Coaches & Managers

​Scott White was hired as the first general manager of the Texas Stars Hockey Club of the AHL on November 19, 2008. He was instrumental in building the Texas Stars 2009-10 inaugural season team, which made a run to the 2010 Calder Cup Finals.

White has been with the Dallas Stars organization since 2005, most recently serving as a professional scout and director of minor league operations. He headed up the hockey department for the Iowa Stars, Dallas’ then-primary affiliate, for three seasons, and prior to joining the Stars organization, served as head coach of the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL for four seasons. White guided Columbia to a Kelly Cup Finals appearance in 2003 and the Inferno made the playoffs every year with him at the helm. He finished with a 165-87-36 record (.635) over four seasons with the Inferno.

In Columbia, he was responsible for all the club’s hockey operation activities, including recruiting, scouting, trades and roster moves. White worked as an assistant coach with the Greensboro Monarchs (ECHL) for a season and a half, and was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Michigan Tech University, from 1994-1999.

White played five years of professional hockey from 1989-1994, including three seasons with Greensboro, where he won the 1990 ECHL Championship and earned ECHL Defenseman of the Year and First-Team All-ECHL honors for the 1991-92 season. He signed with the Ottawa Senators in 1992 and played the entire season with the club’s developmental affiliate in New Haven, capturing team MVP honors after scoring 54 points (10 goals, 44 assists) in 80 games. The Quebec native finished his professional career with 235 points (55 goals, 180 assists) in 190 regular season games and 40 points (8 goals, 32 assists) in 41 playoff games.

White resides in Leander with his wife Kathy. They have four children: Emily, Katie, William and Madelyn.

​Willie Desjardins was named the third head coach in Texas Stars history on June 13, 2012. He enters his first AHL season in 2012-13. Dejardins, 55, spent the last two seasons as associate coach for the Dallas Stars, including one season with former Texas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan. Desjardins served as head coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) for eight seasons and also served as general manager of the club from 2005-2010. He won the WHL Championship with Medicine Hat in 2004 and 2007. Desjardins coached the Tigers at the Memorial Cup Tournament in those two seasons and was runner-up at the 2007 Tournament. During his time with Medicine Hat, Desjardins posted a collective 333-182-61 regular season record and a 65-43 record in the playoffs, reaching the postseason in all eight years. He was awarded the Dunc McCallum Memorial trophy as WHL Coach of the Year for the 2005-06 season.

The native of Climax, Saskatchewan, won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championships. Desjardins was named head coach of the Canadian national team for the 2010 World Junior Championships and earned a silver medal. He also served as assistant coach for the Canadian national men’s team in 1998-99 during the 1999 IIHF Wold Championship. Desjardins was head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades during the 1997-98 season, after working as bench boss for the Seibu Bears in Japan from 1994-96. Previously, he served as head coach at the University of Calgary from 1989-1994, leading the Dinosaurs to two Canada West University Athletic Association (CWUAA) championships. He was an assistant coach at the university from 1985-89. He has won National Championships in Asia, Europe and North America.

Desjardins and his wife Rhonda have three children - sons Brayden and Jayce, and daughter Sheehan.

​Doug Lidster joined the Texas Stars as assistant coach on July 6, 2012. He previously served as assistant coach for the Canadian Women’s National Hockey team from 2008-2010, helping guide Team Canada to the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal in Vancouver. Lidster was also an assistant coach for the Women’s Team in 2003-04, helping them win gold at the 2004 IIHF World Women’s Championship.

Lidster, 51, began his coaching career at Parkway West High School in St. Louis and later spent several years coaching minor hockey in New York and British Columbia. He served as an assistant coach with Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League in 2002-03, teaming up with Stars head coach Willie Desjardins, who was the Tigers’ bench boss at the time.

The native of Kamloops, British Columbia, was drafted by the Vancouver in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play sixteen seasons for the Canucks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars, winning two Stanley Cups (1994 –Rangers and 1999 – Stars). He played college hockey for Colorado College, where he was twice named to the WCHA First All-Star Team, was an All-American as a senior (1982-83) and earned a place in the Colorado College Athletics Hall of Fame.

Lidster also represented the Canadian Men’s National Team as both a player and a coach. He played for Team Canada in the 1984 Winter Olympics and three IIHF World Championships. He served as a player/assistant coach for Team Canada in 1998-99 and an assistant coach in 2003.

Lidster and his wife Joanne have three children, Ryan, Brianna and Colin.

​DJ Amadio begins his third season in the Dallas Stars organization as the Athletic Trainer for the Texas Stars.

Amadio began working in professional hockey in 2001 with the Flint Generals of the UHL. He spent three years in the ECHL with the Greensboro Generals and the Texas Wildcatters before signing in 2005 with the Calgary Flames farm team, the Omaha Knights. Amadio worked in Omaha for two seasons (2005-07) and moved with the Flames top farm team in 2007 to Quad City, Ill. The team spent two years in Quad City from 2007-09 before relocating again in the summer of 2009. Calgary moved its AHL franchise to Abbotsford, BC, in 2009 and Amadio spent the 2009-10 season with the Abbotsford Heat.

Amadio is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) with a Bachelors of Exercise and Sport Science in Athletic Training from the University of Florida. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and has been a National Registered Emergency Medical Technician. Amadio studied Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He also was schooled at the Institute of Therapeutic Massage and Wellness, holding a Massage Certification through the NCBTMB.

DJ resides in Leander with his wife Melissa; they have three daughters: Emily, Myah and Brielle. 

​Brian Garcia enters his fourth season as the head equipment manager for the Texas Stars and his 12th season in professional hockey.

Prior to joining the Texas Stars, he spent the four years with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers from 2005-09. The ECHL selected Garcia to work the 2009 All-Star Game in Reading, Pa. The Covina, Calif., native worked four seasons (2001-2005) with the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL) as an assistant equipment manager prior to moving to Las Vegas.

Garcia resides in Austin.

​Jorge Lopez joins the Stars in 2012-12 for his first season as the team’s assistant equipment manager and his fifth year in professional hockey.

Prior to joining the Stars Lopez, 23, served as the head equipment manager for the Laredo Bucks of the CHL in 2011-12 and held the same title with the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL during the 2010-11 season. The Laredo, Texas native’s spent his first two years in pro hockey (2008-2010) as the assistant equipment manager for his hometown Bucks (CHL).

Jorge resides in Cedar Park with his wife Jasmine and their dog Madison.