Article content

Derek Laxdal insists his club is “just some country boys from Texas” coming wide-eyed to a big hockey city for the Calder Cup final against “Canada’s team,” the Toronto Marlies.

Well, picking up that rural theme, the coach of the Dallas Stars’ farm team might be playin’ possum. You don’t play hockey into June by shooting at wild turkeys and striking oil like Jed Clampett.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or AHL Stars coach Laxdal playing possum ahead of Calder Cup? Back to video

The AHL Western Conference champions led their division in offence and averaged four goals a night through 11 playoff games, a pace just behind the Marlies. Yet Laxdal threw out the term “underdog” a few times in a chat prior to Saturday’s opener at Ricoh Coliseum.

Toronto did win the AHL’s regular season with 22 more points than the Stars, but East does not play West until now, so the element of surprise is with Texas.

“I love my guys,” declared Laxdal, a 1980s Maple Leafs farmhand from Gimli, Man. “They have character and resiliency. We had to get past three great teams: Ontario, Tucson and Rockford to get here. But the Marlies are where they are because it’s well-deserved.”