Dallas was awarded the draft, which will be held June 22 and 23 at American Airlines Center, on Saturday. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said their work building a hockey community was a catalyst for that decision.
"I think they've done a fabulous job over the 25 years they've been here," Daly said. "The Stars organization has led the way in turning a non-traditional hockey market into a hockey market. Your involvement in promoting and supporting youth hockey in the greater Dallas area comes from rink initiatives and sponsoring youth hockey teams. It's not only inspiring, but it's a model that all NHL clubs in non-traditional markets aspire to."
RELATED: [Dallas Stars to host NHL Draft for first time]
The announcement was made at the Reunion Lawn Party, which is held at the base of the Reunion Tower. The lawn is the former site of Reunion Arena, where the Stars played from 1993 to 2001 after moving from Minnesota.
"[Pursuing the draft] started about two years ago, and what it took was a really concerted effort by Jason Farris, our chief operating officer," Stars CEO and president Jim Lites said. "Just worked really hard with the League to stay out and get out in front of all the other teams that wanted to host it."
Ticket distribution plans, related events, and other details pertaining to the 2018 draft will be announced at a later date.
"It is a huge deal and hockey fans are so passionate," Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings said. "And they want to come out and have tens of thousands of people at (American Airlines Center). And you see the passion."
Getting the draft is the latest part of an eventful offseason for the Stars, who hired Ken Hitchcock as coach, acquired goalie Ben Bishop and defenseman Marc Methot in trades, and signed free agent forwards Alexander Radulov and Martin Hanzal.
Dallas plans to honor former players throughout the season. The Stars will retire Jere Lehtinen's No. 26 on Nov. 24 and have started a social media push with classic games and highlights.
Dallas will try to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to make them the season after winning the Central Division.
"We're having a pretty great summer after this awful season we had last year. And everything seems to have gone right. Just another string in that event and keeping that momentum," Lites said. "(Stars owner) Tom Gaglardi sent me an email asking me, 'What are the days of the draft? I said, 'It's the Saturday after we win the Stanley Cup.'"
