Oilers defenceman Stecher understands Scheifele's pain: ‘Still affects me day to day'

Winnipeg Free Press

23-05-2025

DALLAS – Edmonton Oilers defenceman Troy Stecher felt for bereaved Mark Scheifele when the Winnipeg Jets centre suited up for an NHL playoff game with the knowledge his father had just died.
Stecher's father Peter died of diabetes complications at age 65 in 2020, shortly before the defenceman entered the NHL's summer playoff bubble with the Vancouver Canucks.
Scheifele scored Winnipeg's lone goal in Saturday's Game 6 loss to the Dallas Stars — Edmonton's opponent in the Western Conference final — after learning his father, Brad, had just died at age 68.
'A lot of respect for him,' Stecher said Friday before Game 2 of the conference final.
'Just so much respect for him and the way he went out there. I know it's the playoffs, but there's so much more in life that I think is so important, and for him to get a goal, I'm sure was a huge honour for his dad.
'I'm sure in those 60 minutes he was pretty focused on the task at hand, but I'm sure leading up to the game time and when the buzzer went, his mind switched right back to his dad and his family. I can't imagine how difficult it was afterwards.'
Peter Stecher died on June 21, 2020, on Father's Day.
'That was like the darkest moment of my life really,' Stecher said. 'For a lot of us, our dads were our first coach, our best friends and our biggest supporters. I know for a lot of guys in this room, your first call you make after a game is typically to your dad.
'It's not easy to talk about. It's something that still affects me on a day-to-day basis.'
The Canucks were the last Canadian club eliminated from the COVID-19 playoff bubble in Edmonton in the second round. While Stecher found solace on the ice, there was a lot of time off of it to think and grieve.
'The place you wanted to be was always at the rink,' Stecher said. 'It's where you can kind of turn your mind off.
'It was nice being in the bubble with your teammates, but at the same time, there was so much free time. My mind wandered a lot. I wasn't in a really good mental health space during that time, but I found a way to just kind of go through your day and understand that every day is going to get better.
'The most important thing is just trying to make that individual parent proud with your actions.'
Stecher organized a fundraising pro camp in the summer of 2023 in support of diabetes research. He teamed up with former Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieska to hold another in 2024 for the Canadian Men's Health Foundation.
'We'll definitely do some sort of camp this year to raise more money,' Stecher said.
The 31-year-old from Richmond, B.C., was inserted into Edmonton's lineup during the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights for his playoff debut as an Oiler.
An ankle injury and surgery kept him out of the 2024 post-season when Edmonton reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before falling to the Florida Panthers.
Stecher also sat out this year's first round with an undisclosed injury.
'Stecher has been very solid throughout the regular season,' Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Friday. 'We had confidence that he would play some time during the playoffs, and he would be ready because he is very dependable and ready.
'He plays with urgency. He's one of the smaller guys out on the ice, but he makes up for it with his intensity and the way he checks. He is smaller, but he's not light because he does play physical and he knows how to check and doesn't get bounced off as easily as maybe some other guys.
'His intensity, assertiveness helps with our team.'
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PERRY-BICHSEL: Oilers forward Corey Perry mocked Stars defenceman Lian Bichsel during a final-buzzer scrum after Game 1 when Perry covered his head with both arms to mimic a turtle.
'The incident, it was just a scrum,' Perry said. 'You play this game to win and sometimes you get pissed off and things happen.'
The 40-year-old Perry, whose high-sticking penalty led to a third power-play goal for the Stars in a 6-3 win, is almost twice Bichsel's age at 21.
The Swiss defenceman is a lot bigger, however, at six-foot-seven and 231 pounds.
'Just a scrum. Nothing too serious,' Bichsel said. 'It's playoff time, so everyone is trying to get a piece of each other.'
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GREGORY HAT TRICK?: Jim Nill could be the first to win the NHL's award for general manager of the year three straight seasons after claiming the Jim Gregory Award in 2023 and 2024.
The 67-year-old from Hanna, Alta., is a finalist for the award a record fifth time and is up against Winnipeg's Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito of the Florida Panthers this year.
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Nill's string of recognitions coincides with the Stars reaching the Western Conference final for a third straight year.
'I got here three years ago and every year we've been in a spot at the deadline where he's gone out and traded assets to give us a chance to win,' Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said Friday.
'I give him all the credit in the world for taking the swings he's taken over the last three years that I've been here.'
Nill added centre Mikael Granlund, defenceman Cody Ceci and winger Mikko Rantanen at the March 7 trade deadline. Rantanen led playoff scorers with nine goals and 11 assists in 14 games heading into Friday's Game 2.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025.