Texas Stars defenceman Jack Anderson built a pro career one offer at a time

Jack Anderson's path to the Texas Stars came one offer at a time, and he took each one.

"For me, it was always just one opportunity," Anderson said. "You've got to take advantage of it."

The St. Louis native started on roller skates in the family garage, following his two older sisters into hockey. After playing AAA, including with the St. Louis Blues AAA 12U team, he got one offer from the NAHL's El Paso Rhinos. In 57 games there in 2021-22, he put up 24 points (5 goals, 19 assists) and 136 penalty minutes. That earned him one offer to play NCAA Division I hockey on the inaugural roster at Lindenwood, near his hometown.

He played 90 games as a Lion and collected 25 points over three seasons. Then head coach Bill Muckalt left for Michigan Tech in May, before Anderson's senior year. Anderson entered the transfer portal and followed him.

"He put me on the power play; I took advantage of it," Anderson said.

The result was 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in one season at Michigan Tech, nearly matching his three-year total at Lindenwood. For the first time, he had choices. He picked Dallas, saying the organization's record of developing free agents made it "a no-brainer."

The move also brought him back to Texas, where he once watched a Dallas preseason game in El Paso from the stands. Stars defenceman Ben Gleason played in that game. This season, Gleason is Anderson's roommate on the road.