'Once In A Lifetime'

LAS VEGAS - Don Andrysiak sat and watched morning skate on Saturday in one of the NHL’s newest buildings.

T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Last stop on the Flames Fathers/Mentors trip.

He may have been the only guy in the building that can also claim to have seen some of the league’s oldest.

“In Detroit alone, he's been alive for three stadiums, so he's seen a lot, and back in the Original Six days he was watching those guys, it's probably a lot nicer than it was back then,” joked his grandson, Flames defenceman Jordan Oesterle.

Olympia Stadium. Joe Louis Arena. Little Caesars Arena.

At 87 years young, Andrysiak’s earliest hockey memories were watching some of the legends of the game in a Red Wings uniform.

"I grew up in Detroit in the 50's when they had the great teams, so I followed (Ted) Lindsay, (Sid) Abel and (Gordie) Howe,” Andrysiak said.

"I was kind of taken aback when I asked for his birthdate, (with) how old he is and all the times he's lived through,” Oesterle added.

From those Hall of Famers in the 50’s to watching his own grandson wear that same iconic Red Wings jersey the previous two seasons, Andrysiak has enjoyed almost everything a diehard fan of the game could ever ask for. But even after close to nine decades of life experiences, the last few days have been a first.

A truly treasured one.

"It's been a great experience," Andrysiak said. "It's nice to see how you travel, how you live on the road. I like the plane, with all the food (laughs), all the service in the rooms you stay at. It's pretty high-class.

“Good organization. They’ve treated us great.

"Everybody has been very nice."

Oesterle has taken his dad on a similar trip in the past, but the opportunity to bring his grandfather this time was too good to pass up.

"It's obviously pretty special. It's once in a lifetime,” Oesterle said. "I didn't think he was going to say yes, honestly, with him being 87, I figured he'd just want to stay home and watch the games on TV, but he said yes right away.”

And the result has been a truly memorable few days spent together.

“For all he's done for my mom and my whole family and our extended family, it's nice to bring him here and treat him to how our day-to-day is and let him experience what life's like for me.”

And that extended family – including his 23 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren – is very close.

“My wife is a family person and we're just a good family that enjoy each other,” Andrysiak said.

Now, he’ll have a few more stories he can share the next time they’re all together.

"I've been a pretty lucky person," he said.

"And this is the cream on the top."