The Brothers Fleury Pair Up

BOSTON -- When Kraken defenseman Cale Fleury texted his mom Tuesday morning that he was in the Kraken lineup for the first time this season, Sandy and her husband, John, were thrilled for both Cale and Haydn, their other son, who, yes, is brother and teammate - and at times during the game against the Bruins - defensive partners.

"When I asked Sandy if she wanted to watch the games with friends, she said, 'let's watch the game at home, just you and me,'" John Fleury said from their Calgary home.
"I tend to visit a little too much when watching with friends," said Sandy, laughing gently. "I don't want to miss a thing. It's all very exciting."
Of course, the Fleurys would have preferred to be here in TD Garden to see this historic night for the family and for the NHL for that matter. Cale, 23, and Haydn, 25, are the first brothers ever drafted by the same expansion team.
Hopping a flight or two from Calgary to Boston wasn't logistically possible, but Sandy and John take solace they attended in person when Cale, then 20, played his first game for the Montreal Canadiens Oct. 3, 2019, in the team's opener at Carolina with Haydn in the Hurricanes lineup.
"Cale had a breakaway in that game," said John, laughing himself. "Haydn was on the bench, thinking 'oh, God, please no. Not in his first game and against us.'"

Before both were selected by the Kraken, the Fleury brothers had never paired together on the blue line. During a preseason game against Calgary, the brothers got that chance.
In fact, by John's estimation, the last time the siblings even played on the same team Haydn was eight and Cale was six. That was only because Haydn's team was playing an away game and half the squad didn't show due to a snowstorm. John and the team's other coaches decided, heck, Cale's equipment is in the car, suit him up.
"Haydn started playing and loved hockey since he was two years old," Sandy said. "Haydn watched all the time, whenever he could. Cale played hockey but he liked to try all sports, which we let him do."
From a "really, really young age" becoming an NHL player was pretty much all Haydn ever wanted or talked about, John Fleury said.
Cale? "He never verbalized it," said Sandy.
The Fleurys always put down a backyard rink during winters in the boys' hometown of Carlyle, Saskatchewan, a town of 1,500 in which John and Sandy operate an oil field chemical business.
"There were always wild battles in that backyard rink," said John, explaining Cale was smaller (even for his age). "But Cale did catch up in size."
The brothers are close despite all those backyard showdowns. Some telling signs: Haydn recently told reporters he has watched about 10 of Cale's AHL games despite a busy Kraken schedule. Haydn's wife has use of a summer cottage in Alberta and Cale and his girlfriend join them to go boating, fishing and water skiing, Cale and Haydn work out at the same gym and skate at the same rink in Calgary. The brothers and parents play a lot of golf when back home and barbecue a lot.
"They don't eat much pasta," John said. "They get their fill during the season."
John said Kraken fans are going to see Cale "plays a mean but clean game, a hard game."
"In Montreal, they nicknamed him 'the baby-faced assassin,'" said John. "I mean, he looks like he should be walking with popcorn and a soda, not carrying a hockey bag. He looks like someone's younger brother out there, which I guess tonight he is."