Stefan Legein, whose promising NHL career was cut short due to issues with anxiety and addiction, has been named the Saint John Sea Dogs’ new assistant coach.
The team announced Legein’s hiring in a news release on Wednesday.
“It is an honour to be given this opportunity with such a great franchise and in a hockey-loving market” said Legein in the release.
“Since I ended my playing career, I have focused my attention on player development and I feel that it is where the organization is right now, it is a perfect fit.”
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Legein was a standout right winger in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), scoring 67 goals and 112 points in 94 games in two seasons with the Mississauga Ice Dogs. He played in the 2007 CHL Top Prospects Game and earned a gold medal as a member of Team Canada in the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Legein was drafted 37th overall in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But personal struggles off the ice caught up to the Oakville native. Legein began self-medicating his anxiety while trying to return to the ice after suffering a broken hand.
He has since kicked his addiction to medications and has focused his energy on player development. Legein was most recently an assistant and video coach with the Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL, and has been a skills coach for a number of elite athletes including working this off-season with NHL forwards Taylor Hall, Jason Spezza, and newly-signed Toronto Maple Leaf centreman John Tavares.
“I have known Stef for many years,” Tavares said in the Sea Dogs’ news release. “We were on the same World Junior team together when we won gold. He works with me on the ice during the off-seasons. He is a great skills coach and he helps me get better every time we’re out there.”
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Sea Dogs head coach Josh Dixon says an “exhaustive” search was conducted for an assistant coach, and Legein is who they decided to turn to.
“With both his professional playing and OHL coaching background, along with his passion for player development, he is an excellent addition to our team,” Dixon stated.
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The Saint John Sea Dogs finished the 2017/18 regular season in the basement of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) standings with a dismal 14-43-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The QMJHL preseason is slated to begin Aug. 19, with the Sea Dogs scheduled to face the Memorial Cup-winning Acadie-Bathurst Titan at home.
–With a file from The Canadain Press
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