This year, Sportsnet analyst and former player Kevin Bieksa made an appearance to show some support for the initiative and his friend Stecher. Bieksa suggested Stecher's event raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Fund this year, and Stecher was happy to oblige.
Bieksa and Stecher were never teammates on the Canucks, but Bieksa clearly has a high level of respect for him. At the event, Bieksa expressed his admiration for Stecher as a person, and exclaimed that he was now a veteran of the NHL with some surprise.
Stecher is now 30 years old, and with a major hole in the Oilers right side on defence, he may be expected to step into that role at some point this season. Stecher has 494 career games played in the NHL, but only played 7 with the Oilers after being held out after the trade deadline with a cyst injury. With no clear option to start the season, he should be getting the first shot as the second pairing defenceman this year.
POLL | ||
AOUT 29 | 191 ANSWERS Kevin Bieksa teams up with depth Oilers defenceman for a personal cause Do you think Stecher will play top four minutes for the Oilers this year? | ||
Only at first | 46 | 24.1 % |
Yes, he's a good player | 43 | 22.5 % |
No, not at all | 94 | 49.2 % |
See Results | 8 | 4.2 % |
List of polls |