• Three-time CWUAA champion and two-time CIAU champion.
• Team captain in his final year, named the CIAU MVP and awarded the Wilson Challenge Trophy as the most outstanding male athlete at the U of A (1978).
• Assistant captain of the Canadian team that played at both the 1980 Olympics and the World Championships.
• Played in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks.
• Assistant coach for the Golden Bears and the Edmonton Oilers and head coach of several professional teams in Europe.

The University of Alberta’s Golden Bears hockey program is one of the most outstanding such programs in North America. Program excellence has been built over the last hundred years through outstanding coaching and the superior talent of the young student-athletes who have worn the team’s “Green and Gold” uniforms. One of the most outstanding of these young players is Kevin Primeau. A great skater and a highly motivated athlete as a youth, Kevin attracted attention from scouts of such prestigious hockey dynasties as the University of Wisconsin Badgers, but he was persuaded by Coach Clare Drake to attend the University of Alberta. It was an excellent decision for the Golden Bear hockey program. Kevin joined a talented roster of student athletes and over the four years he played with the Bears (1974-1978) the team won three Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) championships and competed in three Canadian Interuniveristy Athletic Association (CIAU) championships winning two (1974-’75 and 1977-’78) while placing second in 1976-’77. Kevin’s fine play was recognized by coaches and peers and he was named to the Canada West First All-Star team in 1976-’77 and the Second All-Star team in both 1975-’76 and 1977-’78. His final season was a banner year for Primeau. He served as team captain, helped to win the national championship and was named the national tournament’s MVP. Even more significantly, that year Kevin was named the winner of the Wilson Trophy (emblematic of the University of Alberta’s Most Outstanding Male Athlete). In the 91 games Kevin played as a Golden Bear he compiled a scoring record of 45 goals, 45 assists for a total of 90 points. While amassing his many hockey awards, Kevin managed to graduate “With Distinction” from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation.

An amazing record but his career as a hockey player was only just beginning. He was recruited aggressively by Glen Sather to join the Oilers in 1978. Kevin agreed to sign a 10 game amateur contract in order to keep all of his options open. He had a taste of international competition in 1976 when he was selected to play with Canada’s Student National team and had, as a goal, a position on Canada’s Lake Placid Olympic team. He elected to let professional hockey wait and to take his chances on making his nation’s 1980 Olympic team.

Kevin won a berth on Canada’s Olympic squad along with four other Golden Bears. He captained Team Canada during their 1979 pre-Olympic European tour. His leadership skills were again recognized by his coaches and teammates when he was appointed assistant captain of the final group selected to play in both the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and the World Championships. Following the Olympics Kevin signed a contract with the Vancouver Canucks and spent the 1980-’81 season between Vancouver and their Dallas farm team. In 1983 he signed with the Winnipeg Jets but unfortunately his playing career came to an end early that season as a result of a neck injury suffered while playing with the Sherbrooke Jets. It was natural that his passion for the game would see him turn to coaching in this sport. He had already enjoyed a year as a player/coach in the Swiss professional league and, inspired by his mentor and friend, Clare Drake, he decided to make coaching a career. He joined Coach Drake and the Golden Bears in 1985-’86 and enjoyed his third national title as a Golden Bear, this time as an assistant coach.

His new career continued in Switzerland where he had won a Swiss championship as a player in Davos (1979). After 3 years in Europe Kevin was again recruited by Sather and the Edmonton Oilers, this time as a coach. He joined Ted Green’s coaching staff as an assistant and spent the next 6 years with the Oilers. The team won the Smythe Division championship in his first year and, in his final year with the Oilers, they were the underdog winners over first place Dallas Stars in one of the most exciting series in the teams’ fabled history. His previous European successes and his Oiler experiences brought new offers from, and exciting opportunities with, some of the most prestigious European professional teams. He left the Oiler organization in 1997 and returned to Europe as a head coach. Over the course of the next ten years Primeau coached teams in Germany, Switzerland and Austria – teams that competed in the European Super League and the top professional leagues in all three countries. Kevin also served as Team Canada’s Video Coach in the Deutschland Cup of 2004. As a head coach, Kevin compiled a record of 101 wins – 11 ties – 38 losses, a legacy of which any coach would be proud.

Shortly after his career-ending injury in 1983, Kevin founded a company called Potential 100 Inc that established various hockey development projects, from NHL pre-season conditioning camps to youth development programs. In 2004 he donated the NHL camps and their profits to the University of Albert Athletic Department. The camps continue to operate and to fund the Potential 100 scholarships and other Golden Bear hockey programs. Kevin continues to maintain a strong volunteer role with many hockey programs and fundraising groups that support amateur hockey.

For a brief period in his career, Kevin turned to the world of business and joined Xerox Canada. His talents shone in the business world as well and he won Xerox Canada’s Rookie of the Year award for all Marketing Representatives and the Xerox Triple Crown as one of the company’s top three marketing representatives.

Through his many travels in Canada and Europe, Kevin has been supported in his career by his wife, Cindy, and together they have raised four children. Their eldest daughter, Mikaela, is a top honours student at the University of Alberta. Their three sons, Josh, Ben and Jayce, all share Kevin’s passion for the game of hockey and hope some day to follow in his steps.

The University of Alberta is proud to add the name of Kevin Primeau, an outstanding ice hockey player, coach and leader, to the Sports Wall of Fame.