Simon Olivier has lived a hockey life, and for much of it, his son Mathieu was along for the ride.
The Blue Jackets wing has a claim to fame as the lone player in NHL history born in Mississippi, and you can probably guess by their surname that the Oliviers aren’t originally from the Magnolia State. A native of Lévis, Quebec, Simon was playing as a defenseman and enforcer on the Biloxi Sea Wolves of the ECHL when Mathieu was born in February 1997.
After such a beginning, it’s only fitting the Oliviers would be world travelers because of the game. Like many players trying to find their big break, Simon went through the entire alphabet soup of leagues across North America and even played in Germany for two seasons.
Along the way, he could always count on Mathieu being there to run around the locker room and soak up the hockey atmosphere.
“He was 8, 9, 10, hanging around the rink,” Simon remembers. “Everybody was like, ‘Are you Simon’s son?’ Like, ‘Yeah, I am.’ ‘Here’s five bucks, go buy a poutine or something.’
“But now when I walk around the arenas, wherever it is, I’m Mathieu’s dad. The roles have switched, and it’s really good. I like it a lot.”
Mathieu, of course, is now in his second season with the Blue Jackets and his fifth overall in the NHL. And as the Blue Jackets dads have joined the team this weekend for the team’s annual parents' trip, Simon has the opportunity for the first time to travel with his son to Boston for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins.
While his dad’s career never quite made it to the NHL, Mathieu is getting the chance to show him what it’s like at the sport’s highest level.
“He’s played a lot of hockey in his life, but the one thing he never got a chance to play in was the NHL, so I’m excited for him to find out what it’s like and live a few days in it,” Mathieu said. “It’s gonna be a good way to give back.”
Currently still working with the Edmunston Blizzard in the Maritime Junior Hockey League in New Brunswick, Simon had to take a weekend away from his head coaching duties, but it’s fair to say he wouldn’t miss this trip given what it means for father and son.
“We have a really good relationship,” Simon said. “Matt and I, we are living the same life, but luckily he made it farther than me, and I’m really proud of him for that. He’s a good person, and he really is someone that cares. I’m really proud of him.”
Simon’s career on the ice took him just about everywhere, as he played five games in the AHL, 36 in the IHL, 59 in the UHL, 67 in the ECHL and 210 in the CHL. Simon was a fan favorite in Oklahoma City, where he racked up 168 points and 741 penalty minutes in those 210 games with the Blazers over four seasons, but he skated from New Haven to Manitoba, Louisville to Springfield, before spending the two years in Germany.
For Mathieu, that was just his normal life, and he can still speak a little German these days.
“I was just a young kid, happy to be there,” Mathieu said of the family’s travels. “I was so lucky to live that life. I just remember thinking that.”
And as you might imagine, Mathieu took to the game of hockey like any kid in that situation would. He was in the locker room for the first time at three weeks old, then running around by the time he was a year old.
“I was in there all the time,” he said. “Even as I got older, my dad would get to the rink early and I would just hang out in the locker room before games, and then I would go hang in the stands and sit in the rink and wait for the game to start. That was the best. I had such a great time doing that.”
While Simon stood 5-11 and had to fight for everything he had – often literally, given his penalty minute totals – Mathieu was blessed to grow into a broad-shouldered 6-foot-1, 222-pound body. Once his dad settled, Mathieu grew up in Quebec with fellow NHLers Sammy Blais and Alex Barre-Boulet, but as he got older, it was clear he’d have to follow in his dad’s footsteps and play with a physical edge.
By the time he was in his final season in the QMJHL with Sherbrooke, Mathieu had 27 goals, 49 points and 90 penalty minutes. He’s continued to play the same style in the pros, as Olivier has five goals, 18 points and 10 fights in 79 games over two seasons with the Blue Jackets.
“He was always a good player growing up, but as he got older to bantam and whatever, I noticed what his strengths were,” Simon said. “I said, ‘If you want to make it in hockey, I think you have to develop as a power forward,’ and I guess he understood what he had to do to make it. It doesn't matter what your role is; what matters is you’re in the NHL and you’re earning a living playing a game that we love.”
And now that the Oliviers have gotten older, the shoe is on the other foot. Mathieu is the father of two sons who are reaching the age that they can get on the ice, and soon enough they’ll be running around the Blue Jackets locker room just like he did as a kid.
“My dad, I think, was extremely proud of that, and I just remember growing up that way and thinking it was the best,” Mathieu said. “Now I get to have my kids do that with me and have the other side of the coin here. It’s definitely special, for sure.”
