Listen to 96.5 CKFM’s first in person interview with Peter Schaefer, the new Head Coach of the Olds Grizzlys.
The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 18 years and they will be trying to win the franchise’s sixth National Hockey League championship when their best of seven series with the Panthers gets underway tomorrow in Sunrise, Florida.
Meanwhile, the Friends of the Grizzlys held their 7th annual golf tournament on Friday, June 7th.
Arriving at the Olds Golf Club to make his first appearance in the Town of Olds was the new bench boss of the local Alberta Junior Hockey League club, Peter Schaefer.
The NHL resume for 46 year old from Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan includes 572 regular season games during which he registered 99 goals, 261 points, and 200 penalty minutes. His NHL career included time with the Vancouver Canucks, the Ottawa Senators, and the Boston Bruins. His time with the Ottawa Senators included their appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2007. Schaefer says “A lot of great years in Ottawa. I was fortunate enough to play for John Muckler, who is still one of my most favorite guys in the game. The way he coached and treated us as players. We went to battle for him every night. Obviously going that long in the playoffs, it was a great experience but, you know, at the end of the day if you’re second place, you’re first worst. So, it was real tough to swallow, obviously, and that was the closest I ever got to winning the Stanley Cup. But like I said, it was a great experience and I’ll bring those experiences here to Olds for the boys.” The Anaheim Ducks won the 2007 SCF by beating the Sens four games to one.
Schaefer was asked what kind of pressure and expectations the Oilers players are dealing with now as the nation looks to them to be the first Canadian team to win the Cup in over three decades. He says “All those guys, you know, playing they’ve played since a young age and they’ve been through a lot of different high pressure situations and, obviously, having two of the best players in the world, you know, on their team I’m hoping and cheering for them. Brad Harrison is the trainer for the Oilers. He was my trainer in AAA midget in New York. So, I’m definitely pulling for him and for the whole organization and, obviously, the City of Edmonton.”
He also has a connection to the Florida Panthers with a great friend and former linemate of his in Boston, Shawn Thornton. Thornton joined the Panthers executive staff in 2017 and is currently their Chief Revenue Officer overseeing the club’s revenue-driving departments.
Schaefer is picking the Oilers to beat the Panthers and win the best of seven Stanley Cup Final series in six games.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is in Florida tomorrow at 6pm mountain time, and the Panthers will also host Game 2 on Monday night.
The best of seven series for hockey’s Holy Grail will then shift to Rogers Place in Edmonton for Game 3 next Thursday, and Game 4 on Saturday, June 15th.
