Inside the 2025 Islanders’ Dads and Mentors Trip

The NHL season can be a grind.

Long road trips, busy homestands and back-to-back sets with few off days in between.

To help break up the grind – and to inject some fun – the New York Islanders brought their dads, brothers, uncles and mentors along for the ride over the weekend for their back-to-back set in Florida. For the family members who usually follow from afar, getting a glimpse of life on the road was both a thrill and a thank you for the support that led them to continued success in their NHL careers.

“Guys bring someone that means a lot to them, whether it’s their dad, brother, uncle or mentor, and have a great weekend,” Anders Lee said. “I get to spend some time with my pops, which is awesome.”

The fun began on Thursday night at UBS Arena, where the Isles treated their dads and mentors to a high-powered 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Adam Pelech netted the game winner for his first goal of the season with his older brother Matthew in attendance.

“It was cool, right? I think I have to convince Adam to get me out here more, maybe I’m good luck,” Matthew Pelech said.

In a cool moment, Tom Lee and Mike Barzal were sitting next to each other and got to watch their sons team up on a goal – Mathew Barzal recorded the primary assist on Lee’s goal to make it 2-0.

Tom and Mike, who have been good friends for years as their sons have been teammates for nine seasons, provided a veteran presence on the trip and welcomed some of the newer faces.

“A dad’s trip is an opportunity to meet the other fathers,” said Mike Barzal. “Obviously our sons play on the team and each year there seems to be new ones, which is always nice to see. Talk about our sons’ minor hockey days and get to know them on a personal level. It’s exciting for all the fathers.”

Anthony Duclair brought his uncle, Fauster Verdier, who attended a game at UBS Arena for the very first time on Thursday before the trip shifted to the Sunshine State. The team flew down to Florida on Friday afternoon, where the large group got to bond over dinner before the weekend slate of back-to-back games.

“Meeting the other families, it was an amazing experience with the players’ fathers,” Fauster said. “We had fun together, we shared experiences, it was a very good experience.”

Todd Schaefer and Patrick Ritchie are sharing the experience of getting to watch their sons’ rookie seasons in the NHL, and they actually knew each other prior to Matthew and Cal’s Islanders days. Both represented Team Canada at the 2025 World Juniors, but going back even further, Matthew’s Schaefer late mother, Jennifer, was coworkers with Cal Ritchie’s father Patrick.

“It’s a small world, they had that connection through work and then Cal and I went on to play in the World Juniors together,” Matthew Schaefer said.

Todd Schaefer got to spend some early quality time with Matthew prior to the trip, as he’s been staying on Long Island for the past two weeks. Schaefer is living with Matt Martin and his family, so Todd is getting the chance to get to know his son’s home away from home.

“He’ll come over and we’ll play cards and stuff like that,” Matthew Schaefer said. “Marty loves him.”

The Islanders extended their winning streak to three games when they took down the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night 2-0, beating their Eastern Conference foes for the second time in three games. The game was scoreless through 52:46 - the atmosphere was exciting and intense for the dads in the crowd.

Simon Holmstrom hit the post in a scoreless game – a thrilling moment for his future father-in-law Magnus, who celebrated alongside Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy’s dad, Michel, when Cal Ritchie scored a between-the-legs goal on the power play.

“You can feel it, you can feel the atmosphere when something is going to happen,” Magnus Tornqvist said. “Simon hit the post, and the power-play goal comes, we were dancing and celebrating.”

Mr. Roy has been enjoying the whole experience, getting to watch his son in action in his third season behind the Islanders bench.

“He loves it,” Patrick Roy said. “I think he’s just happy to spend time, hasn’t come to New York since I’ve been here. So, seeing where I live, what I do. I think it’s fun.”

The 80-degree weather in Florida was a reprieve from the cold weather in New York and even further north, as the dads and mentors made the trip in from all over for the occasion.

The group of brothers on the trip – Matt Martin’s brother Justin, Bo Horvat’s brother Cal, Adam Pelech’s brother Matt and Ryan Pulock’s brother Derek – spent some quality time together.

“A couple other brothers and I got to try some NHL workouts,” Cal Horvat said. “Matt Martin took us through a couple good ones in the past couple days.”

The invite was a huge honor for Cal Horvat, who got to enjoy the experience after a courtesy nod from their dad.

“I was shocked that my dad let me come,” Cal Horvat said. “He’s been on a few of these before, but he said it would be my turn to go, so it’s been pretty surreal so far. Not a lot of people get to experience this, travel with the team and see what it’s all about. It’s amazing.”

As grateful as the dads, brothers, uncles and mentors were to be on the trip, the appreciation is more than matched by the team.

“The sacrifices that our families have made for us to get to this point, spend a few days with them in the NHL and have them experience that, it’s a pretty special week,” Anders Lee said.