ALLEN -- Hockey has been warming up to the South.
The Stars moved to Dallas in 1993 and became the first Sun Belt team to win a Stanley Cup in 1999. The Tampa Bay Lightning became the second in 2004. The Allen Americans have won four consecutive minor league championships, two in the Central Hockey League and two in the ECHL.
There are 7,300 kids playing hockey in Dallas this winter, either house or travel. In 2013, a Dallas kid, Seth Jones, became the fourth overall selection of the NHL draft. Two other Dallas products, Chris Brown and Stefan Noesen, have skated in the NHL since then.