Coach Keefes: Belfast Giants and Toronto Maple Leafs

So… what do the Toronto Maple Leafs have in common with my Belfast Giants?

Well our amazing head coach Adam Keefe is the brother of Leafs’ head coach Sheldon,

Both coaches have been amazingly successful in their coaching careers so far.





Adam Keefe

Adored by Belfast fans, Keefer has become Giants legend. It really is true that he is the heartbeat of this team. I was fortunate enough to have been a fan during most of the time when Keefe was captain and I can see that he loves this club. As a Giants fan, I love that Keefer has so much passion for bringing success.

Keefer was successful in his time as a Belfast Giants’ player, winning the league and conference twice (and even the Intu Cup!).

Having been in an assistant-coaching role for the previous two seasons under Derrick Walser, Adam Keefe took over as Giants’ Head Coach in 2017/18, becoming the ninth head coach in Giants history. Upon his appointment as Head Coach, Keefer said that he knew the expectations in Belfast for trophies and it is evident that he expects the boys to compete every night.

It wasn’t long until the Keefe era brought its first piece of silverware to Belfast as in March 2018, the organization lifted its’ second Challenge Cup title, its first since 2009. In the trophy that escaped him as a player, Keefer didn’t let it escape him this time as the Giants beat the Cardiff Devils 6-3 at Ice Arena Wales on March 4^th.

Keefer has been a very successful Giants coach and added the League, Conference and another Challenge Cup title in 2018/19. 2018/19 was an interesting season for the Giants as we battled back from an 11 point gap between us and the Cardiff Devils to take the league title on the last day of season (with much thanks to the Coventry Blaze and an unofficial Giants MVP Ben Lake!).

The 2019 Challenge Cup final saw Adam Keefe lead his team a 2-1 OTW and his second trophy as a Head Coach as Jordan Smotherman scored in OT to give the Giants win their first back-to-back title in club history.

The Giants also made their mark in Europe when they came second in the Continental Cup and claimed a berth in the 2019/20 Champions Hockey League (and they got another one when they won the league).

This year marked Keefe’s ninth as a Giant (6 playing, 3 coaching). He led the Giants to their first win in the CHL against Liberec in their very first CHL game. The fans in the SSE witnessed history as the Giants recorded a 5-4 win.

It’s safe to say we have a great coach.





Sheldon Keefe

Sheldon began his coaching career after early retirement from playing hockey. After 7 years coaching the Pembroke Lumber Jacks where he was a four-time CJHL Champion, Keefe was hired as Head Coach of the Soo Greyhounds mid-season, marking the first of three times Kyle Dubas was involved in the hiring of Sheldon Keefe. In 2015, Dubas brought Keefe to the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate. In his time with the Marlies, Sheldon coached many of the current Leafs players and built himself an excellent reputation with players. Sheldon has many coaching accomplishments including leading the Marlies to a 2017/18 Calder Cup championship.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time until Sheldon would get a call to the NHL, this time as a coach. And, this would be the case as Kyle Dubas helped ensure Sheldon was named the 31^st Maple Leafs coach on November 20^th.

Sheldon has gotten off to a good start with the Leafs. His 15-4-1 start was the best first 20 games by a Leafs coach in franchise history. Within his first 30 games in charge, the Leafs had become one of the best offensive teams in the league. Matthews’ goal total increased, the powerplay improved. Sheldon is doing a pretty good job. When the NHL season paused, the Leafs sat 3^rd in the Atlantic Division.





Players They Have Both Coached

Both Adam and Sheldon are great coaches and have enjoyed success in their respective coaching careers to date. But, what some might not know is that both Adam and Sheldon have coached some of the same players.



Jean Dupuy- Playing for the Belfast Giants in 2019/20, Jean Dupuy was coached by Sheldon Keefe twice in his career- while playing for the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds and later when a member of the Toronto Marlies.

Kyle Baun- When I was in Toronto I was able to pick up a Toronto Marlies puck with the names of the 2017/18 team on the back, the team coached by Sheldon that went on to win the Calder Cup. Baun enjoyed success in Belfast, being part of the League, Cup and Conference-winning side in 2018/19. He was also named to the EIHL second all-star team.

John Kurtz- Kurtz was a member of the Marlies in 2015/16 and joined the Giants for the 2017/18 season where he helped the team to a Challenge Cup title, before retiring from pro-hockey.





Awards

Both coaches have had their fair share of recognition for their efforts. Sheldon was awarded both the CHL’s and OHL’s coach of the year in 2014/15. In 2018/19, Adam was the EIHL coach of the year and was nominated for the European Coach of the Year.



Both Keefes have been hugely successful so far and I can’t wait to see what else they can achieve in their coaching careers.

*as long as it doesn’t come against the St Louis Blues in the case of Sheldon!