The Frisco local and offspring of former Star Vern Fiddler is expected to be a first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. However, his narrative extends beyond his surname. It’s focused on an area that’s turning into a professional pipeline.
Blake Fiddler was raised in the NHL. That occurs when your dad, Vern Fiddler, competed in 14 NHL seasons, with five of those played for the Stars from 2011 to 2016. Blake was not yet 10 years old, and similar to many boys who had access to an NHL locker room, he enjoyed spending time at the Stars’ practice facility in Frisco and near the American Airlines Center. If Blake had a motive to accompany Vern to work, he typically would, observing some of the activity on the ice before heading off to wander and have fun, often with William Horcoff, the child of Vern’s teammate Shawn Horcoff.
Blake recalls those visits to the rink clearly. “I was constantly present at the rink, frequently permitted to be close to my dad and the team.”
Blake’s period as a North Texan didn’t conclude when Vern departed from the Stars to join the New Jersey Devils. The family stayed in the region throughout Vern’s playing career, which concluded in 2017, before relocating to Canada when Blake turned 12. Two years later, the Fiddlers returned to Frisco, where Vern is currently employed in real estate. Blake might have been born in Nashville when Vern was playing for the Predators, and he has dual citizenship due to his father’s origin in Edmonton. However, he competes for the United States, as he identifies primarily as a North Texan.
“It’s the place I grew up in, where I picked up playing hockey,” he states. “Clearly, I take pride in being both [American and Canadian] and could represent either.” “However, my hockey journey actually began in Texas.”
At 17, Blake Fiddler holds the chance to fulfill an NHL aspiration far greater than his father’s, for both his family and his hometown.
While Vern Fiddler fought and scraped through 877 NHL games after not being selected in the draft, advancing from the East Coast Hockey League to become an alternate captain for the Stars, Blake Fiddler is expected to be a first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft this June. While dad stood at 5-foot-11 as a checking forward, Blake measures 6-foot-4 and is a graceful-skating defenseman with offensive instincts.
The younger Fiddler, who is the 20th-ranked prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft as per Elite Prospects, was chosen for the Canadian Hockey League’s top prospects game due to his performance with the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings and was the youngest defenseman asked to join Team USA’s World Junior Championship camp in mid-December. When his name is announced during the draft, he will probably become the highest-drafted homegrown Texan since Seth Jones, an Arlington local and the child of ex-Mavericks forward Popeye Jones, who was picked fourth overall by the Nashville Predators in 2013.
“Vern mentions that Blake is managing expectations, draft rankings, and other aspects that are unfamiliar to him.” “At 17, he experiences pressure that I didn’t feel until I had years of playing professional hockey.”
However, this isn’t just another tale about the son of a former hockey player walking in his father’s path. This narrative details how North Texas, previously a hockey hinterland, is evolving into a source for the NHL.
When the Stars moved to Dallas from Minnesota prior to the 1993-94 season, their main aim was to build a fanbase in a market that had little understanding of hockey. Stars president and CEO Jim Lites had several suggestions on how to achieve that. One of them was straightforward: construct rinks. The greater the number of spaces available for children to engage in play and learn about the sport they observed at Reunion Arena, the more likely they were to be inspired to take up hockey and encourage their parents to become hockey enthusiasts with them.
“Hockey needed to turn into a culture, rather than merely something you observed on television or occasional glimpses,” Lites shared with me last year. “It needed to be something that was integral to people’s lives, not solely during the Stars’ games.” Honestly, without that, we would likely just become a failed Sunbelt franchise.
Think about this: when the Stars came to Dallas, USA Hockey had under 1,000 hockey players of all ages registered in Texas. In the 2023-24 NHL season, the figure increased to 16,498 players, comprising over 7,000 players who were 18 years old or younger.
Although the participant count has consistently increased, the emergence of players attaining elite levels is a more recent occurrence. In addition to Blake competing in the WHL, there are presently eight native Texans participating in the United States Hockey League, the leading junior league in the nation. All eight have pledged to prominent Division I programs, and one of them, 16-year-old J.P. Hurbert from Allen, is a highly monitored candidate for the 2026 NHL Draft.
In contrast to earlier Texans who made it to the NHL, several of these players have been able to develop without leaving their home state. Blake Coleman of the Flames and Stefan Noesen from the Devils both originate from Plano, yet each relocated to Michigan during their teenage years for improved competition and visibility. Although Jones was born in Arlington, he was introduced to hockey and began his early years in the sport in Denver, before relocating back to North Texas at the age of 12.
Blake, conversely, has dedicated nearly his whole life here and established his presence in hockey by participating in the Dallas Stars Elite program as a 14- and 15-year-old. It didn’t prevent him from attracting the interest of the WHL and being selected by the Oil Kings.
“I never would have thought that Blake could remain and play in Texas while still managing to progress,” Vern states. “I understood the game had evolved, but honestly, as a father, I would have assumed that if Blake was talented, he’d need to go elsewhere.”
That’s a delightful sound to Brad Alberts’ ears. The current president and CEO of the Stars, who took over from Lites in 2018, has maintained his predecessor’s legacy of expanding hockey in Texas. The Stars have continued their effort to construct rinks, with nine located across North Texas and a 10th set to open in Northlake next autumn. This is also the reason Frisco and Allen will be the hosts for the IIHF Under-18 World Championships this spring. Blake could potentially be one of the highlights of that event as well, based on whether the Oil Kings’ season has concluded by then.
“I believe our team and our program have turned into an example for teaching teams—not just in non-traditional markets, but truly everywhere—on how to develop and support the growth of hockey,” says Alberts. “What we’ve accomplished over 30 years both on and off the ice is a direct outcome of this being more than just an NHL team aiming to sell tickets.”
It’s a relationship that benefits both parties. The Stars thrive when there are increased chances for high-caliber, high-visibility hockey at the amateur level. And North Texas improves when that ecosystem nurtures someone like Blake Fiddler.
Blake didn’t merely spend his childhood playing hockey in Texas. He was raised as a dedicated Stars supporter, as well. Miro Heiskanen is his preferred player, and he attends numerous Stars games in person when his WHL schedule permits.
Stars captain Jamie Benn has observed Blake’s development, seeing his evolution from the young child playing in the locker room to a reliable offseason training partner in Frisco. “He sort of flourished into a truly great player,” Benn states. “It seemed as though he was in the dressing room one day, and then you’re skating with him the following day.” “It’s quite impressive.”
It’s something Blake admires: the captain of his beloved hockey team treating him as an equal rather than the teenage fan he largely still is. “According to Blake, when he skates with them, especially later in the summer as they prepare for the season, he and Tyler [Seguin] truly allow him to ask questions and exchange ideas.” “You transition from observing them as I once did to having the opportunity to be near them, and it feels like being treated just like any other player on the ice, part of the team.”
Sooner or later, Blake will become more than just another North Texan in the NHL. He has a chance to be the region’s representative leader. Noesen is a skilled worker. Coleman secured two Stanley Cups during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, yet has reached his peak as a reliable supporting player. Jones’ career has been marked by misfortune, reflected in several trades before finally landing in Chicago.
Blake has the potential to be even better: a large, agile defenseman who utilizes his size while also being capable of moving the puck and serving as a reliable option for his partner. It’s the talent of a franchise defender, the type of player who could secure a team’s blue line for ten years. The type of player who serves as the core of a Stanley Cup-winning team.
Should it occur, a city in the NHL will owe its gratitude to North Texas. North Texas is set to welcome its first hockey superstar, with more to follow.
