Cameron Hughes Scores First NHL Goal After 456 AHL Games

Colin Blackwell didn't wait for anyone to ask. The moment Filip Gustavsson's gear stopped moving and the puck settled behind him, Blackwell skated straight to the net, retrieved the rubber, and handed it to Cameron Hughes. The crowd at American Airlines Center rose for a standing ovation.

Hughes had just scored his first NHL goal. It took 456 AHL games to get there.

The 29-year-old Edmonton native punched in a rebound of a Blackwell shot five-hole on Gustavsson at 16:16 of the second period on April 9, tying Dallas' game against Minnesota 3-3. The Stars had trailed 3-1 before the comeback took shape; Hughes' tying goal cracked the door open, and Dallas walked through it to win 5-4. Jason Robertson sealed it with the go-ahead at 10:35 of the third, his 42nd goal of the season.

Postgame, Hughes was direct about what the moment meant. "That's a long time coming," he said. "I've always dreamed of scoring my first goal. I told my dad I was going to get him a puck. And scoring in a game that means something, that's a big game, it just makes it even more special."

The path to that puck ran through Providence, Coachella Valley, and Cedar Park. Hughes, a fifth-round pick (165th overall) of the Boston Bruins in 2015 out of the University of Wisconsin, spent the better part of a decade building one of the more productive AHL careers of his generation: 349 points across those 456 games with the Providence Bruins, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Texas Stars. He scored the inaugural goal at Acrisure Arena when the Firebirds opened their building on December 18, 2022, helped Coachella Valley reach the Calder Cup Final in their inaugural 2022-23 season, and was named an Atlantic Division AHL All-Star after 2020-21.

This season with Texas, Hughes was the best playmaker in the entire AHL, leading the league with 50 assists and sharing second place in scoring with 66 points (16G-50A) across all 63 team games. His play earned him his first appearance at the AHL All-Star Classic, held in Rockford in February 2026. When Stars general manager Jim Nill recalled him in late March to cover for injuries to Michael Bunting, Sam Steel, Nathan Bastian, and Roope Hintz, Hughes stepped into a stretched lineup and produced immediately.

Playing alongside Blackwell and Oskar Bäck, his line drew praise from NHL.com's Mike Heika as "diligent in creating chances and energy, and also standing up to the Wild in a game that had much animosity." The contest carried weight beyond the standings: Dallas and Minnesota are set to meet in the Western Conference First Round, making every collision on the ice a potential preview. Kirill Kaprizov scored twice for Minnesota, and the Wild forced Dallas to earn every shift. Miro Heiskanen departed with a lower-body injury in the first period, deepening the Stars' injury concerns heading into the postseason.

Dallas improved to 47-20-12 (106 points) with the win, holding second place in the Central Division. Head coach Glen Gulutzan credited "team toughness" and called it a "character win" in his postgame remarks.

Hughes' NHL debut had come on November 4, 2019, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goals at that level stayed elusive through years of AHL excellence, through a Calder Cup Final appearance, through league-wide recognition as one of its best players. Now he has one, scored in a meaningful game, with the puck already in a teammate's hands before the horn.