Dallas Stars To Begin 2012 Training Camp in Boise, Idaho

You might have seen this note on Thursday in a press release about Casino Night that the Dallas Stars will hold training camp in Boise, Idaho. Tonight word comes down that it's official... they'll start 2012 training camp at the home of their ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads.

The Steelheads made the announcement on Saturday night from their home game at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.

"The Dallas Stars are very excited to begin our 2012 Training Camp in Boise," said Stars Assistant General Manager Frank Provenzano, who was in Boise as part of the announcement on Saturday evening. "The Steelheads have been a wonderful partner for us in the ECHL and we look forward to having a productive camp here in Idaho this September."

The Stars had opened their last two training camps in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, home of Brad Richards, and have decided to continue this tradition of getting away from the Texas heat to bond before the season elsewhere.

(The good news for Stars' fans desiring to travel and witness training camp (or bloggers) is that a trip to Boise, Idaho is almost assuredly a more affordable proposition than an international flight to PEI.)

Dallas will open their preseason play with an exhibition game against the Minnesota Wild in Boise on September 25th. Exact dates have yet to be released for the camp, but we assume it will start approximately Friday, the 21st.

Full release after the jump...

The Stars will also host an NHL exhibition game against the Minnesota Wild on September 25, 2012, in Boise, to begin the teams' pre-season play. Specific dates of the training camp will be released at a later date.

"The Dallas Stars are very excited to begin our 2012 Training Camp in Boise," said Stars Assistant General Manager Frank Provenzano, who was in Boise as part of the announcement on Saturday evening. "The Steelheads have been a wonderful partner for us in the ECHL and we look forward to having a productive camp here in Idaho this September."

The Stars have been the Steelheads' NHL affiliate since 2005. The two teams were also affiliated during the 2003-04 season, Idaho's first in the ECHL. A host of players have advanced from Idaho to Dallas, including goaltender Richard Bachman, forward Francis Wathier, and forward Tom Wandell.

Other players assigned to Idaho who have gone on to play in the NHL include: F Aaron Gagnon, F BJ Crombeen, F Greg Rallo, G Dan Ellis, G Matt Climie, F Zenon Konopka, F Richard Clune, and F Warren Peters.

Idaho (ECHL) and Texas (American Hockey League) are the primary development affiliates of the Dallas Stars. The three teams are in their third season of working together.

This will mark the first time an NHL team has held its training camp in the state of Idaho. There was one previous NHL pre-season game, in 1997, when the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings played the first-ever hockey game in the downtown Boise arena now known as CenturyLink Arena.

Dallas has spent the past two Training Camps (2010, 2011) in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Isalnd (PEI). The complete Training Camp and pre-season schedule will be announced at a later date.