FAMILY FIRST

Travis Hamonic re-joined the team for this morning's skate, his first practice with the team in five days as he and his wife spent the week with their daughter at the Alberta Children's Hospital. After practice, he spoke to the media about the situation:
Last week, my daughter was getting sick, getting more and more sick, so we had to rush her in on the weekend. To watch my daughter like that ... she's the strongest person I know. The strength and the perseverance to keep fighting through like she has all week ... as a dad, it brings tears to your eyes for numerous reasons. (I'm so) proud of her to fight through and push through. To see your daughter in that circumstance, it's a nightmare.
But the Children's Hospital - the staff there, the nurses and the doctors - what they were able to do and the care she got at that hospital was second to none. A huge, huge thanks to the staff there for really keeping my daughter healthy and okay, especially early on in the week when it was tough.
We haven't left - my wife and I have been at the hospital since Sunday and we haven't left her side. We're sleeping the room, we're with her 24/7. We're not leaving her side at all until she's home. We probably won't leave her side until she's 50.
We play a game for a living and it's my job and I take my job seriously. But my daughter is my most important focal point in my life. Everything else in a far, far rearview mirror. The team was super respectful. The guys, the coaches ... everyone was so supportive. I basically put one call in and said I was going to be gone until my daughter was better and didn't get a single question asked about it.
The people at the hospital deserve a ton of credit. They're my daughter's guardian angels, and God too, for pulling her through. It was a scary time.
Hamonic will decide on his availability for this evening's game later this afternoon.