By Luke McGinnis
After a disappointing ninth-place finish last season saw the Stars miss the playoffs for the first time since 2023, Dutertre took over behind the bench during the summer and began putting together a promising roster of young and veteran players.
“We want to deliver an entertaining product and have a hard-working, blue-collar team that is going to have effort every night and do things to keep each other accountable,” said Dutertre. “To me, that’s what it’s all about, accountability through ownership.”
“I don’t know where everyone is seeding us, but I think it’s a bit of an underdog opportunity for us to take advantage of. I think it’s important to buy into the culture. The history of the community, too, there’s a lot of working-class grit, and that’s the type of game we need to bring.”
Forward Josh Nelson was the first new signing of the summer, having been coached by Dutertre last season with the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. He is joined by former Oilers teammates Duggie Lagrone and Brodi Stuart, who also made the move to Dundee this summer.
Keaton Jameson, Fife Flyers’ leading scorer last season, makes the move across the Tay Bridge to join the Stars alongside Dundonian-born Ben Brown, who has spent the past two seasons with the Kirkcaldy club.
EIHL veteran Gary Haden brings a consistent scoring threat to the Stars’ forward group, having become familiar to fans during his time with the Glasgow Clan and Manchester Storm. He will be joined by Sebastian Bengtsson, who led the Stars to the playoff semi-final in 2022 and is returning after a number of years in some of the top leagues in Europe.
Travis Ewanyk, who was recently named the 13th captain in franchise history, provides veteran leadership to the Stars’ forward core, while Zack Hoffman and Connor Powell offer a physical presence on the blue line.
Homegrown defenceman Kris Inglis returns for his tenth season as a Star and will be joined by Craig Moore in his fifth consecutive season and eighth overall in Dundee. Dynamic forward Jonathan McBean rounds out the Stars’ homegrown talent, while Jaydn Baxter returns on a two-way contract for a second season.
Dutertre has also recruited a number of promising young talents making the move to the professional ranks after completing their collegiate careers. Evan Brand, Tyson Laventure, Sean Strange and Carl Stankowski head to Tayside from the highly-regarded Canadian USports league, while Matt DeBoer makes the jump from the NCAA.
Finnish talents Maxim Eliseev and Rasmus Nousiainen join the Stars for their second season of professional hockey after arriving from the Alps Hockey League, with Eliseev finishing tied for second in league scoring and Nousiainen finishing tied for second in postseason goals.
Kazakh international Vladislav Pestov will compete for the starting netminder position with Stankowski, while promising Dundonian goaltender Dominick Jaglar returns for his second full season with the Stars.
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