Greg Nemisz knew what it takes to win a Memorial Cup, but not necessarily from this perspective.
To his own surprise, the Checkers forward, who was part of a back-to-back Canadian champion Windsor Spitfires team in his junior days, ended up tagging along with the Oshawa Generals as they captured the coveted trophy on May 31. What started as a few text messages with old friends after the conclusion of the AHL season turned into an unofficial coaching role that lasted several weeks.
Nemisz, who stopped well short of calling this his third Memorial Cup, said it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless.
“It was a little bit of déjà vu going through what we went through in Windsor and then experiencing it from the other side as a coach with these guys,” he said. “It was a really cool experience.”
The opportunity arose from Nemisz, who hails from nearby Courtice, Ontario, attending the Generals’ first Ontario Hockey League conference final game with his dad, a 6-1 loss to North Bay that occurred a few weeks after the conclusion of the Checkers’ season. After the game, he exchanged a few messages about the tough loss with Generals head coach D.J. Smith, an assistant on his old Spitfires teams, and current Oshawa assistant Eric Wellwood, a former Windsor teammate who he calls one of his best friends.
The very next day, he was in Smith’s office breaking down video. From there, he would end up serving as an “eye in the sky” during games and helping run practices as the Generals won 12 of their next 14 games to capture the Memorial Cup in Quebec City.
For that, he has his old connections to the Spitfires, whose stacked championship teams included Checkers teammate Justin Shugg and current NHL players Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Cam Fowler and Ryan Ellis, to thank.
“The whole coaching staff in Windsor – they did so much for me in my career,” said Nemisz, a 25-year-old drafted 25th overall by Calgary in 2008. “You can call them any time even if you haven’t talked to them in a while. They’ll give you advice whether it’s hockey or it’s life. It’s just the type of guys they are.”
Nemisz’ work with Oshawa was actually the continuation of some work he was already doing in Charlotte. Having missed most of the season due to a knee injury suffered in early December, he ended up cutting video for head coach Jeff Daniels and assistant coach Geordie Kinnear near the end.
“I was getting a little bored there,” said Nemisz, who is skating lightly now and plans to intensify that soon, of being off the ice for so long. “It helped me for sure.”
While both coaching opportunities may have arisen from circumstances, be it the injury, which Nemisz says is “ahead of schedule” in its recovery and should not be an issue by training camp, or his prior connections, he does find it interesting.
“I never really thought about it too much because I’m still in the moment trying to play as long as I can but it’s definitely something I could see myself doing down the road,” he said.
“I love the game, so whatever happens with me I think I’m always going to try to stay in it. I love coaching because it kind of goes hand-in-hand with playing. It’s just your passion for the game.”
