This Canadian physiotherapist won a Stanley Cup in 2006 тАФ this year his son helped Denver win the NBA title
A father and son with Saskatchewan roots love to help athletes achieve their goals тАФ and they’re really good at it. Both men have helped high-level athletes bring home hardware┬аand win championships.┬а
Peter Friesen helped the Carolina Hurricanes claim┬аthe Stanley Cup in 2006, working with the team as a physiotherapist and strength coach.┬аHe was recently inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of┬аPrince Albert, Sask.┬а
His son Jack, who was born in Saskatoon, is a physiotherapist for the┬аDenver Nuggets. The basketball team won the 2023 NBA championship in June.┬а
“Seeing my son going on to a career like mine and winning the world championship┬аin basketball, it’s a very unique thing,” Peter said.┬а
Jack said hanging out with his dad at the rink and in training rooms inspired him to become a sports physiotherapist.
“I saw the enthusiasm┬аand really the fun he was having at work, and he always preached that if you find what you love┬аyou will never work a day in your life,” Jack said. “He really showed that this is a great career path.”┬а
Their shared love of supporting athletes┬аhas┬аled to a special bond between the two.┬а
Peter said┬аhis son┬аshowed a knack for sports medicine at a young age. Peter can’t forget when his son helped walk Doug Weight, a centre┬аfor the┬аCarolina Hurricanes, off the ice after the player was hit hard┬аduring the Stanley Cup finals┬аin 2006.┬а
His son was still in high school at that time and Peter was the physiotherapist for the team. The Hurricanes┬аwent on to win the Stanley Cup.┬а
Physiotherapy┬аlegacy began in Prince Albert
Despite working with a┬аteam that won the┬аStanley Cup,┬аPeter wasn’t into hockey growing up. His introduction to the sport came when a┬аposition opened up with the Prince Albert Raiders, a┬аjunior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League.
He won back-to-back national championships with the squad.
“My passion drove me. I loved being around hard-working athletes and in Prince Albert we had the hardest-working athletes,” Peter said.
Peter went on to work┬аwith several award-winning teams. He helped athletes secure multiple national championships in various sports at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta. He saw┬аfive gold medals with Team Canada and Team USA at the International Ice Hockey Federation world championships.
And there was the┬аStanley Cup.
Inducted into the sports hall of fame
Peter never imagined he would have the opportunity to support such high-achieving teams.┬аHe was inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in May.┬а
“Working for the Raiders set the standard for what I did for the rest of my career,” Pete said. “I was extremely grateful to get that honour. The people I looked up to at the start of my career were there and that was extremely exciting.”
Peter still┬аpractices physiotherapy and he lectures at several universities in the States.┬а
He’s also watching his son┬аJack, 32, make his own┬аmark as a sports physiotherapist.┬а
Like father, like son
In addition to winning an NBA┬аchampionship┬аwith Denver, Jack previously worked for a season with the New England Patriots in the NFL. He┬аalso directed long term-rehabilitation at the University of Denver тАФ travelling┬аwith the school’s men’s hockey team to the Frozen Four, which is the NCAA hockey championship.
Jack said┬аone of his career highlights to date was helping Canadian basketball phenom Jamal Murray return to the court after tearing his ACL and missing the 2021-2022 season.
“To see him after we won game five тАФ he was overwhelmed with emotions and I gave him a big hug,” Jack said. “You could feel in that hug what this meant to him and that’s going to stick out for me.”┬а
What also sticks out in Jack’s mind is a moment made possible by his dad. It’s of when he was a teen in 2006. The Hurricanes had won the cup┬аand┬аNHLer Andrew Ladd handed┬аhim the Stanley Cup on the ice.
Peter also holds onto the memory of seeing his young son┬аget a taste of being part of a team that wins big.┬а
“Seeing my son hold the Stanley Cup on the ice still brings a lump to my throat, because what kind of parent has that privilege?” Peter said.┬а
Watch Jamal Murray тАФ who grew up in Kitchener, Ont. тАФ shed tears of joy as he achieves his life-long dream of becoming an NBA champion. He’s only the ninth Canadian to do so.
