Wild players eager to reconnect with family during Christmas break

Wild forward Eric Staal remembers a day when NHL players were granted just a couple of days off. At the conclusion of the last labor stoppage in 2013, one of the concessions players got from owners was a mandated three-day break at Christmas. Each season since, the Wild has had just three days off.
This year, Minnesota will receive four days away from the rink, a rare treat for players and their families during the grind of a long hockey season.

It's also a treat for a weary body that has almost three full months worth of bumps and bruises on it.
"It's huge; it's a great thing the League has done to give us a couple of days," Staal said. "Family is so important, and there are so many other aspects of life that you need to be able to pay attention to and to have these couple days to re-connect with that is important."
But like most families around the State of Hockey, Wild players will have their share of holiday obligations to take care of during their four-day respite.
The Staals will have a host of family coming through town, inlcluding his in-laws, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their children just after Christmas. After that, Staal's brother, Jared, his wife and his son will pay a visit as well.
"We'll have some family in town, but for the first couple of days, it will be just me, the wife and kids just kind of decompressing, enjoying each other and having some fun," Staal said.

With a lengthy break, this would also have been a time for Staal to work on the backyard rink for he and his three sons to skate on.
But with the recent warm weather, those plans -- and the rink -- are in serious jeopardy.
"It's not looking ideal out there," Staal said with a smile. "We need a cold snap of a couple days and a little love for the rink and we'll be alright."
Some of the Wild's younger players will head out of town to spend time with their families.
Jordan Greenway said he's anxious to head home and spend the days with his mom and his brother, J.D., who plays in the United States Hockey League.
Both Greenway brothers have often been away with their various hockey ventures this time of year, so a Christmas at home, all together, will be an added bonus.
Prior to this year, Jordan was at Boston University and J.D. was at the University of Wisconsin, and each would stay behind to take classes during break.
Jordan has also represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships, which begin shortly after the holiday.
But now that Jordan is in the NHL and J.D. is in between years at school following a transfer to the University of Maine, the timing will work out for a trip home. J.D. has actually been hanging with his older brother in the Twin Cities for the past week or so.
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"Mom makes a pretty good meal for Christmas," Greenway said. "The family all comes home, but nothing too crazy. I've got a younger sister, so she'll probably get all the presents this year and we'll just watch her."
Like Greenway, Kunin has also been a rare guest at his family's Christmas celebrations in recent years. Another Team USA World Juniors alum, Kunin was in Iowa last year but will have four days to head back to Chesterfield, Missouri and enjoy time with his family.
"I haven't seen my brother in a while, so it will be nice to get the family all together and have a few days off," Kunin said. "Around Christmas time, I've maybe gotten a day or two. This is the longest I've had at home, so it'll be fun to see some of my buddies I haven't seen in awhile."
Greg Pateryn and his wife, Stefani, will travel to near their offseason home in Southern California, where she is from, and spend the holiday with her family. Overall, it's not a bad place to spend a few days in late December.

"It's pretty nice," Pateryn said. "We've been going back there for a few years now. It's something different than I grew up with, but it's a good time out there. We enjoy just getting back home and getting in the sun a little bit."
For some of the Wild's other vets, like Staal, time at home and with the kids will dominate the schedule.
Eric Fehr and his family make it a tradition to watch the movie "Elf'"and just relax on the couch.
It was a tradition that began at his in-laws years ago.
"Everyone else fell asleep and I was the only one awake," Fehr said. "This year, I'll probably be the one to fall asleep."
Zach Parise spent the days before Christmas texting with his mom trying to nail down a plan for the off days.
Nothing really came of it.
"It was pretty last-minute," Parise said.
She's expected to make her way over to the house at some point, where Parise said he hopes to have a few of his younger teammates over, ones that don't have family or friends in town and aren't going anywhere for the break.

Like Staal, Parise remembers a day when the holiday break was a much shorter one, but those days came before he had kids of his own.
With his twins nearly five now, Christmas is a special time for the whole family.
"They love this time of year, with the presents and the Elf on a Shelf," Parise said. "It's awesome, it's so much fun, so I think that part of it and seeing how much they enjoy it, it's really great."