Behind the Scenes with the Texas Stars Equipment Managers

The success of a hockey team balances on a three-legged stool: the experiences of the coaches; the skill of the trainers, and the attentiveness of the equipment managers. 

You might think that the equipment managers are only concerned with maintaining and repairing hockey equipment.  That’s part of it, but not nearly enough.  The real job is to manage all the details of the game for the players, both at home and away, so when the player steps on the ice all they think about is the game. 

I spent the day with Charlie Kaser, Texas Stars Equipment Manager, and Noah Maddex, Assistant Equipment Manager, before the start of a recent home series.  Four things struck me: 

1.     It’s a career; 

2.     It has many moving parts; 

3.     It’s an all-consuming life style; and   

4.     Their efforts are greatly appreciated. 

“They’re the best in the organization, the best in the league” in the words of Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham.  


Charlie Kaser, Equipment Manager 

Noah Maddex, Assistant Equipment Manager

I recently spent the day with Charlie Kaser, Equipment Manager for the Texas Stars, and Noah Maddex, Assistant Equipment Manager, as they made ready for a home  series.  The Texas Stars are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.  

Charlie joined the Stars in the 2023-24 season after spending 13 years with the Grand Rapid Griffins, starting as a Game Day Helper and then as the Assistant Equipment Manager for five years.  Charlie replaced Nick Lazor when he moved up to the Dallas Stars to be an Assistant Equipment Manager.  Nick’s career started as Intern Assistant Equipment Manager in 2011.  Both Charlie and Nick hope to (plan on) becoming NHL Equipment Managers. 

Charlie learned his craft under the tutelage of the Griffins’ Brad Thompson.  Thompson has been the Griffins’ equipment manager for a quarter century and has sent many of his protégé onto that role in the AHL and NHL. 

It’s fair to say you don’t just jump into the role of an equipment manager in professional hockey. 

Compared to Charlie and Nick, Noah is in the earlier stages of his career, being the team’s Assistant Equipment Manager for the past three years, and a Game Day Helper for five years before that. 


Texas Stars Dressing Room before a morning skate.  

The first thing you notice when you step into the Stars locker room is the music.  Spotify is played, loudly, through out.  Coach Graham said he likes “anything with a pulse,” with his favorites including rock, 80’s hits, country, Metallica, AC/DC and “anything that inserts a vibe.”  The Beatles were playing loudly the day I was there. 

The second thing you notice is the Dressing Room.  “Meticulous” is the only word that comes close to describing the room.   Each player has a stall, defensemen stalls positioned along one wall, and forwards alone the other.  The team captain, the goaltenders, and few other players are positioned along a third. 

Each stall is precisely laid out:  shin pads and helmet on the top shelve; elbow pads and gloves on the next; toiletries on the next; shoulder pads, pants, and jerseys on the next; and skates at the foot of the stall.  Special care is taken in the folding and hanging of the jerseys. 

Preparation of the Dressing Room includes minor details like laying out the day’s crossword puzzle for several of the players.  


Noah Maddex prepares the Dressing Room for a game. 

Crossword puzzle in the stall of the Dressing Room.  

“I won’t say I’m OCD, but a lot of the things I do are OCD-ish,” said Noah about the Dressing Room.   

The Dressing Room is one of two changing rooms; the second is called the Dry Stall.   The players change from their street clothes into compression undergarments, athletic cup, and socks.  The then move to the Dressing Room and don their protective equipment and either the game or practice jerseys.  The order is reversed at the end of the game or practice. The Dry Stall is adjacent to the shower. 

All the details of the Dressing Room, the Dry Stall and the shower are handled by the Equipment Managers. The players arrive (nicely) dressed in street clothes and leave the same way.  Charlie and Noah take care of everything in between. 


Hockey sticks stored in locker room.  

Equipment stored in the locker room.  

The back of the locker room looks like a sporting goods store, with Charlie and Noah running the store.  It is mindfully packed with sticks, pants, shoulder pads, knee pads, helmets, jerseys, visors, and socks.  There is enough equipment to refit each player twice. Noah is responsible for checking the inventory while Charlie does the ordering. 

