Pioneers alumni Veideman, Grahame named Colorado high school boys hockey team coaches

Two University of Denver hockey alumni will be leading boys high school hockey programs in the state for the 2026-27 season.

Adrian Veideman was named the head coach at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch on May 7 and Jason Grahame was named the head coach at Kent Denver School in Englewood on June 4.

Veideman previously served as an assistant coach at Valor Christian for the last seven seasons and helped the program capture multiple state championships and a USA Hockey national championship.

The Sicamous, B.C., native played 151 games across four seasons at DU from 2003-07, winning NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005 and captaining the squad during the 2006-07 campaign. The defenseman went on to play nine seasons of professional hockey in the AHL and ECHL, as well as in Germany, Austria and Norway before closing his career in 2015-16 with the then-ECHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Grahame skated four seasons as a defenseman at Denver from 1999-2003, suiting up in 63 career contests for the Pioneers. After hanging up his skates, he served as an amateur scout for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche for several years before getting into coaching at the AAA level in 2011. In the 15 years since, Grahame has coached players from 8U through high school and most recently has served as a club coach for the Arapahoe Warriors and Lady Warriors program.

The Denver native is part of hockey royalty in the state as Grahame’s father Ron was an All-American goalie with the Pioneers before playing in the NHL and his brother John was a goaltender in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Additionally, his mother Charlotte worked in the Avalanche front office from 1995-2022, winning Stanley Cups in 1996, 2001 and 2022.

Colorado’s high school hockey seasons runs from late November to early March and Denver’s Magness Arena has served as the host site for the state championship games in recent years.

Photos/Denver Athletics