Nolan Schaefer (born January 15, 1980) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He last played for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League A (NLA) in 2015.

Nolan Schaefer
Schaefer with the Providence Bruins in 2011
Born (1980-01-15) January 15, 1980 (age 44)
Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for San Jose Sharks
CSKA Moscow
HC Ambrì-Piotta
SC Bern
NHL draft 166th overall, 2000
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 2003–2015

Playing career

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Schaefer began a four-year tenure with Providence College, beginning in 1999–00. He played in 99 games total with Providence and recorded a school record 2,848 saves. He enjoyed his most successful season as a Friar in 2000–01 when he posted 15 wins, leading PC to the NCAA Tournament and was named to the All-American Second Team.[1]

Following his freshman year with Providence, Schaefer was selected by the San Jose Sharks in fifth round (166th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft on June 24, 2000. He followed in his brother Peter Schaefer's footsteps and became the second person from Yellow Grass to be drafted and play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Schaefer signed a contract with San Jose on August 19, 2003, and spent three seasons playing with the Sharks' AHL affiliate Cleveland Barons (The Barons moved to Worcester, Massachusetts and changed the team name to the Sharks in 2006). On August 15, 2005, he was re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent by San Jose.

Schaefer made his first NHL appearance with the Sharks by being called up to replace the injured Vesa Toskala on October 26, 2005.[2] He played 7 games in total that season, recording 5 wins. During that stint, Schaefer was the first Sharks goaltender to earn a win in a shootout, which had been implemented in the NHL, beginning that season in 2005–06.[3] Schaefer subsequently bounced back and forth between San Jose and Cleveland serving as the Sharks' third string goaltender.

On February 27, 2007, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2007 late-round draft pick. On July 3, 2007, Schaefer signed with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent. After two years with the Wild's minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros, Nolan signed for Kontinental Hockey League club HC CSKA Moscow on August 5, 2009, for the 2009–10 season.

Schaefer returned to North America the following season, signing a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins on July 5, 2010.[4] He was placed on waivers by Boston on October 11 to make room for Brian McGrattan. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the AHL's Providence Bruins.

On April 2, 2015, Schaefer signed a two-year contract to return to HC Ambrì-Piotta where he spent three previous seasons before playing as a backup with SC Bern in the 2014–15.[5] Upon the beginning of the campaign, Schaefer sought a release from his contract with Ambri due to family reasons on August 3, 2015.[6]

Personal life

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Schaefer is the younger brother of former NHL player Peter Schaefer, a left winger who played over 500 games in the NHL, split between the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, and the Boston Bruins. Younger sister Falin was a member of the Canadian National Volleyball team.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1999–00 Providence College HE 14 6 5 1 778 42 0 3.24 .904
2000–01 Providence College HE 25 15 8 2 1529 63 3 2.47 .915
2001–02 Providence College HE 35 11 18 5 2062 113 0 3.29 .905
2002–03 Providence College HE 25 13 8 2 1440 71 0 2.96 .909
2003–04 Fresno Falcons ECHL 12 5 5 0 654 34 1 3.12 .910
2003–04 Cleveland Barons AHL 27 14 9 3 1592 62 2 2.34 .925 9 4 5 573 24 0 2.51 .927
2004–05 Cleveland Barons AHL 43 17 23 1 2417 110 3 2.73 .907
2005–06 Cleveland Barons AHL 36 12 21 2 2059 118 2 3.44 .887
2005–06 San Jose Sharks NHL 7 5 1 0 352 11 1 1.87 .920
2006–07 Worcester Sharks AHL 16 5 8 3 921 43 0 2.80 .878
2006–07 Hershey Bears AHL 3 0 3 0 162 10 0 2.70 .897
2006–07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 15 9 5 0 804 30 1 2.24 .914 11 5 6 699 32 0 2.75 .908
2007–08 Houston Aeros AHL 34 19 12 1 1980 68 6 2.06 .924 2 0 2 117 4 0 2.05 .934
2008–09 Houston Aeros AHL 51 26 17 5 2711 114 1 2.52 .903 4 1 1 148 11 0 4.46 .823
2009–10 CSKA Moscow KHL 22 6 10 1 1107 49 1 2.66 .895 1 0 1 44 2 0 2.73 .900
2010–11 Providence Bruins AHL 30 9 16 1 1604 83 0 3.10 .897
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 10 4 4 2 607 24 0 2.37 .915
2011–12 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 24 8 16 0 1459 61 3 2.47 .903
2012–13 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 36 12 22 0 2036 117 3 3.45 .895
2013–14 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 26 12 11 0 1481 52 2 2.10 .938 2 0 2 119 9 0 4.54 .878
2014–15 SC Bern NLA 9 5 3 0 522 19 0 2.19 .923 1 0 0 37 3 0 4.97 .750
AHL totals 265 115 119 15 12646 662 18 2.63 .907 26 10 14 1537 71 0 2.77 .911
NHL totals 7 5 1 0 352 11 1 1.87 .920

Awards and honours

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Award Year
All-Hockey East Second Team 2000–01
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2000–01
AHL Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award 2007–08

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nolan Schaefer And Devin Rask Earn All-America Honors". friars.com. April 5, 2001. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Schaefer Enjoys His First NHL Victory". NHL.com. October 27, 2005. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  3. ^ McKeon, Ross (October 30, 2005). "Sharks win first shootout at Tank / Ekman wins it for weary San Jose". sfgate.com. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "B's sign McIver, Schaefer". Boston Bruins. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  5. ^ "Nolan Schaefer returns to Ambri" (in Italian). HC Ambrì-Piotta. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  6. ^ "Tim Wolf new Goalkeeper" (in German). HC Ambri-Piotta. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
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