The Boys Of Summer - Players & Coaches Plans For The Off Season

As the championship celebrations wind down and the players head for home thought you might enjoy hearing about their summer plans. As fun and exciting it is to win the Presidents' Cup it comes with the realization that the makeup of the team will be vastly different next year and many of these players will not return which has a sad component to it, but that is a story for another day.

Thanks to all of the players who shared their plans with me:


Jamie Schaafsma - We will head back home to Chatham, Ontario as we bought a home their two summers ago. It is close to my parents and Nicole's parents so lots of time for our two little ones to spend time with grandparents. My brother has a security business installing security alarms and cameras and I will help him. The group home for foster kids where I have worked part time for five summers closed in February. I have a six week fire fighting course I will be taking through the Professional Hockey Player's Association (PHPA) along with Bryan Pitton. We are doing some of the course long distance but then we will go to Mississauga for six weeks in mid June to a training facility where we will do all of the hands on training. Other than that I will be spending time with the kids as Nicole will be working at the hospital. We usually get a cabin with some friends for a week in the summer and hopefully we will be able to do that again. I will take a week or two off and then start training again. I will do some skating with some other professionals in the area and play some shinny hockey. I will play some softball (shortstop, pitcher, outfield) and a little golf as well. We have a family golf tournament each year called the Schaafsma open. I have a brother who works for General Motors who is moving to Singapore for three years so we will spend time with him and his family before they depart as we won't see them for a long time.

Cain Franson - I will go back home (Sicamous, British Columbia) for a couple of weeks and rest up there and see my family and friends. I will then go to Kelowna to live with my brother and train. It is only a 90 minute drive so I will spend the week in Kelowna and then come home for the weekends. I will not get back on the ice until July. My brother and I will play some golf, softball and baseball with friends and family. I am going to take a vacation to Cancun at the end of June. As for my plans for next year I am undecided if I will play pro hockey or go to college. I will see how things go this summer.

Phil Fox - I will be heading home to Stillwater, Minnesota and will live with my brother. I will work at the same high school hockey camp I have worked at for several years and will also work at a training facility. I will play a lot of golf and softball. I am not sure if I will play next year or start my coaching career as it all depends on what opportunities present themselves. I will be going to Washington DC to visit my sister in August. I play in an eight team men's hockey league that is pretty competitive and it is easy to find pick up hockey games as well. I will spend some time with Pearl (dog) who I don't see during the hockey season.

Jarret Lukin - I will head home to Calgary for a bit but am not sure where I will be working. I may go to Ft. McMurray (center of Canada'a oil sands production) to work for a while. I will get a trainer like I have done in the past. I will see Colton Yellow Horn as we play in a four on four tournament at the end of this month. We are called the "Toe Dragons" and we won the tournament last year. Aaron Dell also played with us. I will play some golf as my dad loves to play golf. I will also spend some time with my nephew who is three now and at that fun age. He is just starting to skate so I am sure we will spend some time on the ice together. I will turn into a cowboy for ten days when the Calgary Stampede takes place in July.

Trevor Hendrikx - I will be heading to California to spend some time with my girlfriend (Cassi) and then head home to Ottawa, Ontario for a month or two to work at some hockey schools and help out my parents who have a flower nursery. No specific vacation plans but I definitely need one. We will probably take a beach vacation sometime this summer. I am not a golfer but enjoy fishing as does Cassi so I go fishing as often as possible whether it is ocean fishing in California or lakes in Ontario.

Tyler Ludwig - I will take a couple of weeks to let the body heal and spend time with the family. Our annual family vacation to Wisconsin will be later than normal this year because Trevor just had a baby and we need to wait until she is a little older and my younger brother (CJ) has signed a contract with Oklahoma City and he has to be in Edmonton for a bit of rehab for an injury he had at college this year and then he will be at training camp with Edmonton in July. We will have our summer hockey team again (we won last year) and hopefully will play in a softball league as well. I hope to get in a few rounds of golf before it gets too hot outside. I will be working full time again this year for Mark Miller like I did last year.

