Tate and Trey Taylor: Brothers and Defense Partners, in College and Dallas Stars Development Camp

Sometimes the journey is the whole point

Trey Taylor (L) and Tate Taylor (R) receive instructions from Dallas Stars skills coach Stan Tugolukov. Photo Credit: Amanda Spielberger

One of the most noticeable things about development camps is how low the stakes are. Unlike training camp, nobody is trying to beat anyone else for a spot on the roster (yet). And unlike a tournament, players aren’t trying to embed themselves within a watching scout’s memory by making a big play at a key time.

For example, a good portion of Thursday morning was spent doing skating drills like this one, where prospects simply worked on one concept up and down the ice:

Instead, it’s about having everyone together for some Quality Dallas Stars Time™. It’s about getting everyone comfortable and well-informed before giving each player some homework to take back to their respective hockey teams for the year. It’s a special time for prospects at every level of the Stars’ system, many of whom may not be back in Texas again for a year or even longer.

But for two players in particular, the week was a bit extra special. Because Tate and Trey Taylor both got to be at their first Stars development camp together. And the two just so happen to be brothers.

For starters, both brothers are defensemen. Trey, 23, is listed at 6-foot-2 and shoots left. Tate is 21, coming in at 5-foot-11, and shoots right. And because Trey has already signed with Dallas, he has, presumably, the seniority to wear simply his last name, while Tate has to sport the extra “T.” in front. Which is still easier than Clarkson University, where the brothers played together this year—because there are two more Taylors on the college team (no relation to the brothers).

Neither of them will brag about themselves, but you’re probably familiar with Trey already if you followed the Texas Stars this year. Trey was signed by Dallas and assigned to Texas in late March after he finished his junior year at Clarkson University, where he was also the team captain. The smooth-skating defenseman won Defensive Defenseman of the Year honors in the ECAC for two years in a row, before some conversations with Texas Stars GM Scott White (who is also an Assistant GM for Dallas) resulted in Taylor joining the organization in March of this year.

“I felt like Scott White was really honest with me,” Trey said after a game back in April. “He always shot straight with me, which I really appreciated. That’s something I value.”

It’s worth pointing out that the Stars weren’t the only team to have expressed interest in Trey. Sean Shapiro wrote about Trey’s recruitment after he and I talked to Taylor after a game in Grand Rapids back in April. (Check out Sean’s piece from then if you haven’t.)

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If the Stars had their way, Taylor would have been an invitee at last year’s development camp, too. Instead, Taylor had already committed to attend the Philadelphia Flyers development camp in 2024 when he was still unsigned, so he followed through on that.

But White, Rich Peverley, and others kept watching and checking in with him. And in the end, Taylor opted to sign with Dallas. The straight talk he heard from people like White was a big factor in his decision.

“The first thing [White] said to me was, ‘You’re gonna earn everything in this organization that you get.’” Taylor said. “And as someone who’s been a bit of a late bloomer, who’s always had to work for things, that’s what I like to hear.”

Trey may have won awards for being a defensive defenseman, but if his 24 games with Texas are any indication, he’s got some offensive upside, too. He immediately jumped onto Texas’s second power play unit, and an aggressive play against Grand Rapids in the first round resulted in his scoring his first professional goal to tie up the game in the third period.

“When I first started the year, I didn’t think I’d be playing ‘til June,” Taylor said last Thursday. “Just an amazing experience. Felt like I grew a lot as a player and a person while I was there. Just grew up a lot, learned to take care of myself.”

Trey Taylor, AHL goal-scorer.

As a British Columbia native, Trey said the final playoff series for Texas was a bit more meaningful for him, too, given they were playing the Canucks’ AHL affiliate in his home province.

“I even got to play in front of my family and friends in Abbotsford, so that was a really cool experience,” Trey said. “Just the atmosphere [of the playoffs], how much more everything means. I think that’s only gonna help me going forward in my hockey career. Super grateful for that opportunity.”

Another player who hails from British Columbia is Texas Stars captain Curtis McKenzie, who recently announced he’ll be returning to Texas for another season. And as someone who captained his own college team in Clarkson this year before joining Texas, Trey couldn’t say enough about McKenzie’s leadership.