BLOG: Players, Dads Eager for Return of Dads' Trip

After two seasons limiting certain events due to league protocols, the Chicago Blackhawks welcome the players' fathers and mentors back to host their annual dads' trip.
For some players like Alec Regula, he and his dad, Chet, will partake in their first trip together as the team travels to face the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Regula describes this trip as a way to show their gratitude for the sacrifices that their families have made throughout the years.
"He's the one that got me into the game," Regula said. "Growing up, [he would be the one] taking me to all the weekend trips for tournaments and stuff like that. So, I think this is something [the team does] that's very special. You can kind of give them a little pat on the back for everything that he's done."

The group will join the players on the team's charter to southern California and experience the behind the scenes of the team's travel schedule. From there, they will watch morning skate, practice, attend the two games against the Kings and Duck and a few other surprises along the way.
Jarrod Tinordi explained this unique trip as a way to give an inside look for the dads and see what their sons' day-to-day life on the road from their own perspectives compared to a usual phone conversation.
"It's nice to see everyone's dad in here," Tinordi said. It's cool for the parents get to see what their sons are up to [in their] day-to-day life. It should be an awesome trip."
Tinordi's dad, Mark, will also be attending his first dads' trip with his son after appearing in 663 NHL games from 1987-99. For him, he views this as an opportunity to meet the other fathers and mentors and learn more about his son's teammates.
"Our sons play so much [together] and spend so much time with these guys," Mark said. "It's cool to meet them and their dads. They all grew up in different places and you learned so much about the actual players from their dads."
A memory that sticks out from a similar trip for Mark is during a time when Jarred played in the AHL. The team and their dads planned a bus trip to Montreal that started at six in the morning and lasted over nine hours due to a snowstorm that impacted the travel time.
Not only does the trip allow players and their dads to create many memories off the ice but also lets the players learn more about their own teammates from their dad's perspectives.
"The best part of the whole thing is usually you have a dinner or something like that with all the players and all the dads and that's usually a lot of fun," Jarred said. "You get to pick the dad's brain and get some good stories about the guys in the room."
Even throughout the years as Mark watched his son play between the NHL and AHL, it still never gets old for him to watch Jarred continue to play and find his new role within the Blackhawks system.
"It's actually been very nice this year that he's [with the team] and played some games in a row," Mark said "It's been actually pretty good because it's hard to find AHL games on TV. So just seeing him play all the time and enjoying it."