semi-Finals after losing to Solway Sharks and they were also runners up in the league once again.
2007/2008: Northern League – Final Loss & Scottish Premier League – Final Loss
Another runners-up finish for the Stars in the Northern League and they were again the second best in the postseason, after beating the Warriors before falling in the Final to Fife.
Meanwhile, in the club’s only ever season in the SPL, they finished third and defeated the Edinburgh Capitals to reach the playoff final, where they again lost to their arch enemy, Fife.
2008/2009: Semi-Final Loss
After finishing in the fourth spot of the Northern League, the Stars also lost in the first round of the playoffs, as they were eliminated at the final four stage by league winners, Solway.
2009/2010: Final Loss
In their final Northern League campaign, Dundee came in third and finally came out on top of the Flyers again in the playoff Semi-Finals, although the Shark would defeat them in the Final to complete a trophy double.
2010/2011: Quarter-Final Loss
In their inaugural Elite League season, the Stars snuck into the final playoff spot but were eliminated at the first stage, after losing to the league-winning Sheffield Steelers.
Forward, Mark Nebus and defender, Steve Makway both led the team with 3 points from their 2 playoff matches.
2011/2012: Quarter-Final Loss
Dundee again secured the last playoff berth and again lost to that season’s league winners, Belfast Giants, across the two-game aggregate tie.
2012/2013: Did Not Qualify
The Stars missed the playoffs for the first time in the club’s history after finishing ninth and just two points outside the playoff berths.
2013/2014: Quarter-Final Loss
The Stars recorded their best ever finish in the EIHL that season, as they placed third in the standings but they could not continue their good performances in the postseason, as they were knocked out by Braehead Clan at the opening stage.
Russian forward, Nikita Kashirsky recorded the most playoff points that year, with two goals and one assist from two appearances.
2014/2015: Did Not Qualify
Dundee finished bottom of the standings and missed the playoffs by 14 points.
2015/2016: Quarter-Final Loss
A seventh place finish set the Stars up for a last eight tie with Cardiff Devils but after leading in the first game, they failed to secure their place in the Semi-Finals after losing the second leg tie on home ice.
Forward duo, Lou Dickenson and Curtis Leinweber both scored three points across the two playoff matches, the most of any Stars player that season.
2016/2017: Semi-Final Loss
Despite ending the league campaign in seventh place, the Stars made it to the final four for their first ever appearance at the Playoff Finals Weekend. Two victories against the Clan set Dundee up to face the Devils again but again they dell to the Welsh club.
Justin Faryna was the Stars leading point scorer in the playoffs that year, with two goals and three assists in three postseason matches.
2017/2018: Did Not Qualify
The Stars came in 10th of 12 teams, as the expanded Elite League left the Scottish club, seven points outside the playoffs.
2018/2019: Did Not Qualify
In the new 11-team league, Dundee ended the season in 10th again but this time, they just missed out by four points.
2019/2020: Playoffs Cancelled
With only eight games left in the season, COVID-19 ended the Stars playoff hopes this time and even more devastatingly, they were locked in a battle with Manchester Storm and Glasgow Clan for the final two playoff berths, with just two points separating all three teams.
