Dallas Stars Recall Trey Taylor

The Dallas Stars announced today that defenseman Trey Taylor has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

The Stars created an open spot on their 23-man active roster when they reassigned forward Dylan Hryckowian back to the AHL yesterday. They’ve now filled that spot with Taylor, bringing Dallas back up to a full 23 players on their active roster.

Dallas’ decision to recall Taylor puts the 24-year-old in a position to make his NHL debut, perhaps as soon as tonight, when the Stars take on the Montreal Canadiens.

The Stars’ incumbent third-pairing left-shot defenseman is veteran Kyle Capobianco, but Capobianco is set to miss at least a week after suffering a lower-body injury in a loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Taylor has a similar physical profile to Capobianco and is also a left-handed blueliner, giving him a chance to be a relatively seamless fit to occupy the veteran’s vacated role while he recovers.

Taylor, 24, has been a standout defenseman at the AHL level and a genuine success story for the team’s scouting staff. Late in the 2024-25 season, Dallas signed Taylor as an undrafted NCAA free agent after the defenseman elected to conclude his three-year collegiate career at Clarkson University. Taylor had a stellar junior campaign, scoring 29 points in 39 games, a breakout performance that earned him an entry-level contract.

After signing his ELC, Taylor made his pro debut with AHL Texas, and ended up playing in 14 playoff games for the team as they made a run to the Western Conference Final.

2025-26 was Taylor’s full rookie season in the AHL, and he impressed, stepping right into a top-four role while scoring 26 points in 70 games. So far this season, Taylor has three points in eight games while playing a key role in the team’s top four. It’s now clear that he’s played his way into NHL consideration, something that has been confirmed by today’s recall.

For many reasons, this is a crucial season for Taylor to prove himself as a prospect with a legitimate NHL future. His entry-level deal expires this summer, and he’ll become an RFA with arbitration rights.

The more NHL games Taylor can play in, the more likely it is that he’ll avoid needing to take much of a pay cut in terms of AHL compensation on his next contract. With a signing bonus of $97.5K and an AHL salary of $85K, Taylor is set to take home a base compensation of $182.5K. Texas has only one non-ELC blueliner set to make more than that this season: veteran Kyle Burroughs, who has a $475K guarantee on his one-year, two-way contract.

While Taylor is unlikely to earn that much on his next deal, he can maximize the guarantee he is able to receive by proving he can hold his own at the NHL level.