CBJ hockey is a family affair for resident of Saudi Arabia

The Blue Jackets are popular in Columbus, but they also have fans all across the world. BlueJackets.com is checking in with some of those fans, talking to team diehards overseas to find out how they became so passionate about the franchise and what it's like to follow from so far from Columbus.
Greg Goth has had quite a journey when it comes to his hockey life.
His real life has taken him all over the country and world as well.
The culmination of those two things has him where he is now -- living in Saudi Arabia and keeping close tabs on the Blue Jackets along with his family.

Goth currently lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Department of Defense employee has been since 2018 working for an organization that manages the Security Cooperation/Security Assistance for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
And after dalliances with a number of other NHL franchises, what are now strong family ties to the state of Ohio and the Blue Jackets organization have made the Western New York native a follower of the CBJ.
So, how did this all come about? We'll start from the beginning.
Naturally as a hockey fan growing up where he did, Goth has spent much of his life as a Sabres fan, but you can trace his changing of affiliations to when he met Susan Simon when he was stationed in the Army at Fort Stewart in Georgia.
The two were married in 1995, and perhaps it was fitting that Goth married into a hockey family given his interest in the sport. Susan's father, Phil, spent his life as a Cleveland hockey legend before passing away in 2016, first becoming a stick boy with the AHL's Cleveland Barons in the 1940s and eventually working with every pro hockey team in the city in positions ranging goal judge to assistant equipment manager.
As a result, as Goth grew older, his rooting interest strayed to those NHL teams who had their minor league squads based in Cleveland, from the Penguins to the Sharks to the Avalanche and, finally when the affiliation switched in 2015, the Blue Jackets.
It is, as we said, a family affair. While Phil is sadly no longer with us, having passed away at age 83 during the Monsters' Calder Cup run four years ago, Goth's brothers-in-law, Phil's sons Chris and Jeff, continue to work for the franchise as goal judge and in official stats, respectively.
Goth's son, Phillip, also helps out with the team, as the Cleveland State student is an assistant equipment manager. Add in his daughter Isabelle's love for the Blue Jackets, as she represents the team as best she can as a student at Georgia Southern, and hockey is one of the ties that binds the Goth family even as he lives half a world away.

The family connections also have allowed Goth to have an inside view on the franchise at times, such as when he remembers how hockey continued a big part of Phil's life even as he battled the leukemia that would take his life four years ago. One of those instances came when another Cleveland hockey legend, Jock Callander, visited Simon in the hospital and Goth was there.
"Jock was talking about a young man who was going to come to Cleveland since his college season was over, but this would be the only time he would be there because he was that good and would be in Columbus the following year; that was Zach (Werenski)," Goth said. "Josh Anderson became one of my favorite players, I just loved his intensity and his playing style.
"I remember during the Monsters playoff series with Grand Rapids, we took my father-in-law down to see his last game before he passed away. ... As we were sitting there talking with people, I hear someone say, 'Hello coach, how are you doing?' I turned around and in walked Coach Tortorella. I am all excited like a kid in a candy store and he walks up and says hello to my father-in-law. The first thing (Simon) tells Coach Tortorella is, 'There are a lot of great kids on this team that deserve to be in the NHL, please give them a chance.'"
Of course, that proved to be true. Many of the young players who led the Monsters to the Calder Cup would become regulars with the Blue Jackets, including Werenski, Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who Goth calls "one of the nicest guys I have ever met."
Since his current home in Saudi Arabia makes it harder to follow the Monsters, Goth gets the low-down from Phillip, who has also had the experience of having to trip to Columbus to deliver players' gear when the situation arises and a callup happens.
"I have been in the Middle East since September 2018 so a lot of the younger players who came through Cleveland I have not seen play," Goth said. "My son however has and he is really impressed with them, and he has been around hockey his whole life -- he has a pretty good eye.
"While a lot of people were impressed with CBJ's run with all the starters hurt, he knew the call-ups would do fine. I have also received many WhatsApp messages in the middle of the night from my son and daughter about something that happened in a CBJ game."
In addition, Goth also gets his fair share of hockey talk in Saudi Arabia, even if you wouldn't think so.
"Our lawyer is an OSU graduate and loves OSU and CBJ," he said. "We talk about them all the time. I remember when they lost all the free agents he was crushed. I told him not to fret, they have a great system and there are more than enough players to step up. When they started all getting hurt this year, he once again was nervous. I once again told him my son reassured me they would be fine."
One day, he'll return from Saudi Arabia and get the chance to attend games with the whole family. Until then, it's early mornings to catch the games, but he does what he can to stay in touch.
"I love the arena and the area around it," Goth said. "The experience in downtown Columbus is phenomenal. I can't wait to go to more games when I return."