Preds' Moms "Over the Moon" to Join Sons on Road Trip

Colton Sissons is pretty sure he could put the puck in his own net, and his mother, Debbie, would still give a positive review of his game.
"In my mom's eyes, I haven't had a bad game in 10 years," Sissons laughed, his mom standing right at his side.
Mrs. Sissons has seen her son in NHL cities before, but never quite like this.

For the first time in franchise history, players, coaches and staff have their mothers along for a Predators' road trip - a Monday afternoon contest in Washington D.C. - a chance to show their biggest fans firsthand what life as a professional hockey player is all about.
As Mrs. Sissons paused to reflect on her son's career, she couldn't help but take a deep breath and smile, remembering those humble beginnings outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, when Colton was just a boy with a dream.
"Crazy, overwhelming, emotional, everything - it's awesome," Debbie said. "I love watching him play hockey. It's his dream, and as a parent, its surreal and really overwhelming, to say the least."
That sentiment was echoed by Ryan Johansen's mother, Roz Peach, who is thrilled to have this experience for the first time.
"I'm just over the moon," Peach said. "I'm so excited. I've waited a long time for this, but to finally get to enjoy a moms' trip, it's very exciting."
Indeed, it was the fathers who got this experience in seasons past, but after a while, a motion began to build to let the moms have a chance.
Of course, Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette - whose mother, Helen, is on the trip - and the rest of the club's brass, was happy to oblige.

"Growing up, it's your mom who gets you out of bed and gives you the confidence to go out there," Laviolette said. "After a bad game, it's usually mom will try to console you or be the first to put her arm around you and give you a hug, so the players really wanted this. The dads have monopolized this trip for a long time, so it's nice that the moms get to share a weekend with their sons and see what their boys do now that they've grown up and taken hockey on as a profession."
For the mothers, it's still difficult at times to realize it truly is a profession, that it's actually their son they're watching on television.
"Sometimes, it's almost like he's not our child, it's somebody else's child, and as a parent, that's crazy to witness that," Mrs. Sissons said. "He's worked so hard, and I'm just super proud of where he's gotten to with all his hard work. It hasn't been easy, and it's really cool to see it now."
"I watch it as a parent, and it's no different than watching him when he's younger," Peach said of Johansen. "You have the same stress and worry… but it's really a dream come true."
When Johansen was growing up, his mother says she and his father always encouraged him to pass the puck. Nowadays, she laughed while admitting she doesn't mind yelling at him to shoot from time to time.
"Can't do anything right," Johansen chimed in.
No matter what he's doing with the puck, Johansen says there's always a little extra motivation when mom is in the crowd, just as there was as a mite.
There just happens to be a few more people in the stands these days.

"Whenever she's in town, for her it's just watching her boy, but for me, you want to make your parents proud and your mom proud," Johansen said. "When all of us have our moms for the same game, there's definitely extra meaning to the game, and it couldn't come at a better time right now on this trip."
Indeed, the Preds have a pair of negative streaks they'd like to reverse with their mothers in attendance, but the memories they'll make in the Nation's Capital was undoubtedly transcend anything that happens on the ice.
And for as much as Colton enjoys having his dad, Doug, on the road, giving his other biggest fan a chance is just as good.
"The boys have had their fun for the past couple of years around here, and it was time to give the moms a little bit of love," Sissons said. "They're right there every step of the way with us and deserve every bit of a nice trip to see how it goes when their sons are out playing hockey and living the dream."