A Cup of Coffee with the Dallas Stars

Let's talk about the important stuff

Photo Credit: @DallasStars

As Glen Gulutzan and most every coach around the NHL have all been saying, the schedule this season is absurdly compressed. And at no point has that hit home more than this past week, when the Stars played four games in six days from Tuesday to Sunday, with the only non-game days being the Thanksgiving holiday (on which they flew home) and a Saturday off day.

So while I’ve enjoyed the fact that the last novella of words I’ve written for this website have all been postgame stories, it’s time for something different, something a bit less “How did they score that goal?” or “Wyatt Johnston is the First Star of the NHL this Week,” and a bit more “Who are these guys, really?”

(Technical Journalism Terms, I know. Try to keep up.)

So today, I wanted to relay the results of one silly survey of Stars players I’ve been gradually taking over the last few weeks.

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The first thing you need to know here is that I’m a coffee guy.

Ever since my junior year of college, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a cup of fresh coffee, black. Though my tastes and brewing processes¹ have shifted in the [many] years since then, there’s always been something genuinely delightful about taking a break with a warm, aromatic drink that tastes completely different than almost anything else.

The caffeine is nice, sure. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate the routine as much as the drink itself. From grinding the beans to pouring the hot water and even cleaning up afterward and putting everything back in its place, it’s a great way to start a morning, or even to luxuriate in an occasional second cup on a weekend afternoon.

Press box coffee is also a staple during games, though that’s more out of habit than anything else. Drinking warm things in a cold building is always nice. But enough about me.

I knew that a lot of Stars players drink coffee, on account of you always see them holding coffee cups in all of those Players Arrive At Game posts you see on social media around the league, such as this one from a certain 18-year-old rookie on the Islanders:

But as it turns out, not everyone in the Stars’ room relies on coffee. And even those who do aren’t all drinking the same thing.

Head Coach Glen Gulutzan said that when he’s in Canada, he’ll always stop by Tim Hortons for an iced coffee—which may possibly be something all Canadian hockey coaches are legally obligated to say, but I have no reason to doubt.

Until grabbing hold of a third-line center spot in Dallas this season, Justin Hryckowian played in Austin for the Texas Stars after signing with the organization as a college free agent back in March of 2024. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Hryckowian enjoys the Austin-based Chamelon Coffee’s cold brew mixes and tries to keep as much of it on hand as possible.

As for another Texas forward with NHL experience, Arttu Hyry’s response to coffee inquiries was positive, albeit less picky: “Yes. Whatever is free.”

And while cold brew is technically distinct from iced coffee, among a lot of the younger Canadian players, colder coffee of some kind is indeed a go-to option.