Much of the equipment is customized with the Equipment Managers insuring that the gear meets the player’s standards. 

Sticks are unique to each player and fine-tuned by way of blade heigh, blade style, grip, texture,  and shaft flex.  Players go through 20 to 24 sticks a season, replacing ones that lose their feel or when they break.  


Charlie Kaser sharpening steel (skate blades).  

Each player has their own skate profile.  A profile refers to the amount of blade (referred to as the steel) in contact with the ice.  Defenders may have a different profiles because they skate backwards more. More is taken off the front of the steel to pitch the skate forward, or more taken off the back to sit the skate backward. The difference is measured in millimeters.  Skates are checked after every skate and the steel is replaced and sharpened.  

Goalie steel is very different when compared to skater steel. There many variations of how goalies want their steel prepared, one of them being the height of each edge on a single blade.  One of the most uncommon requests, that Charlie has received twice in his career, is to have the inside edge be 5mm (about 1/4th of an inch) higher than the outside edge.

Players have their choice of three brands of helmets and six different types of visors.  Jerseys, gloves, pants, and sticks must be from CCM, per the league; non-CCM helmets must have logos taped over. 


Noah Maddex replace helmet visor.  

Palm of hockey gloves before and after repair.  

Covers (socks) and visors are the biggest items for repairs.  Other routine maintenance includes repairing holes to palms of gloves.  Shoulder pads will get repaired when torn, usually a result from a fight. 

Game days for Charlie and Noah start before 7am, making ready for the morning skate from 10 to 11am. Players usually leave by 1pm, allowing time for laundry and preparing for the evening game.  Players return around 3:30 to 4:00 pm.  The Equipment Manager’s day ends around 11:30 pm. 

“We’re big coffee drinkers here,” Noah said.  “We have the energy drinks, too.” 

Laundry requires an inordinate amount of attention, requiring two industrial washers and dryers.  Noah, and the Game Day Helpers, will launder the shower towels, jerseys, socks, and gitch bags (mesh bags containing compression undergarments, shorts, socks, t-shirts, and athletic cup) after each practice and game.  They’ll also do the laundry for the visiting teams.    


Noah Maddex removing gitch bags from dryer.  

The days are even longer at the end of a series because the home team is responsible for transporting the visitor’s equipment to the airport.  The equipment van, driven by Noah, must leave the H-E-B Center around 5am to arrive at the airport by 6am for a 9am departing flight. 

Noah has been known to sleep on the training table to get a little extra sleep between the end of the game and the trip to the airport. 

The Stars, when they travel, carry about 75 duffels bags of equipment.  “We bring a lot.”  Laces, sharpening unit, skates, practice jerseys and socks, game jerseys and socks, extra sticks, pants, gloves, and helmets are all packed for travel.  The responsibility of packing, transporting, and unpacking fall on Charlie and Noah. 

 “We don’t have many bad days,” said Noah, knocking on wood.  But when they do, it’s usually associated with flight delays or cancellations, creating uncertainly around the arrival of their equipment.   

The job is much easier on the road.  "Days are a lot shorter:  there’s no laundry,”  said Noah.  


Noah Maddex prepares the Dressing Room for a game.  

On non-game days at home Charlie and Noah arrive at 7am and leave around mid-afternoon.  Noah likes to set up for the next day, performing tasks like setting out shower towels, and preparing the Dressing Room. 

Charlie and Noah usually work seven days a week for 65 to 80 hours during the season.  The schedule can be demanding on the personal life.  “You definitely miss a lot.  Fridays and Saturdays are completely gone. I’ve missed numerous weddings. It’s the one thing you just have to deal with.” 

But that’s okay, said Noah, “we do it for the love of the game.”  


December 4, 2024

About the Author

Andy Nietupski founded TTL Sport Media in 2015 after a corporate career of business start-ups and turn-arounds.  TTLSports Media helps sports organizations optimize their business results using the latest digital sales and marketing techniques.  TTL Sports Media publishes thousands of pieces of content annually and curates a catalog of more than 180,000 items on behalf of its client’s interests. 

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