'I'm Extremely Proud of Him': John Novak Recounts His Son's Path to 100 NHL Games

As Tommy Novak hopped the boards for his first shift against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, the 26-year-old accomplished a career milestone years in the making.

Novak, who began his first full season with the Nashville Predators in October, skated in his 100th career NHL game on Thursday, tallying an assist in the effort for good measure.

While 100 games is in and of itself plenty to celebrate, the milestone was made only sweeter by the presence of Novak’s father John, who had accompanied the Predators to Philadelphia to catch his son’s historic moment on his first-ever NHL fathers trip.

“I'm extremely proud of him,” John said. “To get even one game in the NHL is a huge accomplishment. To get to 100 is amazing. And Tommy has had to come through a lot of adversity to get to this point.”

Indeed, Tommy’s path to 100 games was not as straightforward as other players.

After being selected 85th overall at the 2015 NHL Draft, Novak began his post-draft career with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and in 2019 signed a one-year deal with Nashville’s AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. A year later, he signed an entry-level contract with his draft team.

Game No. 1 wouldn’t come for another year, and after making his NHL debut on Oct. 19, 2021, Novak would only play in 27 games with the Predators before being reassigned to Milwaukee.

Novak’s next game with Nashville wouldn’t come until Dec. 19, 2022, but from that point on, the forward was here to stay.

“He's always loved the game,” John said. “You have to love the game to continue to play through the amount of injuries and things he had to go through earlier in his career. He was lucky to get another opportunity with Nashville and the organization has been fantastic to him. Milwaukee was really good to him and coached him there. It all added up to getting to where he is, and maybe it’s not exactly the timeline he wanted, but it happened this way.”

Tommy’s drive and will to succeed was noticeable from an early age, and something his father made sure to foster from day one.

“He always drove the bus, and I was always just there for support,” John said. “If he wanted to keep playing, we were lucky to have the resources and the time to allow that to happen, but when a kid really loves the game, the parent doesn't really have to worry about anything except getting him to practice and being supportive.”

To Tommy, however, his father played a much bigger role.

“[He taught me] to believe in myself,” Tommy said. “Sometimes, whether it’s the college level, the AHL or here, it's easy to get down on yourself. And I think he just instilled confidence in me from a young age. He’s always believed in me, so he made me believe in myself as well.”