Greger Hanson - I will be headed to North Carolina to be with my wife (Andrea) who is attending law school. She will be doing an internship this summer and I am hoping to get an internship as well. I will be in North Carolina for most of the summer and hopefully will be able to go home to Sweden to see my family sometime in August. Since I have been more injured this year than in the past I will take off two or three weeks before I start training. My off season training is more of a track and field style training and I will stay off  of the ice until late August.

Trevor Ludwig - I will play hockey and softball with my brother and some friends this summer. I will still be rehabbing for the next month or two using putty and balls to keep strengthening my arm. My arm is getting stronger all of the time and I can shoot better every week. The doctor and therapist are surprised and happy with my progress thus far. The biggest difference for us this summer is our daughter, Lynden who was born 4/14/14. We will take our annual family vacation to Wisconsin in August to introduce Lynden to grandparents and other family. 

Garrett Klotz - I am heading to Maui to spend some time with a buddy who works on power lines and got called to a job in Hawaii. He has a house with some other linemen so I am going to spend a couple weeks with him. After Hawaii I will head home to Regina, Saskatchewan where I will work at some hockey camps, train some kids and workout and train myself. I will play hockey during the summer and I am a big outdoors guy so I will spend lots of time at a cabin fishing and hunting. I also do a lot of biking in the summer.

Jonathan Lessard - I will head home to Quebec to spend time with my family and friends and train. I will take a couple of weeks off before I start training. Normally I take longer to rest my body after the season but because we played so long I won't take much time off. I will play a little summer hockey with some friends and will also get on the ice with my trainer. I will play as much golf as possible during the summer. I have no plans for a vacation.

Steven Tarasuk - I will be heading home to Ontario to visit family and friends. Because we have made such a good run to the championship the other guys at home have already started their workout programs so I will only take a week or two off and then get right back at it. I work at some hockey camps to make some money. As for vacations the only thing I have planed is a visit to London, Ontario where I played junior hockey to visit my billet family. I will probably go to Montreal for a few days as well. I try to stay active in the summer whether it is playing hockey, beach volleyball or tennis.

 Ross MacKinnon - I will take some time to recover from the season and then get back on the ice in late June. I need to find a job. Last year I worked at a golf course so I might do that again. In addition to playing a lot of golf I play a lot of tennis as it helps with footwork. My vacation this year is attending the US Open golf tournament which will be played at Pinehurst in North Carolina. I am really looking forward to that.

Jonathan Zion - I will be heading back to Ottawa and will play sports all summer. I won't take any time off from training and will get right into it when I get home. I do a lot of mixed martial arts training in the summer. I am also into yoga and do a lot of bike riding. Ottawa has great biking trails that go through some beautiful areas. We have one of the biggest beach volleyball tournaments in the world each year and I will play in that. I am a big music buff and will go to as many concerts as I can. We have an event called Blues Fest which is ten days long, we have Jazz Fest and also a country music festival. It is the best city to be in if you like music. No vacations planned because I am gone during the hockey season and it is nice to stay home in the summer. I might go to Montreal in June for the Formula One race weekend.

Bryan Pitton - I will be driving to Lodi, California with my wife (Katie) who will be helping out her parents during the summer. I will leave California in mid June to head back to Canada to attend a six week firefighters course with my brother (Jason) and Jamie Schaafsma. It works out great for me as the training facility is in my hometown so all I have to do is wake up and drive fifteen minutes down the road. After the firefighters course I will head back to California to spend time with Katie and then we will come back to Canada as I am the best man in my brothers wedding which is in August. I love to hunt and fish and will do as much of that as possible. I have already missed an annual fishing tournament we have every year and also spring turkey hunting. My brother has already got a turkey. But I much prefer being in Allen winning a championship. I work at a goalie school during the summer which is nine hours a day on the ice so I will do that though it will be different this year with the firefighting course. I play in a softball league with my brother and some buddies but do not play golf. I would rather fish than golf.

Ross Rouleau - We are actually moving to Minnesota to be closer to parents and grandparents. As of right now I don't plan to play next year but that is always subject to change. We will see what the fall brings. I will play some pick up hockey this summer but just for fun. We have no vacations planned other than visiting family.

Kale Kerbashian - I will go home to Thunder Bay for the summer. I  help coach a AAA 15 year old team and really enjoy that. I spend a lot of time with friends and family in the off season. I train with a bunch of other professionals and we also play hockey every week. I am going to enjoy this second championship and then decide what to do for next year. It looks like I will have a couple of good tryout opportunities so we will see what happens.

