Caamano Helping Guide Young Team, Working Back to NHL with Texas Stars

CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Nicholas Caamano is taking things one game at a time.

The Texas Stars forward is playing with an edge to work his way back to the Dallas Stars roster, but in the meantime, helping navigate a youthful team from the bottom of the American Hockey League to their active 6-0-1-0 winning streak.

He is the perfect guy to adapt to both roles: a veteran helping some rookies, and a surefire future NHL player just working on his flaws. For now, that’s just the plan for the 2016 fifth-round draft pick.

“We have a big chunk of rookies this year, and it’s a very tough league,” Caamano told Inside AHL Hockey. “It’s a hard adjustment, but I feel like the guys are getting the hang of it and we’re just rolling now.

“Winning is fun, so the mood is lighter and everyone is having a better time,” he said. “We’re always looking into the next game, we’re not too worried about the past."

It’s a positive outlook for a player on teams without many positives to start the year. Caamano was summoned into action for the Dallas Stars in the early goings of the 2019-20 NHL schedule, and saw his club sink into a 1-7-1 hole to begin the season. He was with the Texas Stars when the club fell in a franchise-record 12 consecutive decisions.

His game has long been forged in some tough situations, such as his junior career that was spent primarily with the doomed Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League in the middle portions of the decade. Fighting through struggles is nothing new for the 21-year-old forward.

“Going through some rough times in my career, I know how to handle it and just focus on what I can do to improve,” Caamano said. “Making sure you’re prepared to play every game is still important.”

It’s no coincidence that the Ancaster, Ontario native has been one of the best players on a team with so much youth. In 14 games in the AHL this season, Caamano has tallied six goals and six assists, pacing the club in points per game (0.86). The second-year pro has, by averages, outperformed his last season’s output, when he scored 12 goals and 12 helpers in 74 games.

Caamano credits his brief taste of the National Hockey League as a large reason for his emergence as a top prospect in the AHL this season. “It helps with your confidence when you get a call-up like that,” Caamano said,”but you just have to keep working on the little things the coaches are preaching. I just continue working hard every day and I know the opportunity is going to come again."

“Nobody likes getting sent down, but things happen, and you can either play with a chip on your shoulder and work harder or you can sulk about it,” he contended.

“I think we’re just playing the game the right way. All lines are buying in, and we’re playing good hockey,” Caamano said, adding,, “And when you’re playing good hockey, you’re gonna come out on the right side.”

Texas looks to win its seventh game in its last eight outings when the Stars host the Manitoba Moose on Friday, December 13th at HEB Center at Cedar Park in Central Texas. Texas faces off against the league-best Tucson Roadrunners at home on Saturday, December 14.

Caamano and the club are maintaining confidence and resolve through an already long campaign, despite a new head coach -- Neil Graham replaces Derek Laxdal in the wake of organizational changes in Dallas -- and some ups and downs with the team.

“We’re a resilient group and I think it has kind of shown here. If you can get down like we had and still get back into things, it says a lot about us.”