Nolan Schaefer

Nolan Schaefer (born January 15, 1980) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He last played for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League A (NLA) in 2015.

Playing career Schaefer began a four-year tenure with Providence College, beginning in 1999–00. He played in 99 games total with Providence and recorded a school record 2,848 saves. He enjoyed his most successful season as a Friar in 2000–01 when he posted 15 wins, leading PC to the NCAA Tournament and was named to the All-American Second Team.

Following his freshman year with Providence, Schaefer was selected by the San Jose Sharks in fifth round (166th overall) of the 2000 NHL entry draft on June 24, 2000. He followed in his brother Peter Schaefer's footsteps and became the second person from Yellow Grass to be drafted and play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Schaefer signed a contract with San Jose on August 19, 2003, and spent three seasons playing with the Sharks' AHL affiliate Cleveland Barons (The Barons moved to Worcester, Massachusetts and changed the team name to the Sharks in 2006). On August 15, 2005, he was re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent by San Jose.

Schaefer made his first NHL appearance with the Sharks by being called up to replace the injured Vesa Toskala on October 26, 2005. He played 7 games in total that season, recording 5 wins. During that stint, Schaefer was the first Sharks goaltender to earn a win in a shootout, which had been implemented in the NHL, beginning that season in 2005–06. Schaefer subsequently bounced back and forth between San Jose and Cleveland serving as the Sharks' third string goaltender.

On February 27, 2007, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2007 late-round draft pick. On July 3, 2007, Schaefer signed with the Minnesota Wild as a free agent. After two years with the Wild's minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros, Nolan signed for Kontinental Hockey League club HC CSKA Moscow on August 5, 2009, for the 2009–10 season.

Schaefer returned to North America the following season, signing a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins on July 5, 2010. He was placed on waivers by Boston on October 11 to make room for Brian McGrattan. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the AHL's Providence Bruins.

On April 2, 2015, Schaefer signed a two-year contract to return to HC Ambrì-Piotta where he spent three previous seasons before playing as a backup with SC Bern in the 2014–15. Upon the beginning of the campaign, Schaefer sought a release from his contract with Ambri due to family reasons on August 3, 2015.

Personal life Schaefer is the younger brother of former NHL player Peter Schaefer, a left winger who played over 500 games in the NHL, split between the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, and the Boston Bruins. Younger sister Falin was a member of the Canadian National Volleyball team.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1999–00 Providence College HE 14 6 5 1 778 42 0 3.24.904 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 Providence College HE 25 15 8 2 1529 63 3 2.47.915 — — — — — — — — 2001–02 Providence College HE 35 11 18 5 2062 113 0 3.29.905 — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Providence College HE 25 13 8 2 1440 71 0 2.96.909 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Fresno Falcons ECHL 12 5 5 0 654 34 1 3.12.910 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Cleveland Barons AHL 27 14 9 3 1592 62 2 2.34.925 9 4 5 573 24 0 2.51.927 2004–05 Cleveland Barons AHL 43 17 23 1 2417 110 3 2.73.907 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 Cleveland Barons AHL 36 12 21 2 2059 118 2 3.44.887 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 San Jose Sharks NHL 7 5 1 0 352 11 1 1.87 .920 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Worcester Sharks AHL 16 5 8 3 921 43 0 2.80 .878 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Hershey Bears AHL 3 0 3 0 162 10 0 2.70 .897 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 15 9 5 0 804 30 1 2.24 .914 11 5 6 699 32 0 2.75.908 2007–08 Houston Aeros AHL 34 19 12 1 1980 68 6 2.06 .924 2 0 2 117 4 0 2.05 .934 2008–09 Houston Aeros AHL 51 26 17 5 2711 114 1 2.52 .903 4 1 1 148 11 0 4.46 .823 2009–10 CSKA Moscow KHL 22 6 10 1 1107 49 1 2.66 .895 1 0 1 44 2 0 2.73 .900 2010–11 Providence Bruins AHL 30 9 16 1 1604 83 0 3.10 .897 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 10 4 4 2 607 24 0 2.37 .915 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 24 8 16 0 1459 61 3 2.47 .903 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 36 12 22 0 2036 117 3 3.45 .895 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 26 12 11 0 1481 52 2 2.10 .938 2 0 2 119 9 0 4.54 .878 2014–15 SC Bern NLA 9 5 3 0 522 19 0 2.19 .923 1 0 0 37 3 0 4.97 .750 AHL totals 265 115 119 15 12646 662 18 2.63 .907 26 10 14 1537 71 0 2.77 .911 NHL totals 7 5 1 0 352 11 1 1.87 .920 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year All-Hockey East Second Team 2000–01 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2000–01 AHL Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award 2007–08