Alex Lavoie - I will head home to the Montreal area and take a few weeks off to heal up my body. I will then start training at the same gym I have been training at where there are many NHL players and other professionals. Jonathan Lessard and Antoine Roussel train at the same gym. We also will go on the ice at the gym where we train.  I will spend time with my family and also do some fishing which I really enjoy. I have a vacation planned in June with some friends and we are going to visit Cuba.  I will also play a lot of golf with my parents and my friends.

Anthony Maiani - I will be heading home to Shelby Township, Michigan to spend time with my friends and family. I will help out with the family catering business which is very busy this time of year.  Around mid July I will join some friends for our annual trip to Las Vegas. After a week in Vegas I will head over to the University of Denver where I live with and train with some other Denver alums including Tyler Bozak who plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I might go to Phoenix this weekend for a bachelor party and then I have to go to Toronto for a wedding. I actually have three weddings to attend this summer so it will be busy. And as always I will play a lot of golf this summer.

 Spencer Asuchak - I will head home (British Columbia) to work, train, and play a lot of golf. As far as training is concerned this is a weird year as I have never played this long so I don't want to miss too much but I need a little time to heal up after a long season. I will be stacking a lot of cases of beer as my summer job is at the Liquor Warehouse. I love boating and the beach in addition to golfing. The only vacation I have planned so far is to visit my grandparents on Vancouver Island.

Bruce Graham - We will be headed back to our home in the Moncton, New Brunswick area. I have not given a lot of  thought to our summer plans yet. I will take a few weeks off to heal and will then start to train again. I definitely now have the bug to play another year or two and will train with that goal in mind. My side of the family is building a cottage in Nova Scotia right on the ocean (Bay of Fundy) so I will be involved in that. I will also try and play some golf.

Brian McMillin - I will be spending most of the summer in Allen as Wendy started a new job when we returned and so we will stay here. My brother is graduating from high school so we will go back to Minnesota for that in about a week and have a chance to visit with friends and family and hopefully get in some walleye fishing. When we get back from Minnesota I will get back to training at Cooper Fitness and hope to play a lot of golf as well. Will also try and get in some bass fishing before it gets too hot in Texas. Wendy has to go to San Diego for work in August so we will make that a mini vacation.

Daniel Tetrault - I will be giving a lot of skating lessons to kids in Richardson as that is my passion. At the end of the month we will be going to San Diego with Tabayia's parents and brothers to relax and play some golf. The plan is to coach hockey this coming year but things change. I will train like I always have whether it is for hockey or for my health. Whether I play another year is a question mark. I  have waited a long time to taste a championship and once it happened you want to do it again. We will see.

Darryl Bootland - Our summer plans are still up in the air. I have an offer from a hockey school that travels around the US and then a couple things in Dallas so we will see what happens. We will spend time with Sarah's family around Conroe. I will take two or three weeks off before I resume training to let my body heal. I am the player representative for the team so will attend the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA) meeting in Las Vegas in June and we will make a vacation out of that.


Mike Berube - We will be heading home to Edmonton, Alberta and I will work with my brother and dad who own a kitchen cabinet company. I have done this for the last six years. I'll take off a couple of weeks to rest my body.  I will work out with a long time friend.  I do play some summer hockey just for fun with my brothers in law, brother and dad and I play in a charity softball game every summer. I also play a lot of golf. We will take a vacation to Palm Springs later this month with my brother. My brother in law is getting married this summer so that will be fun to attend.


Richard Matvichuk - I spend so much time away from the family during the season it is now my time to give back to the family. They are out of school on May 29th so we will have some fun in the summer. My eighteen year old is graduating this year so we will take some type of beach vacation but nothing is planned yet.

Steve Martinson - We will stay in Allen until school is out and then head to our home in Rockford, Illinois for the summer. We have a home on the river so it is like a vacation all summer. We have a sports court, boats, and ATV's so it is a lot of fun for the family. We might take a trip to the gulf coast the end of the month before we head north. There really is never an off season for a hockey coach as you are recruiting all year around. I keep in touch with lots of players.