From Bruiser to Businessman: Peter Vandermeer’s Hockey Journey
Kris Eberwein & Darryl Dionne, for PHPA.com | March 11th, 2020
The following article was originally published by PHPA.com on October 31, 2012. Portions have been added and updated since its original publication. Vandermeer was recently announced as the 2020 recipient of the PHPA Curt Leichner Distinguished Member Award, the Association’s highest honour.
Following a 15-year career as one of professional hockey’s most feared enforcers, Peter Vandermeer is using his vast experience to give back to the game and mentor young players.
Vandermeer only skated in a handful of NHL games during his career but his long tenure as a professional hockey player gives him a unique insight to the game, which he uses to help promote young players in his native Alberta, Canada.
Vandermeer’s hockey journey took him through 17 different cities across North America. He was best known for his talent of acquiring penalty minutes, but during his career he developed a keen understanding of the business of hockey.
Along with his reputation as a rough and ready player, Vandermeer was also known for his intelligence and his skill around the negotiating table. During his 15-year pro career, he was a Player Representative for the PHPA for 12 years and was elected to serve on the PHPA Executive Committee for six years.
“I helped negotiate three collective bargaining agreements during my time with the PHPA. It was an awesome experience to be able to understand the business side of things,” said Vandermeer.
The NHL lockout is a subject that is on everyone’s mind lately. Vandermeer was involved in a similar labor dispute as a player representative in 2004 and can relate to the difficulty and gravity of the current CBA negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA.
“Things like that are just really difficult. You’ve got to deal with labour laws and unions and try to make everyone happy.”
Vandermeer has recently begun to use insight into the business side of hockey to help develop talented players. The young hockey players around Red Deer, Alberta now benefit from his experience.
“I took a long and winding road to the NHL. I like to use that experience to help some of the players who are coming up right now.”
After retiring at the end of the 2010-11 season Vandermeer decided to return to Alberta where his career began. He mentors young players around the Red Deer area and works with a group of sports agents to help cultivate young talent.
“There’s a lot of great young talent in the Red Deer area. Not just the Rebels either, there’s tons of kids playing some great hockey around here right now.”
Vandermeer is keeping busy these days helping coach two girls teams (Atom and Pee Wee) that have qualified for the Alberta Provincial Championships. He is also the Vice President of the Eckville Minor Hockey Association where he helps monitor all coaches and players while doubling as a skills development coach and power skating instructor for every team within the Association.
He also continues to play, recently finishing his eighth season playing men’s Senior AAA hockey.
There’s no way of getting around it, hockey is big business. Like members of any large industry, players today must develop skill at the negotiating table as well as on the ice. This is a daunting task for any youngster. Fortunately, along with being a big business, hockey is also a love affair for many people like Vandermeer, whose passion for the game allows him to give back to the sport and the community.
Outside of hockey, he is President of Vandermeer Ventures, a family owned business operating for over 50 years which distributes premium, seasoned firewood as well as lumber, sawdust, mulch, and timber throughout Alberta. The company has expanded to include hotshot and freight services locally, inter-provincially, and recently added cross border and inter-state commercial hauling to add to its growing list of services.
In 2017, when the PHPA launched its 50th Anniversary celebration, Vandermeer was selected to serve as one of five Era Representatives (representing the decade 2007 – 2017) at the PHPA’s 50th Annual Meeting where he addressed all Player Representatives on what playing conditions were like during his era as well as his involvement with the PHPA. Three years later, Vandermeer will be back in Orlando at the PHPA meetings, this time addressing Player Reps as the 2020 recipient of the PHPA Curt Leichner Distinguished Member Award, the highest recognition bestowed by the PHPA.
“This is a real honour. I couldn’t believe it when Larry called me to tell me I had been voted to receive this Award,” said Vandermeer. “It’s great to know the contributions I made towards the PHPA and on behalf of the players hasn’t been forgotten. I’m looking forward to getting back to Orlando and telling some stories with the boys.”
