Colin Priestner (born January 8, 1984) is a Canadian hockey executive, singer/songwriter, and athlete.

Career

Colin is part-owner, Managing Partner and General Manager of the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played ev ...

Hockey Club of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

Music

Priestner's first record, ''Blatant Hypocrite'', was independently released in 2005. It was followed in November 2006 with ''God and Wall Street.'' Despite critical acclaim and airplay in Canada, the album had little commercial success. In the fall of 2006, Priestner toured with

Dan Bern Dan Bern (also known as Bernstein; born July 27, 1965) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, novelist, and painter. His music has been compared to that of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs and Elvis Costello.Brett ...

during Bern's "Breathe" tour, Following the disappointing sales of ''God and Wall Street'', Priestner abandoned his music career and began working as a car salesman. After four years, during which time he became the Vice President of Norden Volkswagen

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

, Priestner wrote and starred in "Shit Edmontonians Say," a parody video that spoofed

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta. It went viral and generated over 300,000 views in 24 hours. The video, which featured cameos from

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Jordan Eberle Jordan Leslie Christopher Eberle (; born May 15, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and captain of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2008 NHL e ...

and

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (born April 12, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Nuge" by Oilers fans, Nugent-Hopkins was selected first ove ...

as well as other local celebrities, was featured on the front page of the ''

Edmonton Sun The ''Edmonton Sun'' is a daily newspaper and news website published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its 2015 acquisition of Sun Media from Quebecor. It began publishing Sunday April 2, 1978 and shares many ch ...

'' and received significant coverage in other media, including regional news programs. and new programs throughout the month. Buoyed by the success of "Shit Edmontonians Say", Priestner returned to the stage in 2012 to perform at the

Royal Alberta Museum The Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) is a museum of human and natural history in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located north of City Hall. The museum is the largest in western Canada with more than exhibition space and in total. The museum w ...

Theatre. Soon after that, he left his job and began work on a new album. It will be recorded in Vancouver with

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning producer Chin Injeti, the album is due for release in 2014.

Tennis

Priestner was a top ranked junior tennis player, placed 5th in the Men's Open in Alberta, and was a participant in the Canadian National Junior Tennis Championships in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, he received a tennis scholarship to

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

, a Division 1

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

school. He played competitively for the Panthers for two years.

Hockey Management

Priestner was appointed the Blades general manager in 2016, prior to being elevated to both president and general manager in April 2019. The Blades have posted a record of 294-166-31-12 under his leadership as of 2024.

Personal life

Priestner's father, Mike Priestner, was a former WHL goaltender and is the majority owner of the Saskatoon Blades Hockey Club; his aunt, Cathy Priestner-Allinger won a silver medal in the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

and was the Director of Sport for the 2002 and 2010

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

. Colin married his long-time girlfriend Alanna Bateup on June 22, 2013, in Vancouver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Priestner, Colin 1984 births Living people Canadian male singer-songwriters Musicians from London, Ontario Sportspeople from London, Ontario 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters