Cheers to Another Victory: Dads' Win Streak Continues in Montreal

As the Penguins players’ fathers were eating lunch in Montreal’s famous Schwartz Deli yesterday afternoon, a fan in town for the game against the Canadiens approached one of the tables with a question, asking if they had any advice for fellow hockey dads.

The group was happy to oblige, with their words of wisdom all featuring a similar theme.

“If he's happy, he'll do well. You can’t push or force your child, they have to love it themselves,” Mike Acciari said. “I would say that you can tell at a young age if your child really loves the sport. You have to just basically encourage them.”

“You can't really guide your kid, they have to guide you,” Lester Smith agreed.

Now, their sons are at the highest level of the sport they all love, and many of the dads are getting to experience that with them on this year’s Highmark Dads Trip.

"I think it’s a really special opportunity for both the players and the dads. I know the dads really enjoy it. I think the players enjoy it more,” Head Coach Mike Sullivan said with a smile. “It’s a great opportunity for us to show our appreciation and gratitude for what the dads do for us in helping us have success along the way. None of us get to this league alone. It takes an awful lot of support, and your family is a big aspect of it.”

After watching the group pick up a win over Arizona in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, they flew with the Penguins to Montreal for the second half of the team’s back-to-back set. While the players prepared for their matchup, their fathers explored the city, stopping first to take a group photo at Mount Royal Park and take in the scenic views for a few moments.

“When you come to Montreal, you have to go to the Mount Royal,” said Frantzi Joseph, who was able to point out where P.O grew up. “To be over there, you see everything around the city. You see outside the city, you see the South Shore, you see the downtown. It’s very awesome. It’s a nice place to be. Today, we took a lot of pictures there with the dads. That was very, very cool.”

After hopping back on the bus, Ryan Shea’s dad Danny was the one to crack a well-worn Dad joke once everyone boarded: “raise your hand if you’re not here!”

From there, Kris Letang recommended the lunch spot, which received a hearty endorsement from fellow Montreal native Frantzi Joseph. “I think it's the best restaurant in Canada! Oh, yeah,” he grinned. “You have to come up to Schwartz on Saint Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, to eat the best smoked meat in Canada.”

Mr. Joseph was a bit of a tour guide for the group, sharing some stories both there and at Pub St-Paul, the final stop of the day, which is where Frantzi met his wife and P.O’s mother, France. Frantzi is a prime example of how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as he’s always brimming with such positive energy, just like his son.

After some pregame naps of their own following that hearty meal, the dads trekked over to the Bell Centre for the contest. While the majority of them were their kid’s first coach, some of them are in that line of work for a living, like Jonathan Gruden’s dad John.

He’s the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, and the schedule worked out for John to attend this game against the Canadiens before his team goes on the road. For him and Mike Guentzel, who was a longtime college coach at the University of Minnesota and now works as a pro scout for the Coyotes, getting the chance to watch their sons live as dads first means so much.

“I don't get enough chances to see him live with my job,” Guentzel said. “So just to sit in the stands and not have to evaluate anybody other than Jake is good. I just like to see him do well and try to support him when I can. I miss riding to the rink with him and things like that like we got to do (Tuesday) night, and be on the plane and stuff. So, it's kind of neat to see all the dads and sons, and see how proud the kids are and see how proud the parents are.”

Mike joked that he was a little worried he might have to take his Guentzel jersey off after a tough first period for the Penguins that saw them down 3-1, but Jake scored in the second period as Pittsburgh tied it up going into the second intermission, his third tally in two games with his dad in attendance.

“I’ll keep it on now that he got a goal. So, we'll see what happens in the third,” Mike said in the second intermission.

The Penguins ended up winning the game in a shootout that turned out to be the longest in team history. Nenad Nedeljkovic and Todd Harkins were sitting together all night, as they’ve got a Cleveland connection, with both men from the city. They watched their sons play the hero in the 12^th and final round, with Jansen scoring the game-deciding goal after Alex came up with a big stop.

“I mean, I was honestly just hoping everyone was scoring before me,” Jansen said with a laugh before sharing the advice he always gets from Todd, who also played in the National Hockey League: “I just shot the puck. The dads are here, and he's always telling me to shoot more."

The dads are now on a four-game win streak dating back to last season’s Dads Trip, and they’ll look to keep it going on Saturday in Toronto.

“It’s definitely fun,” P.O Joseph said. “It’s not every day that you can spend days with your dad and play in front of them like we are. Let's keep it going!”