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Scott Niedermayer raised his family, won the Stanley Cup and lived the California dream, but he’s a B.C. boy at heart and is thrilled to now call Penticton home.
The four-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Olympic medalist, Norris Trophy winner and NHL Hall of Famer, and his wife Lisa, sold their California home recently, packed their bags and moved to Penticton with three of their four children - their oldest boy Logan, 19, is starting his first year of university in California.
Niedermayer’s son Jackson is pursuing his own NHL dreams as a member of the Penticton Vees and his 14-year-old son Josh is enrolled in the Okanagan Hockey Academy program. His youngest son Luke, 10, will be playing in the Penticton Minor Hockey Association this season.
In a wide-ranging interview with NowMedia, Niedermayer talked about adjusting to life after hockey, moving from California back to B.C., the Vees’ organization and today’s NHL.
Niedermayer spent his youth growing up in Cranbrook and enjoyed a remarkable junior hockey career with the Kamloops Blazers, where he captured two Western Hockey League championships and was named Most Valuable Player when the Blazers won the Memorial Cup in 1992.
Coming back to live in B.C. was something he and his wife had thought a lot about since he retired following the 2010 season.
“The opportunity came about for our two middle sons hockey-wise, so we made the move to Penticton,” he said. “Jackson is hopefully going to play for the Vees this season. He was at the age where the junior hockey opportunity was something he was excited about. In California, there just wasn’t as good an opportunity down there, so we looked to make it happen somewhere here (Canada).
“We heard so many good things about the program here with the Vees. There was also a chance with the academy here, there was a chance for my 14-year-old to continue to play as well. It just made sense in a lot of ways for the whole family and we’re excited about it. It should be fun.”
Jerseys of Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer to join Teemu Selanne in the @AnaheimDucks' rafters
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) July 10, 2018
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The Vees’ incredible history of success definitely played a big role in Jackson committing to the program, he said.
“Everybody likes to have success,” said Niedermayer, who is as humble and modest off the ice as he was talented and fierce on the ice. “To me, the most important part was for him to be part of an organization that goes about things the right way. I guess that leads to success a lot times.”
When he played junior in Kamloops, the organization was first-class and he wants his son to have the same experience with the Vees.
He has spent the past several years acting as an assistant coach on teams his sons played for and admit it’s going to different to step back and let them carve their own paths in hockey.
“This will be the first year where I’m not really involved. I guess it will be a new chapter on how I do handle it,” he said. “I think it will be good for them to have some different voices and hear some different things about the game.”
The fact Jackson will be playing in front of some of the largest crowds and most loyal fans in Canadian junior A hockey at the South Okanagan Events Centre is a big bonus, said Niedermayer.
“As a player, it’s so exciting where you’re in a rink and there’s so much energy there,” he said. “To see the support Penticton has for the team, it’s amazing. It’s not the biggest town around, but people come out and seem to always have a great product to cheer on … I think the kids on the ice really appreciate it.”
Being back in B.C. and in the Okanagan has made the transition from California relatively easy, he said.
“We’re excited about it,” he said. “Penticton is great and the Okanagan is a great place. Cranbrook isn’t that far and I’m pretty fond of that place too. Then there’s the coast. It’s a beautiful province, a great province and we’re going to enjoy being back here for sure.”
Retiring after a remarkable 18-year career in 2010 wasn’t an easy choice and he does have moments when he wonders if he made the right decision, said Niedermayer, one of the smoothest and fastest defenders to ever don blades.
“Going through it (deciding to retire) made me realize just how difficult a decision it really is,” he said. “You don’t get to a point where you’re 100% I’m done playing. You get to that 50% mark well should I play or should I pack it in. It was a tough decision.
“It wasn’t easy, but it felt good at the time I made it. I had enjoyed success and I think that helped me a lot being on all those teams that had success. I didn’t have to stick around searching for that elusive Stanley Cup. I was very fortunate that way.”
Being able to spend much more time at home with his wife and children and help coach them in minor hockey has been very rewarding and enjoyable, he said.
Life in the NHL is very regimented and “we’re told what to do” for hours each day over nine months, he said.
Retirement and having all this free time isn’t an easy transition for many players, he said.
“It’s a big change and I can see where guys at times have a little bit of a struggle with it at times,” he said. “I’ve learned a few things about myself going through it. I’m still relatively young enough that there’s much more in front of me as well.”
When he won his last Stanley Cup in 2007 as a key member of the Anaheim Ducks, Niedermayer admits the NHL featured tough and often violent hockey.
As a finesse player with some of the best wheels in the business, he admits playing in today’s NHL, where speed dominates, would be right up his alley.
“It would be interesting to see where you stack up, especially with guys like Connor McDavid,” he said. “I did play against Sidney Crosby.
“Today’s game is definitely different, but I do wonder how my skill set would match up in the modern game. I think it would have been good, but you never know. It’s interesting to watch. The game has changed. There’s definitely a lot of positive things about it, but you could probably say there are some things guys like myself might not like as much. It’s not nearly as physical as when I played.”
Coaches now train players “to go 100 miles an hour almost non-stop” and this can lead to head injuries and concussions, so it’s crucial for young players to keep their heads up and be aware potential danger lurks everywhere on the ice, he said.
“I think the game overall is fun to watch right now,” he said.
While he played against some of the best players in NHL history, Niedermayer said, not surprisingly, that Mario Lemieux was the toughest and most talented player he ever faced.
“Probably the guys who stands out the most and a guy I faced only early in my career was Mario,” he said. “Just his skill and size were incredible. You felt defenceless really trying to stop him or think about what is this guy going to do with the puck.
“You think you had him figured out and could stop him, but the next thing you know he did something else that must made you shake your head. It was a challenge and it was fun to watch him, but, believe me, it wasn’t fun to play against him.”
Niedermayer says he and his wife will likely make Penticton home for a few years at least.
“I think we’re kind of looking at being here for a bit, with the opportunity for both our boys to play here and just taking it from there,” he said. “Our 14-year-old is just starting high school and we’ll see how things work out for him and if things go well as we expect there won’t be any reason to change anything.”
Niedermayer said he doesn’t wear his Stanley Cup rings out in public very often.
“At certain times, I feel like I should because they are interesting and people like to see them,” he said. “But I almost never wear them. I think my mother has them locked away in a safety deposit box down at the bank.”
Looking back at his career, Niedermayer says he considers himself blessed.
“I was fortunate,” he said. “Throughout my career, I played for many great teams and had great success, so I do feel very lucky.
“I look at other friends and players who had been in the league a long time and never had the opportunity to do it (win the Stanley Cup). I was in New Jersey in my third year and we won it, so I was very fortunate.
“I tried to do my part, but I also learned over the years that hockey is the true definition of a team game.”
Niedermayer and former Penticton Panthers and NHL Hall of Famer Paul Kariya will have their Anaheim Ducks sweaters retired and raised to the rafters at a special ceremony in February and Niedermayer said he's very much looking forward to that.
Winning the Stanley Cup with his brother Rob, who enjoyed a solid NHL career himself with close to 1,200 regular season games, with the Ducks in 2007 might be his most treasured hockey memory, he said.
For more on Scott Niedermayer’s remarkable hockey career, click here.
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