Plano

Plano Native Makes History Playing in Stanley Cup Final

NBCUniversal, Inc.

For a child growing up in North Texas in the 1990’s football and baseball would have seemed the logical sports of choice. But with the arrival of the Dallas Stars, a new sport entered the equation and soon became the obsession of Blake Coleman - then a small child growing up in Plano and now a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“For whatever reason, it was something he loved to do from day one,” said Rusty Coleman, Blake’s father. “He was just mesmerized by it, he would get the paper in the morning and look at the stats from last night’s game before he could even read.”

When the Lightning take the ice against the Stars in Game three of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, Coleman will do so having made history as the first born and raised Texan to play in the NHL’s championship.

“I know he feels special, feels honored to be in that category but when he gets into situations like these it is just all about focus,” said Rusty.

Growing up, Coleman said his son was an avid Stars fan and the rise of the team in North Texas contributed heavily to Blake’s opportunities in the sport. In fact, as fate would have it, Blake even scored his first NHL goal against the Stars when he made his debut with the New Jersey Devils.

“It is a very, very special feeling knowing all the years and all the activities and everything that he went through and some ways we went through because it may never happen again,” said Rusty.

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