Peterborough Petes GM Jeff Twohey made the most of his time
in Greater Sudbury in the 80s and it helped him become who he
is today: one of the longest serving and most successful
managers in recent OHL history.
Twohey, born and raised in Lindsay, enrolled in Laurentian
University's sports administration program in 1979.
While he was here, he also served as an amateur scout for
the Petes to help pay for school and also get a foot in the
door of Canadian major junior hockey.
Those early years were tough times, but Twohey never lost
focus of his goal.
"I didn't have a car, so I was hitchhiking and taking buses
to cover the north for Peterborough," said Twohey. "It was
humbling, but rewarding at the same time. I spent four years at
Laurentian and lived to tell about it."
And live he has. After graduating, Twohey immediately joined
the Petes organization, but not in a roll typically suited for
a person with a university degree.
"I just wanted to work with the team," said Twohey. "The
only thing open at the time was the trainer's job. So I took
it. Eventually I moved up to assistant coach and assistant GM,
and then finally GM in 1993. I have literally done it all for
the Petes."
Twohey is proud of the fact he has been entrenched in the
Peterborough franchise for most of his life.
"This was a team I grew up watching," said Twohey. "I have a
lot of passion for not just the Petes, but junior hockey. I
feel lucky everyday I have made a living doing what I love
doing. It takes a toll on my family life, but they're
understanding."
When the Petes were fighting toe-to-toe with the Sudbury
Wolves in the second round of the playoffs, Twohey took the
time to go up to Laurentian to visit his old haunts.
"As an alumni, I am always blown away at the new buildings
and facilities they have at Laurentian...The place is just
developing all the time," said Twohey. "I have a lot of great
memories from Laurentian and it's nice to see the places I used
to hang out. I would recommend living in Sudbury and going to
Laurentian to any young person."
Twohey's character has endeared him to the Petes' franchise.
"Jeff's greatest forte is he's very honourable," said Petes
head coach Dick Todd. "He always wants to do the right thing
for the Petes, hockey and the OHL."
Twohey is pleased with the season Peterborough had
(finishing first in the Eastern Conference with 47 wins and 99
points, which was the highest total in the club's 32 year
history), but will not be truly happy until he wraps his hands
the top prize, the Memorial Cup.
"We missed the playoffs three years ago with a young team, but we stuck with them and they've grown as group," said Twohey. "In the 25 years I have been with the team, this is as good a group as we ever had.
Getting another shot at the Memorial Cup means a lot to me.
I've been to the event three times with the Petes, twice
playing in the final championship game, but never won it. It's
the ultimate goal."
His dream job does come with nightmares. "Trading and
cutting players is terrible," he said. "We made a trade this
season to get Steve Downie from Windsor and we had to move
defenceman Peter Aston. Peter was one of my favourite players
and a great kid. Sitting him down and telling him he was going
to Windsor was difficult. That's something I never want to
lose...The fact we are dealing with kids. I don't ever want to
get to the point where it's easy to trade or cut them."
The Petes are currently in a heated battle with the Barrie Colts to determine who will win the Eastern Conference and move onto the OHL championship.
