Family Day is about appreciation for the people who raise us, support us, and stand beside us long before the bright lights turn on, and the dream becomes reality.
The Vancouver Canucks recently had their moms’ trip, giving them a rare opportunity to step inside their sons’ NHL world to share meals, road games, practices and quiet moments in between.
For many of the moms, the trip offered something simple yet invaluable. With the demands of an NHL schedule, visits are often brief or spent in larger family and friend gatherings, but this trip was different.
“It's been incredible, getting to meet the other moms, and then just spending the time with Drew, I don't get to spend enough time with him,” said Meagan O’Connor. “It's been a really special time that I'll remember forever. I’m really grateful we had this opportunity.”
That sentiment echoed throughout the group. In addition to the quality time, many of the moms were able to witness how close their sons are with their work family, which was especially reassuring for those who live overseas.
“It’s nice to see them with their friends,” said Catrin Pettersson. “It’s hard to be in Sweden because I don’t know [how he is], maybe he’s alone, but to see it with my own eyes and see how good friends they all are [is special].”
The behind-the-scenes access brought comfort to moms whose sons are rookies or in the early stages of their NHL careers. Seeing them supported by teammates and embraced by the organization put smiles on their faces.
“I love to be near my son Elias [D-Petey] and see that he has it good with his friends and his girlfriend, and with a good organization. I’m very happy,” said Pia Sofia Andersson.
Therese Karlsson said the camaraderie between the players is impossible to miss. While their sons are living out their dreams, knowing they’re enjoying the journey alongside teammates makes it even more meaningful.
“You can see it more at the practice and when we are eating lunch, and breakfast together when they doing this [elbowing each other] and grabbing each other and you can see it on the ice too,” said Therese. “You feel warm inside because we live in Sweden, we don’t have them near, so when you see they have their other family on the ice, it’s so nice.”
Ellen Sasson said being immersed in the day-to-day life of an NHLer offered a different perspective than hearing about it second-hand from her son Max. She also leaned on the wisdom of veteran moms like Tonja Stelly, Bridget Garland and Sheri Kane.
“This has been awesome, getting to know the moms from all over the world and just seeing our kids in different experiences than I knew about [from] my house at the kitchen table,” Ellen said.
Although they are veteran hockey moms, Bridget and Tonya were on their first moms’ trip. They’ve watched and experienced so much through Conor and Tyler, but getting to live it hit differently.
“It’s amazing. To see what our sons do every day and participate in it, you can’t replicate this experience,” said Tonya.
“It’s been great. It’s a great group of moms that I’ve been able to meet and like Tonja said, to live what they live every single trip and there are things you appreciate more [like] the work they put into it – it's a lot of work,” said Bridget.
Even as their sons navigate their careers in their 20s and 30s, to their moms, they are still the boys who first needed help tying their skates. Forward Elias Pettersson’s mom, Marie Johnson, laughed as she described the delicate balance between checking in and giving space.
“To me, they are our little boys,” said Marie. “I have a friend when she goes with us to Vancouver, she always cries when Elias [EP40] is on the jumbotron – every time.”
