From Texas to the Penguins: A chat with Stefan Noesen

Texas is the land of Friday night lights. Not forechecks and fights.

In the 102-year history of the NHL, only 11 players were born in the Lone Star State.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Stefan Noesen, of Plano in the Dallas suburbs, is one of them.

If Western Pennsylvanians such as John Gibson, Brandon Saad and Sam Lafferty are from the “Mario Lemieux generation,” Noesen is part of a select fraternity from North Texas that can be considered members of the “Mike Modano generation.”

After the North Stars abandoned Minnesota in 1993 to relocate to Dallas where they were rebranded the Stars, the franchise won its only Stanley Cup title in ‘99 with Modano, one of the greatest American-born players in NHL history, leading the way.

That success planted seeds for the sport in an area that isn’t exactly fertile for hockey. Yet six Texas-born players have skated in at least one NHL game this season:

• Noesen

• Blake Coleman, New Jersey Devils

• Caleb Jones, Edmonton Oilers

• Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets

• Tyler Myers, Vancouver Canucks

• Logan O’Conner, Colorado Avalanche

In contrast, only five Pennsylvania-born players have played in an NHL game this season.

Noesen, a former first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators whose career appeared to be on the verge of washing out before cold calling his way to an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, joined Penguins earlier this month when he signed a one-year, two-way contract Dec. 2.

Two nights later, he scored his first goal with the Penguins in a 3-0 home win against the St. Louis Blues.

In six games with the Penguins, he has one goal and is averaging 9:51 of ice time per game.

Last week, he talked about how he made his way from Texas to the NHL.

How did you get into hockey deep in the heart of Texas?

“My dad was from Chicago. So (he was) a big Blackhawks fan growing up. The Stars moved to Texas in (1993), and that was when I was born and (his father) took me to games from early on. Put me on skates once, and I was kind advanced for it. I was a natural on the ice and stuck with it.”

What kind of facilities were there for kids to skate at in Texas?

“You’d be surprised. With the Stars moving there, things kind of exploded. Probably early on, there wasn’t too many. Probably five or six. By the time I was leaving around 14, there was around 10 or 12.”

Other sports, namely football, are so much more popular in Texas. Was it tempting to do what everyone else was doing and abandon hockey?

“Not really. Football, I’m not too big into football. That was kind of the biggest one, obviously, and I didn’t really like that. I played baseball. I was pretty good at baseball. I stopped playing when I moved up to Michigan. … My dad played college ball (at Angelo State). I played basketball until I left, as well.”

You moved to Michigan at the age of 14 to pursue hockey. What all went into that decision?

“In (Tier I) nationals at 12 and under, we played Detroit Compuware, and they were the No. 1 team in the nation. That year, we ended up beating them in the semifinals, a team from Texas. We ended up going to win the national title, the first team from Texas to ever to do that. So that was pretty cool. Then that summer, I got to play with some of those guys that were from the Compuware team. They kind of mentioned about me coming up to play. Didn’t really think anything of it that summer. Then the summer after that, went to play with them again and things kind of started rolling from there. Kind of had everything set up.

“I told my parents, ‘Hey, I’m going up there to play. I’m tired of playing down here.’ The competition wasn’t that great. We had a family adviser at the time, too, that kind of helped us and guided us along the way. We didn’t want to go into the (Western Hockey League) Draft. For whatever reason, we just felt the (Ontario Hockey League) was my cup of tea. We had to move up there that summer to avoid going into that WHL Draft. We told all those teams I wasn’t going to play for them. I was going to go into college. Nobody took me, then we went in the OHL Draft a few years later and got drafted there.”

When did the notion of becoming a professional or even being drafted enter your radar?

“Probably when I got the family adviser. You don’t really think (becoming a professional), you think about junior hockey. You think about college. You think about that kind of stuff. The first year at Plymouth was pretty hard on me. The second year was my draft year, and that’s when I settled in.”

You got drafted by the Senators in 2011 but were part of a blockbuster trade involving forward Bobby Ryan two years later. What was your brief time like in Ottawa and was what is like being part of a major transaction before you even played in the NHL?

“It was during development camp. We kind of heard there was some rumblings going on. We had three first-rounders, and I think two second-rounders as well. We knew probably one of us — we actually talked about it during lunch the day before it happened — it was going to be one of us going. Sure enough, we heard on the radio that Bobby Ryan got traded. I’m driving back to practice, and we’re all waiting to see. We’re all in the same car. One of the (team staffers) started walking towards us. Walked by all the calls. We’re in the very last van. He kind of pointed at me and said, ‘(Senators general manager) Bryan Murray wanted to see you.’ I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m going somewhere.’”

You only played 14 games over three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks due in part to injuries. Was it strictly your health or did something else not click for you in Anaheim?

“My first two years that I was there, I was hurt for 10 months of it. If I wasn’t hurt for those 10 months, who knows where the confidence would be? Who knows where I’d be right now? Who knows any of that stuff? Things happen for a reason. It is what it is. I wouldn’t say things didn’t click there. I got hurt. (Stuff) happened.”

Your greatest success in the NHL came in 2017-18 with the New Jersey Devils on a line with Coleman and Travis Zajac. What clicked for you three?

(Note: Noesen appeared in 72 games that season and scored 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists.)

“We all played the game the same way. The way that we clicked was good. We knew our role going into the game. That’s huge if you know that you’re going out there and you’re playing against this line every single time they’re out there on the ice. You can just get yourself engaged right away focusing on that. You don’t have to think about anything else. Your job is to go out there and do that. For 50 games of the year, we played together. That’s what we did, and we were very successful with that.”

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach and general manager Mike Vellucci signed you to an AHL contract with the organization that eventually led to an NHL contract. Clearly, there’s a deep connection there with him from playing for him with the Plymouth Whalers.

“I first met Mike, he came out to a practice with us out at Compuware (in Michigan). We were in the same building, same rink. Coaches were friends and all that. He came out and did some little drills with us. Doing those little drills is what made him like me and got me drafted, honestly. After that, my first year (with Plymouth), I was a young kid. He was the (general manager). He wanted to get me in line. I had my fair share of issues, and he kind of put me in line. After that, we became super friendly. Today, we can have a normal conversation about life. I see his wife, I see his kids. … It’s more of a like a — I don’t want to say father-son — but it more along the lines of being an uncle.”

You had 22 points in 22 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. You scored in your first game with the NHL Penguins. Why do you think your game meshed well with how the organization plays?

“That’s a good question. I honestly don’t know. I love the way that we’re playing. I love the way they have us. They kind of let us be ourselves in a way while playing in a structure. I did feel at times when I was in (New) Jersey, I wasn’t able to do that. Sometimes, that’s when your confidence kind of goes down. It seems like here, you have a little bit longer of a leash in a sense. Whenever you’re able to do that, you’re able to make plays and you don’t hold your stick as tight. I get to be me.”

You’re one of the few NHL players from Texas. Is that something you’re proud of does that designation get superfluous after a while?

“I’m Texas through and true. My wife and I are building a house back there right now. I haven’t lived there since I was 14. So it’s pretty cool. Big Cowboys fan. Don’t like football, but I like the Cowboys. Tough year. I’m a big fan of everything Texas related, and I’ll eventually probably reside there the rest of my life.”

Follow the Penguins all season long.