As all Hockey Fans know, the Dallas Stars were bounced from the 3rd round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs this past weekend. Last week, their AHL Affiliate was also led out of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. 

The only team in the Dallas Organization left standing is their ECHL team, Idaho Steelheads. 

The Steelheads claimed their spot in the Kelly Cup Finals this past weekend in a game five against Toledo Walleye, Detroit Red Wings ECHL affiliate. 

So what makes the Steelheads so unique? There are several factors, but 2 significant factors are the amount of AHL contracts on the ECHL team and the goaltending pipeline currently on the Steelheads. 

Adam Scheel

Adam was signed to a 2-year ELC with Dallas in April of 2021. The 21/22 season was Scheel’s first pro season with the AHL Affiliate, Texas Stars. He completed the season with a 2.91 Goals Against Average and a .902 Save Percentage throughout 31 games. Scheel turned pro at the end of his college career. He made 12 appearances in the final 17 games of the Texas Stars season. In his final game at college, Scheel made 51 saves against Minnesota Duluth. In that particular game, the longest NCAA tournament, it went 142 minutes with five overtime periods. While at North Dakota, he posted a 1.95 GAA a record at North Dakota. Scheel also came in 6th in school history with a .916 save percentage. After turning pro near the end of the 2020-21 season, he appeared in 12 of the Stars’ final 17 games. In his final college game at North Dakota, Scheel made 51 saves against Minnesota-Duluth in the longest NCAA tournament game ever, which surpassed 142 minutes and five overtimes (3-2 L). He ended his three seasons with a school record 1.95 GAA and ranked sixth in North Dakota history with a .916 SV%. 

During the 22/23 season, Adam played two games with the Texas Stars and 37 contests with the Idaho Steelheads. He posted a 1.97 GAA and a .932 Save Percentage in the regular season with the Steelheads. He has appeared in all 16 playoff games and posted a 2.52 GAA and .915 Save Percentage. 

Scheel earned the following accolades in his career:

• 2021 Mike Richter award
• 2021 NCHC Goaltender of the Year
• 2021 NCHC First All-Star Team
• 2021 and 2020 NCHC Penrose Cup
• 2021 NCHC Tournament Championship
• Scheel appeared in the 2021 NCAA National tournament
• Silver Medal 2017 IIHF and U18 World Championships with Team USA. 

Remi Poirier

Remi Poirier is in his first season within the Dallas organization, and what a season he has had so far. Poirier was drafted in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, 6th round, 185th overall. Before coming to the Dallas system, Poirier played four years with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. Throughout the four seasons with Gatineau, he played in 125 games and averaged a 3.06 GAA and 0.902 Save Percentage over those four seasons. 

During this season, he has played 16 games with the Texas Stars with a 2.74 GAA and .907 Save Percentage. He had a record of 9-5-2 with the Stars in the AHL. In the ECHL, Poirier has appeared in 23 regular season games with a 2.07 GAA and .928 Save Percentage. His record with the Steelheads during the regular season is 19-2-1. 

Poirer has earned the following during his career:

• 3-year ELC with the Dallas Stars in March of 2022
• ECHL Goaltender of the Month December 2022 and January 2023

Matt Murray

Matt Murray is a 25-year-old Goaltender signed by Dallas. He hails from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. 

After playing five seasons with UMass in the NCAA, Matt joined the Dallas organization. Throughout five seasons with UMass, he played in 121 games. He averaged a 2.19 GAA with an average of 0.916 Save Percentage. 

After the UMass season ended in 2021-2022, he came to the Texas Stars. He appeared in 6 games with a 1.68 GAA and a .947 Save Percentage. He also appeared in 2 playoff games for the Stars and had a 1.52 GAA and a .952 save percentage. 

During the 2022-2023 season, Matt suited up for the Texas Stars in 34 games and received a call-up to the Dallas Stars for three games. During the 34-game span of the regular season for the Texas Stars, Murray averaged 2.37 GAA and .911 Save Percentage. His record was 18-10-5. He also made eight playoff appearances before the Texas season ended. He averaged 2.79 GAA and a .909 Save Percentage during playoffs.

Murray has earned the following during his career:

• 1-year ELC with the Dallas Stars in October 2022
• Named to Hockey East Third All-Star Team
• Three consecutive Hockey East Championships in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
• Played for Team Canada in 4 games at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge

Josh Boyko

photo by Samantha Wismer

Coming from Mississauga, Ontario, this is Boyko’s first professional season. It has been quite the ride for him from the very beginning. Boyko spent five years between the pipes for Aurora University while earning his Bachelor’s and Masters’s degree from there. He played in 105 games for Aurora. Over that span of 105 games, Boyko averaged a 2.98 GAA and 0.906 Save Percentage.

During the 2022-2023 season, Boyko has spent most of it bouncing between the ECHL and SPHL, with most time spent in the ECHL. He has played for the Maine Mariners, Kalamazoo Wings, Reading Royals, and most recently, the Idaho Steelheads. During his time in the ECHL, he has an average 2.84 GAA and 2.71 Save percentage. In the SPHL, Josh played for the Peoria Rivermen for three games and two for Macon Mayhem. With the five games in the SPHL, he has averaged a 2.92 GAA and .902 Save Percentage. 

Boyko was picked up in February and brought to the Idaho Steelheads and has been in tandem with Adam Scheel for most of his stay with Idaho. 

Boyko has earned the following during his career:

• Named to the AU and NCHA All-Academic Team in the 2018-2019 season
• Selected for the AHCA All-American West Second-Team Goaltender in the 2019-2020 season
• NCHA All-Conference Honors (19-20)
• AU and NCHA All-Academic Team (19-20)
• AHCA Men’s Hockey Scholars Honors (20-21)
• NCHA All-Academic Team (20-21)
• NCHA All-Conference Honors (21-22)