“The Steffer” grew up playing his early hockey on the frozen ponds of the Ukraine. A victim of the Stalinist purges in the middle of the last century, he escaped with his family to Canada with only the clothes on his back. Naturally they settled in Norwood. Stefan played his college hockey with the University of Manitoba Battlesheep where he was captain and a star centre. A master stick handler with that smooth Eastern European flair, Stefan scored some of the Battlesheep's most memorable goals, including the famous "alley-oop" that is still shown regularly in stock hockey highlight reels on CNN and TSN in tandem with the Henderson ’72 goal and the Orr “through the air” goal.

One of the better prospects in college hockey, Stefan was drafted in the 3rd round by the Red Army in 1980. The Steffer quickly established himself as one of the most valuable players on and off the ice. The owners were so impressed with Stefan's business acumen that they promoted him to the front office after being with the team for only 6 years. Always conscientious, Stefan decided to enhance his hockey administration skills by attending the now discontinued 2-day Napoleon Hill/Alan Eagleson seminar "Think and Grow Rich". Since then, an accounting scandal has tarnished an otherwise brilliant career forcing Stefan to temporarily step down from his front office job.

Still speaking only halting English despite his many years in Canada, he is far more comfortable conversing in his native tongue.