Behind the Scenes of the 2024.25 Dads Trip

The Penguins held their annual Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Dads Trip for the last two games heading into the break, on Friday in New York City and Saturday in Philadelphia.

Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas offered some insight into the planning during the most recent edition of the GM Show, saying director of team operations Jason Seidling handles it, “and handles it perfectly.”

He’ll sit with Sidney Crosby and the leadership group to find a trip that makes sense, with Dubas’ only request being that it’s not too close to the trade deadline. From there, Seidling will take care of all the logistics, making sure the dads and guests have a terrific time, and that they’re not in the team hotel during naptime.

Head Coach Mike Sullivan appreciates that ownership gives them the resources to host this each year, saying it’s a tremendous opportunity for the Penguins to say thank you; for the players to get some quality time with people who are important to them; and for those invited to experience the NHL lifestyle.

Here are some stories and anecdotes from the trip, which began on Thursday.

THURSDAY - PRACTICE AND TRAVEL DAY

Some of the dads and guests came to Pittsburgh for practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex and flew on the team charter to New York City, while the rest of the crew met the team there. Those who were in town got invited to the 10 AM video meeting, held in the Penguins locker room with chairs set up for the dads in the middle of the space. Sullivan began by welcoming those assembled, and expressing his gratitude for the support they give the guys on a daily basis.

“Because, as you know, this is a competitive league. It's not for the faint of heart, it's not warm and fuzzy, and it's just hard, right? It's hard,” Sullivan said. “None of us get here alone, and we know and recognize that you guys are central figures... we're so appreciative of it, as I know they are also.”

Sullivan added with a grin that he hoped that the team would compete our [butts] off and get a couple of points, saying “the beers taste better when you win. That I can speak from experience. But they taste good either way, I know that too!”

After landing in the Big Apple, the players and guests boarded a bus to dinner at Quality Italian, one of the captain’s favorite spots. One highlight of the evening was rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist making a toast to the dads, thanking everyone for coming and saying, “I hope you cheer hard for us in the games, and I hope we get four points!”

His father Anders was so proud of him for doing that, especially since Joel is a pretty quiet kid, and is impressed with how Joel’s confidence has grown since coming to North America. Fun fact: Anders and Joel look and sound exactly alike.

The Quebec natives gravitated towards each other, with that crew including Kris Letang, P.O Joseph, Anthony Beauvillier, Boko Imama and their guests. Erik Karlsson’s father Jonas adopted Rickard Rakell on this trip, as his dad Rolle couldn’t make it. The New England guys go way back, as Kevin Hayes played youth hockey with Noel Acciari, and has known Matt Grzelcyk since childhood. There was a Nova Scotia faction as well. That being said, there’s still plenty of mingling and bonding amongst the entire group, as everybody spread out in the dining room.

“I’m stuffed. All we do is eat food. Lot of food on these trips, which I love because I love to eat,” said Mike Acciari, who we’ve dubbed Cookie Senior (the story behind Noel's nickname is in this piece). He joked that he was looking forward to seeing how the guys played against the Rangers after such a big dinner.

FRIDAY: GAME DAY @ NYR

Everyone bussed to Madison Square Garden in the morning for the Penguins optional game-day skate. The dads were good sports about making the trek up that famous ramp, though John Grzelcyk did ask if we were trying to kill them with that climb.

After a team photo with the dads, guests and players, there was lunch at a nearby bistro before going to the Empire State Building and making our way up to first the 80^th floor... then the 86^th (too bad it wasn’t one higher) to the outdoor observation deck, with the wind whipping everywhere... and finally to the very top – the 102^nd floor.

It took a while to navigate our way through the building, but once we got where we needed to go, it was so worth it. “That was pretty cool,” John Grzelcyk said as we headed back down, ears popping the whole way. Anders Blomqvist stopped to get his photo printed on the way out for a nice little souvenir.

The dads had their own suite at the rink and were then treated to one heck of a game, with the undermanned Penguins gutting out a 3-2 win over the Rangers.

“It’s a special place already, to be playing in this place. To have the chance to have our dads here and see them enjoying their time, see a couple videos of them online enjoying the goals during the game together – it’s good to have them around,” P.O Joseph said.

After the game, Alex Nedeljkovic referenced Sullivan’s quote about beers tasting better. The dads didn’t forget either, as it was brought up immediately upon getting down to the locker room. They were all gathered around when Sullivan did his media, getting a shoutout from the Penguins head coach.

“I think (the effort) just speaks volumes to the type of people that we have in our dressing room. You can thank that group right over there because they're a reflection of those guys,” Sullivan said, gesturing to the assembled dads and guests. “They're great kids. They compete hard, and they don't look for excuses.”

Afterward, the entire group walked underneath Madison Square Garden to nearby Penn Station, hopping on a train to Philadelphia.

SATURDAY: GAME DAY @ PHI

The dads got to sleep in a bit the next morning, with their first obligation the 11:30 AM video meeting. Sullivan began by welcoming the dads once again, then got down to business. Right after, the group headed to Geno’s (in honor of Evgeni Malkin) for Philly cheesesteaks. Ryan Graves’ uncle Robert got a baseball cap from the establishment, while of course, Cookie Senior and his fellow Italian Manny Tomasino stopped next door to get some cannolis.

We were able to work everything off at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, AKA the Rocky steps. First, the group took a photo in front of the statue. Then we walked over to the stairs, and some of the guys just took off.

“We gave it a go, giving it a run up the stairs. Most of us made it. But no injuries,” Danton Heinen’s dad Rick said with a laugh. “Everybody’s good. It’s been excellent. I’ve always said I’ve been very lucky to be able to do this. We have a gas. The guys are all great, the dads are all great, the players are all great. It’s just fun.”

Chris Bunting, Michael’s brother, had never been to New York City before this trip. But he did cover both Geno’s and the Rocky steps (along with a Phillies game) during Michael's draft year in Philadelphia in 2014. That marked the very beginning of his NHL journey, so it was a different feeling being back a decade-plus later with Michael now having established himself in the world’s best league.

“It’s been a long road for him to get to where he is today,” Chris said. “So, it’s really cool to watch the whole beginning to end, kind of full circle, coming back and experiencing this trip here in Philadelphia after getting drafted here. It’s a cool experience and it feels weird, not really real yet. We’ll see how it goes tonight.”

Another fun fact: Chris is much quieter than Michael, though that's all relative. "He’s the calm one, I would say. It takes him a lot more to get riled up. Me, I’m pretty quick," Michael laughed. "I don't stop talking. I grew up with a big family, and if you wanted to speak, you had to speak loud and often and want to be heard. That's just kind of how I grew up. So, that's how I've always been.”

When we got to Wells Fargo Center, Erik Karlsson’s dad – rocking an awesome Goorin Bros. EK65 hat – went down and grabbed a hat from the team store as a memento. Jonas collects them from each new NHL arena he watches Erik play in, and this weekend marked Nos. 17 and 18.

“He's been around now for quite a while. Unfortunately, he lives a little bit too far away, so he hasn't been able to come on his own throughout the years. But he's made pretty much every Fathers Trip,” Erik said. “This year, he got lucky that it was two rinks that he hasn't been to. He was very excited about that.”

Jonas watched as Erik absolutely sniped a shot to open the scoring, with the dads invested as ever for each and every play. While the Penguins ultimately fell to the Flyers, the dads remained undefeated.

"I think whenever the dads are around, there's good energy," Sullivan said. "None of us get here alone. It takes a lot of people that support us along the way to help us, and no one's more at the central part of that than the moms and dads. I know what my dad meant to me and everything he did for me and helping me along the way, and I know players feel the same way about their dads."