Hanging with Emmerson

MONTREAL - Nearly 10 months after joining the fraternity of fatherhood, Ben Chiarot is making up for lost time.

The 28-year-old defenseman is taking full advantage of the NHL pause to enjoy some precious family moments with his wife, Jacqueline, and baby girl, Emmerson.

The couple welcomed their bundle of joy into the world on June 23, 2019, just 11 short weeks before the Canadiens opened training camp at the Bell Sports Complex.

So as quickly as Emmerson arrived, Chiarot was back at work gearing up for his first season in his new hockey digs.

As of mid-March, though, Chiarot has returned to full-time papa duty at his Waterloo, ON home, and he's enjoying every second of it.

"As soon as the League got shut down, I'm with her 24 hours out of the day. You kind get to know her more so than you even thought you did. You get to know all their sounds and all the things that she does and when she's feeling good and not feeling good," said Chiarot, via conference call this past Thursday afternoon. "That's been a lot of fun, to get to know her better than I had all year because we're home for a couple of days, on the road for a couple of days, and you're kind of in and out all the time. Getting to know her has been one of the big pluses for me as far as this whole situation goes."

The seven-year NHL veteran is learning to "read" Emmerson, so to speak, and get a better feeling for her behavior along the way.

He's been gaining some new baby knowledge from her every move.

"Just like when she's getting tired, when's nap time, when she's hungry, all that kind of stuff that if you're not with them all day, you don't really catch those cues," explained Chiarot. "You're just like, "Oh, she's not happy right now," but there's usually a reason for it. That's the biggest thing, knowing the things that she needs throughout the day."

No doubt the Chiarots' first Easter celebration with Emmerson last Sunday was a memorable one.

Fortunately, the former fourth-round selection doesn't have to part ways with his daughter for long when he's training for a possible resumption of the 2019-20 campaign.

Chiarot actually has a full gym in his basement.

"I've always trained at my house, so I'm kind of lucky. I get to step right into my summer training and I don't really skip a beat as far as that goes," mentioned Chiarot. "As far as getting stronger and getting in shape that way in the gym, I enjoy that part of training and I do it kind of year-round anyway. That stuff, I don't find that hard to do. I look forward to doing that kind of stuff. I try and be prepared for whenever we're ready to go."

While the Hamilton, ON native wishes he could skate to stay somewhat in game shape, that just isn't possible under current social distancing conditions.

Watching classic NHL games on TV will have to satisfy that constant craving for hitting the ice.

"It's pretty much all I've been watching on TV is those rewind games," said Chiarot. "For the first time in my life, I actually got to watch a Bobby Orr game last week. It was Boston against the Islanders, I think, in '74. That was the first time I'd actually seen Bobby Orr play in a full game. Those games have been great to watch. I've loved watching those."

Talk about a good mentor for a player who really showcased his offensive prowess this past year with new career-highs in goals (9), points (21), and average ice time per game (23:08).

And he believes there's more to come in that department, too, given the confidence the coaching staff has already shown in his abilities.

"Getting out on the ice more helps. You get more opportunities to create some offense, and Claude [Julien] and Luke [Richardson] trust me to provide some offense. They get me out in overtime, and I was able to come through a couple of times. There's lots of situations where I get put to create some offense, and getting out there with Shea, getting out there with lines that create offense, with Gallagher and Tatar and Phil Danault, you're going to get chances to create offense," explained Chiarot. "The way our team plays is fast, and we encourage the defensemen to jump up and join the rush. I was never told one time not to join the rush and not be part of the offense, so I think a mix of things contributed to me having better offensive numbers and it's something I think I'll get better at."

So when Chiarot looks back on the first 69 appearances of his Canadiens career, there have certainly been a lot of positives.

What does he take pride in most, though?

"I think just coming to Montreal and proving not just to other people, but to myself that I could play a big role and be a guy that's heavily relied on. That's something I always thought I could do and I could be in the League. I just had to prove it to myself and the other people around the League," said Chiarot. "I guess that's what I'd be most proud of, kind of stepping out of my comfort zone and coming to Montreal, leaving kind of a comfortable situation and then coming to Montreal and proving to everyone that I can be that guy. That's probably what I'm most proud of."