Sheldon made his first trip to Belfast for the event. Since his playing days came to an end, Adam’s older brother made his way up through the coaching ranks all the way back to the NHL.
He was head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2019-2024 and has just finished his first season in charge of the New Jersey Devils, leading them to the play-offs.
Sheldon’s first impressions of Belfast have been favourable.
“I love the city, just walking around and being here in the building and getting a feel for the hockey part of it.
“You can see why there’s so much passion here for Giants hockey and why Adam fell in love with the city and the team.”
Growing up together just outside of Toronto, both Keefe brothers were soon on the hockey pathway.
“I don’t know about brotherly rivalry so much,” explained Sheldon.
“I mean, there’s maybe enough separation with four years that I think I had my way for a lot of the time.
“But it maybe contributed to some of the edge that he ended up developing in playing.
“Certainly, as Adam got older, it was very clear I wasn’t going to mess with him much more.
“We were playing hockey, fighting in the basement, competing in the driveway and on the street and he quite often was playing with my friends and having to try to compete.”
Adam agreed, “A lot of times it’s him and his friends playing street hockey and you’re four years younger than those guys.
“You got to work extra hard and sometimes you’re going to get knocked down.
“So, if you want to stay in there, you got to learn to fight back and I certainly did that.
“Obviously, he’s provided a great example for me and set a very high standard that is difficult to try to keep up with.
“He took care of me through critical years when I was a teenager and set me on a good path.
“Then to follow his career while I was trying to make the NHL, to follow his coaching career and see that he just kind of kept winning right from the time he started.
“Then ultimately to claw his way back to the NHL as a coach becoming one of the youngest coaches in the league and then to coach arguably the biggest hockey club in the world. That’s very special.”
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