Noel Acciari: Turks and Caicos and Naples, Florida with Bryan Rust
“In Turks and Caicos, I learned how to play mahjong,” Acciari said. “They taught me how to play, so that was fun. We were by the pool, and we played. We had some good dinners, and watched the Super Bowl in Turks, and played mahjong while watching the Super Bowl. We were intense. Enjoyed some quietness without the kids, and then we were in Naples. I was at the pool a lot. Dinners at the pool, chasing the kids around, going in the pool, it was just lowkey.”
“They were equally as fun in completely different ways,” Rust said.
Ryan Shea: Anguilla with Kevin Hayes, Connor Dewar, Parker Wotherspoon, Ben Kindel and former Penguins Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk
“Jules Heinen and Kev's wife pretty much set it up. They just asked a bunch of people if they wanted to go. I know a lot of guys already had plans pretty quick, but some of us didn't. So, we got a good little crew. It was good seeing Grzelcyk and Heinen, too. It was nice to get on the beach, in the water for four days. We had 80-degree weather. We had a really good setup. It was nice. Best thing we did, we had a boat day. It was a bigger boat, not a yacht or anything like that, but there was a lot of room. The water’s so blue there, we parked for three hours, and we were pretty much just sitting on a mat in the water. That was great. And we went to incredible dinners. That was the best part. The food was really good. I'm very picky, but it was right up my alley. I did try sushi for the first time there. I was forced to. I don’t eat seafood. They’ve tried to bully me into it before, especially Cookie [Noel Acciari]. Kev got me this time around.”
Stuart Skinner: The Bahamas
“That was my first time there. It was pretty cool. Definitely a different experience than what I’m used to. Beautiful there. The water was the clearest I’ve ever seen. [MC: What’s vacation Stu like?] It used to be sit or lay down and read a book and hang out. Now, it’s up at 6 AM with the kids and be a dad.”
Tommy Novak: The Bahamas
“My girlfriend and I were there for the week, so that was nice. It was a little island off of Exuma that we were staying at. There was lots of sun, chilling, not a lot of activity, but just hanging out there.”
Brett Kulak: Pompano Beach, Florida
“We were in Pompano Beach. I have a friend who has a condo there, and he wasn’t there, so he said yeah, just come there with your family. It was awesome. It was a trip where we really didn’t have to worry about anything besides booking our flights. It was awesome. It kind of feels like home, right, because he’s got everything fully loaded in there. It’s almost like an AirBnB, but it’s not, because you know the person. So, we just hung out there, the family – my wife and two daughters. Lots of pool time, beach time. We did the Palm Beach Zoo, and we rode that water taxi.”
Anthony Mantha: Palm Beach, Florida
“We went without the kiddos (daughters Naomie and Vivianne). My wife Caitlyn is 32 weeks pregnant, so we wanted to stay in the States in case something happened. Nothing happened, but you never know. Grandma came and babysat, so it was a really relaxing few days. We were in bed at 9 and waking up at 8, have breakfast and say, what are we doing today? We just booked dinner reservations, and that’s it.”
Ilya Solovyov: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
“It was me, my family, and my friends from Texas. (Vladislav) Kolyachonok, he was in Pittsburgh. We spent a few days together and then me and my family, we stayed for another five days. You can see it on my skin [laughs]. I love to enjoy the ocean. You can honestly do anything that you want in Florida, but for a few days we spent it on Miami Beach and just walked around the ocean. We went there from morning at 10 AM until 7 PM. It’s just walking, enjoying the breeze, the ocean, you can’t beat it. This was our second time in Florida. When my wife and I know that I have a long break, we go to Florida.”
Connor Clifton: New Jersey and Florida
“Actually, one of my good buddies was getting married in Jersey on Friday night, the day after (we played in) Buffalo. So, I stayed in Buffalo. Took the 6 AM flight to his wedding. Flew out the next day at 10 (AM) to Florida. Went down to Clearwater Beach until Thursday. Then we went to Disney World for a couple days.”
