From Huskies to Hurricanes, Friesen made mark as trainer
A water bottle sits atop pretty much every hockey goalie’s net nowadays.
That wasn’t always the case. Peter Friesen — a trainer for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey team and basketball team in the early 1980s before becoming head trainer for all of Huskie Athletics from 1986-1992 — remembers when an H2O bottle was first introduced.
“We thought it was quite valuable to give water to a goaltender during the game,” recalled Friesen, who was a bit of a trailblazer back then in the sports medicine and sports therapy areas.
“We tried to do that and put one on the net but some of the referees thought that was over-thinking.” My, how hockey has changed. “It’s evolved, obviously,” said Friesen. “Everybody knows the importance of water.”
Indeed, back in the 1980s, Friesen was already on the cutting edge as a sports trainer combining elements of physical therapy, injury rehabilitation and equipment managerial duties.
Friesen got his first start behind the hockey bench with the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders under head coach Terry Simpson before being recruited by Dave King and the U of S Huskies. He also spent time with Canada’s national junior hockey program and eventually took a position in Edmonton.
From there, Friesen went on to make his mark in the National Hockey League with the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes.
He won a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006.
As Carolina’s head athletic therapist/strength and conditioning coach, he was responsible for training and dietary standards, rehabilitation programs and treatment of acute injuries.
Friesen, who spent 21 years with the Canes, has a Stanley Cup ring to show for it.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” said Friesen, 60. “When they say it’s the greatest team championship to win, I truly believe it. You see what these guys have to go through with their bodies after an 82-game season and to have to go on to win four series to win a Stanley Cup. It was truly a testament to their fitness and their grit to be able to continue on.”
To this day, Friesen never forgets his hockey roots and his time spent at the U of S, where, he said, trainers were ahead of the game.
“It was tremendous,” said Friesen, a Prince Albert native who resides in Raleigh, N.C., where he’s an instructor at Duke University and a physical therapist and sports trainer for the North Carolina State University Wolf Pack teams.
Friesen also worked with the Saskatoon Blades during the 1980s and the early ’90s.
Friesen counts Simpson, King and Chuck Armstrong among his early mentors. He also has fond memories of working with U of S coaches Brian Towriss, Guy Vetrie and Mark Tennant.
“All of these guys helped me develop as a well-rounded athletic trainer,” said Friesen, who still has family in Prince Albert. “The holistic approach of knowing the sport, knowing the physical demands and off-ice training, prevention of injuries and treatment of injuries, that’s all part of the team. The coaches, doctors and other trainers were just phenomenal to work with.”
While with the U of S hockey team, Friesen was flanked by the likes of Troy Parchman, who went on to become a longtime equipment manager with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Jerry Bellows and Scott Sherman, now Calgarybased physical therapists.
“That team, honestly, had some of the best trainers, physical therapists and equipment managers around,” Friesen said.
“Just a stellar group of guys. Dave King could sell us on that it didn’t matter what sort of environment that you worked in, but the athletes made the program special and I think he was right.”
Friesen is married to former Huskies volleyball player Shelly Stevens, from Harris, and the couple has three children, Jack, Chad and Taylor.