Two months shy of my 22nd birthday, I received one of the most important phone calls of my career.
“Are you available to come in and meet with Augie Manfredo,” the voice on the other end of the phone asked. I did not know who/what an Augie was, but I would certainly make sure I was available.
After all, it’s not every day the Dallas Stars come calling.
Following a failed attempt at landing a public relations job with the Stars, I was fortunate enough to get an interview with the club’s business operations team. The aforementioned Augie interviewed me and later hired me to work for him.
A few weeks earlier I was still living in my college town of Abilene, Texas, waiting tables and writing freelance for the Abilene Reporter-News to make ends meet. And now, not only did I have a full-time job, my job was with the hockey team I grew up cheering for.
I will never forget how it felt walking out of the Stars office building that day knowing I would be working for a professional sports team.
I worked in various roles during my years with the Stars and I am proud of the work that was completed and the relationships that were created. I loved working in the sports world, but I missed writing about sports.
So, during one off-season, I began writing again and started a small newsletter that I called “The Roe Report.” I wrote about all of the local Dallas/Fort Worth sports teams and the newsletter was distributed via e-mail, primarily to co-workers. It was a fun project but it faded away after I left the Stars.
That brings us to today. I am in my mid-30s now and – much like years ago with the Stars – I recently realized how much I miss writing. The tipping point for me was attending a Dallas Stars employee reunion last spring. Seeing so many familiar faces and hearing old stories again helped me realize what I wanted to write about.
I have decided to revive my old newsletter, rebrand it around the Dallas Stars, and publish the stories here. We will discuss other Dallas/Fort Worth sports teams on occasion, but the primary focus of this site will be the Stars.
The Roe Report will have a handful of recurring pieces, including a weekly report presented in a similar style that I used years ago. This site will also offer coverage of current storylines at the NHL level, regular reports on the club’s top prospects, coverage of the NHL draft, and other various commentary on the Dallas Stars as the season moves along.
There has never been a better time to follow the Dallas Stars. Mike Heika and Mark Stepneski at DallasStars.com, Sean Shapiro at The Athletic, Taylor Baird and her team at Defending Big D, and the new faces at the Dallas Morning News are currently providing the best, most extensive coverage Stars fans have ever seen.
My goal with The Roe Report is to simply add another layer to their outstanding work by sharing some of my unique perspectives and leveraging the relationships I have from my time working for the hockey club.
I am working on a handful of stories that will be released between now and Opening Night next Thursday. For example, I attended Stars training camp in Boise, Idaho, this year and will have a report from camp on what I saw from some of the younger players in the organization. I will also have a Top 30 Prospects report out next week.
You obviously found your way here so you already know the name and location of The Roe Report. I’ve also revived my Twitter account and will begin posting updates there as we get closer to Opening Night. You can follow along on Twitter @brianproe.
Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to once again serving the Dallas Stars hockey community.
The Roe Report 