SAN JOSE – Trevor Lomberg didn’t pause long when asked what the best part of the Flames dads/mentors road trip has been so far.
“I would say that best memory would probably be just giving him a hug,” he answered, with son Ryan Lomberg smiling as he stood beside his father. “Like, I got to actually be with him and spend time together. And he gives me a reason to hug him all the time, so I'm always hugging him.
“It's been a great trip. The dads have been great, the boys have been great … but the best memory is the hugs.”
The Flames opened this two-game road set with a 2-1 OT win in L.A. Saturday against the Kings and will look to make it a clean sweep when they face the Sharks tonight at SAP Center (8 p.m. MT/Sportsnet).
The team will fly home after, some of the dads heading out from here back home all over North America and Europe, others coming back to Calgary to spend some more time with their kids and their families.
Trevor will be go back to Calgary after this, with wife Lori and their daughters joining Ryan and family there for Christmas.
This was a quick roadie, with the two tilts over five days.
Nothing like the epic road trip Trevor and Lori took when he was called up to the big team in late November of 2018 from the Flames then AHL farm team in Stockton, Calif.
“They were driving out west to come see me in Stockton, and I had gotten one of my first call ups,” recalled Lomberg, saying his parents started out from Toronto heading to B.C. and then planned to go south from there. “So, they rerouted their trip and ended up heading to Vegas and catching us in Vegas, and then they followed us around. And the route of their trip was like, they went east to west, east to west, all over North America.”
They were just hours into B.C. when Lomberg called to say he had been called up, so Trevor said they’d head back to Calgary. But then they were told, no, the team was on the road in Vegas.
So, his parents drove through the night, and hung out with him in Vegas and then Arizona (he didn’t play in either game). Then they started making their way to Chicago when the Flames went home for a game and saw him suit up against the Blackhawks and also went to Columbus after then home.
So how much mileage did they put on the car?
“I want to say about 12,000 kilometres,” said Trevor.
Oh, did we mention then also had their 160-lb. Leonburger dog with them the whole time they were driving?
“It was awesome,” said Trevor. “Him getting called up made the trip so much better. We got to spend time with him, which was cool, and then also just the adventure.”
This current trip has given the two a chance to spend more time together and go another adventure.
“It's great to see him behind the scenes and see how he interacts with everybody … makes me proud,” said Trevor.
Following the 2018-19 season when his parents made that long drive, Lomberg spent three seasons with the Panthers before returning to the Flames prior to last campaign.
His outgoing personality and aggressive style of play has made him a fan favourite among the C of Red, his ‘Lomberghini’ nickname now emblazoned on t-shirts at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“It’s awesome, but he's just being himself,” said Trevor of how his son has been embraced by the organization and city. “Like, he's loving every minute of it, everything.
“So, I'm not surprised he's singing the anthem, I'm not surprised he's got a big smile on his face. And not surprised he steps up for the boys. No surprises. That's Ryan.”
The perfect finish to this trip, of course, would be a victory – along with Lomberg’s first goal of the season.
He had two great looks against the Kings, cutting wide and around Drew Doughty to the net in the second period and getting a backhand off that Darcy Kuemper stopped, then Kuemper flashing the leather on his offering off a third-period rush.
Oh, so close to finally getting that marker.
“No kidding, no kidding,” said Lomberg, again flashing his trademark grin. “Saving them for (San Jose), I guess.”
