Inside Scoop: 2025.26 Dads Trip

DIGICAM DOES TEAM DINNER

After landing in Ottawa, everyone quickly dropped their bags off at the hotel before bussing to dinner at Fratelli Kanata, a fantastic local spot.

The digital camera made a comeback after going overseas to Sweden. I went around to each table for group shots, with varying degrees of success. Blame the photographer; the subjects were all great sports!

There's a Dairy Queen across the way, and it's not uncommon for guys to stop there and get ice cream for dessert after a delicious Italian meal. This time, the Blizzards were delivered directly to the players and their families, with rookies Rutger McGroarty, Ben Kindel, and Ville Koivunen passing them out to each table.

ROOKIE DADS

With the youth movement in Pittsburgh, there are more rookie dads than usual on this trip.

A couple of them have been around sports their whole lives. Steve Kindel played professional soccer and now works as Senior Technical Director of the North Vancouver Football Club; while Jimmy McGroarty played professional hockey with stops in the ECHL and overseas, and now works as general manager of the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL). But it’s still an eye-opening experience to see what their sons are doing on a day-to-day basis.

“After the video meeting, he was like, ‘That was awesome,’” Rutger said. “I feel like the attention to detail that it takes in the NHL and just little things that he can take back home to his job and maybe share with his team, that's really cool for him. But also, I think he's just taking it all in. I think he just loves the opportunity, loves seeing his boy live out his dreams, and he's just loving it.”

MUSE WELCOMES THE GROUP

The annual Dads Trip presented by Highmark began with Dan Muse inviting the group into their video meeting before Wednesday’s practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

At first, the Penguins Head Coach wasn’t sure if it made sense to bring in all of the dads (along with a couple fathers-in-law and brothers) to watch the tape, as there’s a lot to go over coming off another tough outing. Pittsburgh’s loss to Edmonton left them with a 0-2-3 record on their season-long five-game homestand before hitting the road for this two-game trip to Ottawa and Montreal.

“But everybody that's getting on that plane, we're all in the fight together, so we might as well start off the right way and jump right in,” Muse said. “I think everybody in this room can help play a role to get things started and get us some points on this trip.

“Obviously, as of late, as of the last week or so, we've been in one a little bit, we've been dipping. And I think these trips are always fun when things are going well. It gets even better right now, just calling in the big guns... having some family with us, and people that have played a major influence on obviously all the players in this room. And so, I think the timing of this, everybody joining, couldn't be any better.”