Peterborough Petes alumnus and longtime Director Pat Casey passed away peacefully on Saturday at the age of 84, reported by the team on Sunday.
The Kirkland Lake, Ont. native was one of the original members of the Peterborough Petes organization, suiting up for the Peterborough TPT’s in their inaugural season in 1956-57 and played for three seasons and won Peterborough’s first J. Ross Robertson Cup and Memorial Cup berth in 1958-59. After the Petes, Casey would go on to win an NCAA Championship in 1961 with Michigan Tech, and a USHL Championship in 1965 with the Waterloo Blackhawks.
After his playing career, Pat returned to Peterborough in 1971. Eight years later, he became a member of the Petes the Board of Directors. This resulted in a 40-year tenure that included stints as vice president (1979-84), president (1984-87 and 1997-2002), as well as Treasurer which he held for a decade before retiring in 2016.
During his Board of Directors tenure, Casey was part of the introduction of the OHL Scholarship Program, Peterborough’s hosting of the 1996 Memorial Cup, 2011 Hockey Day in Canada and support for former Petes President Dave Pogue in the launch of the OHL’s Talk Today Mental Health Awareness Program.
In 2016, he won the Bill Long Award for Distinguished Service presented in recognition and appreciation of outstanding contributions to the OHL.
In honour of Casey’s contributions to the Petes, the team is recognizing him by wearing special decals on their helmets this season. The team will also be honouring Casey on the ice with details to come according to a press release.
Pat Casey’s obituary and service information can be found online.