Texas Stars Sign Michigan Tech Defenseman Jack Anderson to Amateur Tryout

Jack Anderson spent three seasons at Lindenwood University producing four goals and 25 points in 90 games, quietly filling a shutdown role with limited offensive responsibility. One transfer to Michigan Tech changed everything, and now the Dallas Stars organization is betting on what they saw in a single breakout senior season.

The Texas Stars signed the 23-year-old defenseman to an amateur tryout agreement on March 18, joining the AHL club for the remainder of the season. Simultaneously, the Dallas Stars announced a two-year entry-level contract for Anderson worth $2.1 million with a cap hit of $1.5 million, set to begin in 2026-27.

The numbers at Michigan Tech were legitimately striking for a player who had never topped two goals or 10 points in any previous college season. Anderson posted 11 goals, 13 assists and 24 points in 39 games for the Huskies, with all three figures representing NCAA career highs. His 11 goals tied for fourth among all NCAA defensemen this season, and his 67 blocked shots led every Michigan Tech skater and ranked 16th nationally. He did all of this while logging over 25 minutes of ice time most nights and serving as an alternate captain, a workload that signals just how central he was to the Huskies' blue line.

The CCHA rewarded him accordingly: Anderson took home Defensive Defenseman of the Year honors, earned a spot on the All-CCHA First Team, and was named to the CCHA All-Academic Team.

At 6-foot-6 and 222 pounds, Anderson slots immediately into the Texas Stars roster as the largest and heaviest defenseman in the building. That fits a deliberate organizational pattern. Dallas drafted 6-foot-7 Lian Bichselin in the first round in 2022 and acquired 6-foot-8 Tyler Myers at this year's trade deadline, so Anderson's frame is less a coincidence than a confirmation of what the front office values on the blue line.

The St. Louis native was never drafted, which partly reflects the slow arc of his development. He came up through the CarShield U-18 program in St. Louis before playing junior hockey in Texas with the NAHL's El Paso Rhinos in 2021-22, totaling 24 points and 136 penalty minutes in 57 games. The physicality was always there. The offensive game was not, at least not until he transferred from Lindenwood into the CCHA and Michigan Tech's system gave him room to carry the puck and produce at even strength.

Dallas will hold Anderson's rights through restricted free agency beginning in 2028 and retain team control until 2030 under the terms of the ELC, according to ProHockeyRumors. Whether he ever pushes for NHL ice time remains an open question, and Steven Ellis of DailyFaceoff was direct in calling him "a long shot to become an NHLer." But as organizational depth on the blue line, a player who can eat minutes, block shots and contribute offensively, Anderson gives Texas exactly the kind of credentialed college free agent addition that rarely costs much and occasionally surprises everyone.

He joins a Texas Stars defensive group that had only four blueliners signed for minor-league roles heading into next season, meaning his presence fills a real organizational need rather than just adding a name to a depth chart.