Fatherhood has been nothing but rewarding for Blue Jackets

Jean-Francois Berube had plenty of reasons to be motivated on Feb. 20.
The 30-year-old goaltender made his first NHL appearance in nearly four years when he was given the starting nod for the Blue Jackets in that night's game against Buffalo in Nationwide Arena.
With both Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo out with injuries, it was a chance to show himself, his teammates and the NHL world he still had what it took to not just play but excel at the game's highest level.
But it also was a unique moment that hit close to Berube's heart. For the first time, his then-19-month-old son Cayden would get a chance to watch his dad play in an NHL game.

All of it came together to make the 7-3 victory over the Sabres so special. Berube made 33 saves to earn the 10th win of his NHL career, then got to celebrate after the game with Cayden and his wife Michelle, creating a family memory that will last a lifetime.
"It was pretty amazing to see my son in warmup looking at me," he said afterward. "It was maybe his second or third live game. I could see his eyes full of stars, and I can see myself in him, too. So yeah, it was really cool to share this moment with him and my wife.
"Unfortunately with COVID he wasn't able to come to too many games (before this), but he was there tonight, and this one is for him."

Looking back a few months later, Berube couldn't help but smile as he thought of what the moment meant.
"We have pictures to show him when he's older, but hopefully he remembers a little bit of that night and the other nights that may come in the future," Berube said in April. "It's always good to have (my family) there, and it just brings a little more excitement and pride, too."
Hockey is a sport of fathers and their kids, from Gordie Howe skating with his sons Marty and Mark to Mike and Cole Sillinger donning Blue Jackets jerseys two decades apart. On Father's Day,

can look at the impact their fathers have had on their lives, the selfless dedication the dads gave to allow their sons to make it to the highest level.
On the other side, though, seven CBJ players -- Berube and fellow goalie Elvis Merzlikins, forwards Jakub Voracek and Gustav Nyquist, and defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov, Gavin Bayreuther and Dean Kukan -- went through the 2021-22 season with young children.
It's something that's equal parts demanding and rewarding, with every 7 a.m. wakeup call the day after a game or a road trip balanced out by the smile on their son or daughter's face when they get to watch and cheer on their dads playing at the highest level.
"It's unbelievable," said Bayreuther, whose daughter, Brooke, will turn one year old later this month. "It's the most rewarding thing. At the end of the day, family is the most important thing. The reason I skate hard and put in all the effort is for my family at home."

Making Memories

Bayreuther made those comments on the team's photo day in late April, when head coach Brad Larsen opened up the doors and told players to bring their wives, girlfriends, children and even pets to Nationwide Arena for a team picture featuring players and their families.
"The families are such a big part of this," Larsen said afterward. "They get lost in the background so much, but they really should be up front because of what they're doing with the guys."
That family touch is appreciated by those in the Blue Jackets organization, especially those with children.
"I'm amazed how good the organization is with families," Bayreuther said. "When I got called up, they were super accommodating. They wanted to make my wife and my baby have a good experience as well, not just me. That starts with Lars, Jarmo, all of them. They've been so good about that, too."
The experience continues on to game day, and one of the most notable rituals of a CBJ home game this past season would take place during warmups.
Many of the family members present for each game congregate in the Zamboni tunnel, with the players taking a moment during the pregame to skate over to the corner to say hello through the glass. It was a common sight to see Nyquist skate over to deliver a puck to his daughters Charlotte and Sophie or Gavrikov smiling and waving through the glass to his wife, Nastya, and young daughter Miroslava.
"That's amazing, especially when she started recognizing me," Gavrikov said of Miroslava. "She started waving and smiling. The first couple of months, she would come to the game and it was so funny, she would try to look around and figure out what was happening because there's so many people around."
"It's something special," added Berube, who often would take a moment during warmups to talk to Michelle and Cayden. "In anyone's life, your kids don't get to see you at work very often. We're lucky enough our kids can see us every time we play a game. It's amazing to share that moment with your family."
Sometimes, the kids aren't able to make it through an entire game, but Bayreuther said he's lucky enough that Brooke is always there postgame to greet him.
"She stays up the whole time and meets me after," Bayreuther said. "That's a special thing. No matter how tired or how cranky or how fussy she is, when she sees me, she always smiles. That's pretty cool."

Family First

The life of a professional athlete, frankly, can be a selfish one.
The demands of the game, whether it be the physical rest and recovery one needs to be ready to play each night or the glaring spotlight that comes with playing professional sports, often require that athletes' home lives are built around what a player needs to be ready to play at the highest level.
Until you have a child, that is.
"It's life changing, for sure," Bayreuther said. "I used to be a big sleep-in guy. I always struggled waking up. Now I'm waking up with her. That's definitely the biggest thing. My favorite saying is there's no days off being a dad. You're waking up with them at 7 a.m., 7:30. It's full-time dad mode."
"Family is always No. 1 in my life," Gavrikov said. "You have to take care of it first, but you have a job, so you have to respect that as well. Sometimes we could sleep until like 9, or after that, but after the kid you have to wake up early. It doesn't matter how tired you are or not, it's a job as well. But it's worth it, 100 percent."
In other words, maybe we could have written this story for Mother's Day because just about everyone agreed the unsung heroes of a hockey family are the significant others who make everything work.
"I give my wife and all the other wives so much credit," Bayreuther said. "Their job is harder than ours. We have a stressful job, but theirs -- I watched Brooke this morning from 7 to 9:30, and I was ready to come to the rink."
"We owe them a lot more than they owe us, that's for sure," Berube said.
It's a busy job, but the fathers on the Blue Jackets team all agree that it's worth it. For Gavrikov, that reminder comes every morning when he gets out of bed and sees Miroslava for the first time.
"Waking up every day, you just come into her room and she starts smiling and will hug you," he said. "I can't wait every morning for that. It's super special."