‘You’re Still A Parent All The Time’ 

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Middle school teacher Chris Catton knows all about being entrusted with other people’s kids and taking that responsibility seriously.

And he can’t say enough about how the Kraken have welcomed in his 19-year-old son, Berkly, for his debut NHL season. Living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he admittedly hasn’t seen Berkly in-person all that much in-season since his son moved away at 15 to play major junior hockey in Spokane. But like the handful of other fathers of homegrown Kraken players attending their very first Dads & Mentors trip this week, knowing his young son is in good hands has removed some stress from having to let go of his offspring a lot sooner than most parents.

“Berk has said to me numerous times that the team and the guys have been so great to him,” Catton’s father said while attending this week’s games at home against the Los Angeles Kings and then here Friday night at Delta Center against the Utah Mammoth. “I was just telling Jordan Eberle’s dad that Jordan was my son’s first hero when he was growing up. Like, an absolute hero because he got that overtime goal (for Canada) against Russia at the (2009) world juniors, so Berkly knew everything about him and was obsessed with him. So, then, when he went to camp he was really nervous about meeting Jordan. But he told me, ‘Jordan is the nicest guy’ and, ‘You wouldn’t even know that he’s Jordan Eberle. He’s just a nice guy and he invites me out to supper.’

“So, Berk keeps telling us the team has been so nice to him,” he added. “And he’s going through a goal drought right now. He’s never not scored at any level. But he said that what makes it better is the guys are so nice to him. They’re all being positive with him and telling stories about how they went through slumps.”

For many dads of relative NHL newcomers, like Catton's father, attending the trip represents a culmination of the hockey journey and dream for father and son.

“You think of all the sacrifices that as a family we had to go through so he could be here,” said Tye Kartye’s father, Todd, adding he wasn’t sure just a few years ago he’d ever be on such a trip given his son went undrafted out of junior hockey. “It definitely brings back some good memories we had with him. It’s quite a privilege to be here and be able to do this.”

Todd Kartye said his son will always be that little kid he and his wife, Richelle, drove to early morning practices. Even while attending the front leg of the trip, when the Kraken faced the Los Angeles Kings at Climate Pledge Arena, it reminded him of his son’s youth league games years ago.

“It feels like you’re coming to your kid’s game,” he said. “You’re showing up an hour before the game while they do the warmup and just getting to meet all the other kids’ dads like we used to do and shoot the breeze about the game itself.”

With some obvious differences.

Kartye’s dad, a high school chemistry teacher from Kingston, Ontario, was having those hockey chats with other Kraken fathers in a suite leased out for them during the first of the two Dad’s Trip games last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in a suite area in an NHL rink,” he said. “So, the spread that they have in here and the space that they have in there is just amazing. I’m used to getting the 300-level seats when you go to a game in Montreal or Toronto, even if it’s only once a year. So, to be able to do this is a huge, nice thing.”

His son debuted for the Kraken in Game 5 of the opening playoff round in 2023, notably scoring against the Colorado Avalanche. He’d gotten that chance based off a standout 28-goal AHL rookie performance with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, something his father is impressed the Kraken allowed him the ice time and opportunity to do given his undrafted status.

“I can’t thank them enough for everything that they’ve done for him,” he said. “When he was in Coachella, everything was set up nicely down there for him. The coaching staff, the trainers. Everything down there was top notch.

“You want to make sure your kid is successful, right? And what else can you ask for but to have the opportunity? And they’ve given him those opportunities. And thankfully he’s been able to succeed in them. Especially for an undrafted kid. You don’t necessarily get shoved out of the picture after the draft, but for some things you may not get the spotlight of some of the other kids that got drafted in the first or second round.”

Simon Wright’s son, Shane, was one such first rounder, taken No. 4 overall by the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. Hockey fans worldwide will remember live TV shots of Simon hugging and counseling his son after the hometown Canadiens bypassed taking him No. 1 overall in favor of Juraj Slafkovsky and he tumbled three more spots to the Kraken.

So, for Wright’s dad, a UK native who’s lived decades in the Toronto area and works in sales for a health company, wanting his son to be taken care of by his NHL team was paramount.

“It’s funny because he’s a young player coming into this team and they’re a young team as well,” Wright’s dad said. “So, I think everybody’s learning how to take care of each other to a certain extent. But they’ve been great with him. When he first got here, he was living with (Ryan) Donato a bit. But what’s happened now is he’s grown up in a really good way. He’s got his own place now. He’s comfortable and he’s confident about things as well. He’s had to grow up pretty quickly.”

Even so, Shane will never stop being the little boy he used to drive to the rink.

“When they’re young, there’s the expectation that you have to drive them,” his father said. “And to be honest, there are times when I miss doing that. That’s what I’m looking forward to the next couple of days. He’s driving me to the rink, ironically, which is a bit of a change. But you miss that drive and being able to talk along the way. There’s a lot of good discussions, good conversation.”

Wright’s dad got to lead the pregame surge at Climate Pledge before the Kings game along with Ryker Evans’ father Mike, a former NCAA and minor pro hockey player in Europe. He spent years helping train Ryker, a second-round pick from 2021, at a power skating academy he runs in Calgary.

“You’re still a parent all the time,” Mike Evans said. “And even though he’s on his own and he’s a big boy now, you’re still always a parent.”

Evans’ father said he texts with his son almost daily and still gets “jabs” in telling Ryker what to do. And his son will roll his eyes at “dad jokes” and other things.

“Sometimes, you try to give him fatherly advice,” he said. “And you know kids, they always know everything, right? So, he rolls his eyes at that.”

Evans is grateful for the Kraken helping his son’s transition to pro hockey amid skepticism from many pundits after he was drafted that he’d ever become a regular NHL player. Also, that they’ve helped his transition to adulthood.

“You’re no longer a billet, you’re living on your own,” Evans said. “They do a good job of helping them out and to adjust.”

Garth Winterton, an insurance executive whose son, Ryan, was selected the round after Evans that same 2021 draft, agreed that “the Kraken have been super good to our family” and added he’s had this trip penciled on his calendar for weeks.

“You get excited, you know?” the resident of Port Perry, Ontario outside of Toronto, said. “As a person from Canada, or Toronto, it’s something you’ve always dreamed of. That your son would play in the NHL and he’s accomplished that.”

Winterton’s father said getting to attend this trip signifies that accomplishment. He enjoyed speaking with Kartye’s father, noting that Tye Kartye used to play elite-level youth hockey against his older son, Jacob, in the Toronto area. Other than that, he’s simply using the trip to “have fun” with his Kraken forward son.

“I think what a lot of people don't understand is the NHL has a really schedule, and to be able we don't get to see Ryan very often,” he said of himself and his wife, Leslie. “So, for us to be able to hang out and have some fun and go on the Utah trip together, and, you know, to catch up. And, you know, all those things, it warms my heart.”

Catton’s father feels the same way. Though he couldn’t help noticing a few changes in catching up with a son he no longer sees as often.

“I still see him as my son, but when I came to Seattle I see the way people kind of treat him,” he said. “Now I’m like, ‘Wow!’ and then, ‘Oh, he’s in the NHL.’ And then, it kind of clicks. ‘He’s in the NHL.’ But to me, he’s just Berk. He’s still always the same Berk. He still is forgetful. He still is that same kid he was when he left at 15.”