OTTAWA (CP) - Peter Schaefer returned from a year of self-imposed exile in Finland and found it wasn't easy to re-integrate with NHL hockey.
But after a rough regular season, the Ottawa Senators' winger has been redeeming himself in the playoffs. "I didn't have a great season, production-wise," said the Yellow Grass, Sask., native, who had only six goals and 17 assists in 75 games this season. "I started to feel a little better at the end of the season and I'm trying to carry that into the playoffs.
"No matter how hard you work, when you miss a year in the best league in the world, it's tough. The guys are bigger, faster, stronger. It took me time to adjust."
Schaefer's Senators went into Tuesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against the New Jersey Devils with a 1-0 series lead.
Schaefer went to Finland when he couldn't agree on a contract with his former club, the Vancouver Canucks.
He returned when Vancouver traded his rights to Ottawa last September for defenceman Sami Salo. He signed a long-term deal that paid him $525,000 US this season.
The Senators, who were short of left-wingers, picked up a player who was a scoring star in junior hockey with Brandon and who had developed into a useful penalty killer and two-way forward in the NHL.
In Ottawa, a team rich in offensive talent, Schaefer's trouble finding the net did not stand out as much as it would on lesser clubs.
"I think he's more worried than I am that he wasn't scoring," said general manager John Muckler. "He contributes in other areas.
"He's very good along the boards and on penalty killing. And his teammates love him."
"He's got good speed and he's reliable defensively," added Senators coach Jacques Martin. "We thought he'd score more in the regular season, but he was a regular all year and he's good on penalty killing."
Martin changes his lines frequently and for the conference final against New Jersey, Schaefer was matched with centre Shaun Van Allen and gifted right-winger Martin Havlat.
Schaefer made the pivotal play on the Senators' overtime goal in the series opener on Saturday, slipping the puck to Van Allen from the blue-line for a textbook give-and-go with Havlat.
"I don't think people notice him a lot but he's a joy to play with," Van Allen said. "He's great in the corners.
"He's very unselfish. He's a great passer and he compliments the line very well."
Schaefer had 16 goals in each of two full seasons with the Canucks before his salary impasse and another 16 in 33 games with Jokerit in Finland last season, when he also played for Canada at the Spengler Cup and the world championships.
"The biggest difference is that there (in Finland), you practice twice a day on non-game days," Schaefer said. "Mostly it's young players practising their individual skills that they take into a couple of games a week.
"Here, you play more games."
Schaefer was held without a point in Ottawa's first five playoff games, then missed two games with a groin injury. Since his return in the second round against Philadelphia, he has been given more ice time and has two goals and two assists.
"I'd like to think that I can put up better numbers than I did this year," he said. "I worked on my defence the first couple of years in the NHL.
"That's the most important thing for young players coming out of junior. But I'll keep working on my offence and hopefully, one day, I'll put up better numbers."
He had played in only three NHL playoff games before joining the Senators and now finds himself in a race for the Stanley Cup.
"I'm excited, but there's no time to sit back and think about how far we've come," he said. "We haven't achieved our goal yet.
"Hopefully, this summer we can sit back and think about what we've done."
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id=9A211292-3FCE-4241-93FF-7D34EA989269
But after a rough regular season, the Ottawa Senators' winger has been redeeming himself in the playoffs. "I didn't have a great season, production-wise," said the Yellow Grass, Sask., native, who had only six goals and 17 assists in 75 games this season. "I started to feel a little better at the end of the season and I'm trying to carry that into the playoffs.
"No matter how hard you work, when you miss a year in the best league in the world, it's tough. The guys are bigger, faster, stronger. It took me time to adjust."
Schaefer's Senators went into Tuesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against the New Jersey Devils with a 1-0 series lead.
Schaefer went to Finland when he couldn't agree on a contract with his former club, the Vancouver Canucks.
He returned when Vancouver traded his rights to Ottawa last September for defenceman Sami Salo. He signed a long-term deal that paid him $525,000 US this season.
The Senators, who were short of left-wingers, picked up a player who was a scoring star in junior hockey with Brandon and who had developed into a useful penalty killer and two-way forward in the NHL.
In Ottawa, a team rich in offensive talent, Schaefer's trouble finding the net did not stand out as much as it would on lesser clubs.
"I think he's more worried than I am that he wasn't scoring," said general manager John Muckler. "He contributes in other areas.
"He's very good along the boards and on penalty killing. And his teammates love him."
"He's got good speed and he's reliable defensively," added Senators coach Jacques Martin. "We thought he'd score more in the regular season, but he was a regular all year and he's good on penalty killing."
Martin changes his lines frequently and for the conference final against New Jersey, Schaefer was matched with centre Shaun Van Allen and gifted right-winger Martin Havlat.
Schaefer made the pivotal play on the Senators' overtime goal in the series opener on Saturday, slipping the puck to Van Allen from the blue-line for a textbook give-and-go with Havlat.
"I don't think people notice him a lot but he's a joy to play with," Van Allen said. "He's great in the corners.
"He's very unselfish. He's a great passer and he compliments the line very well."
Schaefer had 16 goals in each of two full seasons with the Canucks before his salary impasse and another 16 in 33 games with Jokerit in Finland last season, when he also played for Canada at the Spengler Cup and the world championships.
"The biggest difference is that there (in Finland), you practice twice a day on non-game days," Schaefer said. "Mostly it's young players practising their individual skills that they take into a couple of games a week.
"Here, you play more games."
Schaefer was held without a point in Ottawa's first five playoff games, then missed two games with a groin injury. Since his return in the second round against Philadelphia, he has been given more ice time and has two goals and two assists.
"I'd like to think that I can put up better numbers than I did this year," he said. "I worked on my defence the first couple of years in the NHL.
"That's the most important thing for young players coming out of junior. But I'll keep working on my offence and hopefully, one day, I'll put up better numbers."
He had played in only three NHL playoff games before joining the Senators and now finds himself in a race for the Stanley Cup.
"I'm excited, but there's no time to sit back and think about how far we've come," he said. "We haven't achieved our goal yet.
"Hopefully, this summer we can sit back and think about what we've done."
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id=9A211292-3FCE-4241-93FF-7D34EA989269
