Sabres bring their dads along for the ride
Published: November 24, 2009, 9:38 pm
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WASHINGTON — Jim Ellis, like the father of probably every NHL player, is extremely proud of his kid. More than that, he's happy for his son Matt and the rest of the Buffalo Sabres.
"They're living their dream," Jim Ellis said. "You can't ask for anything more."
The fathers get to be part of the dream this week. The Sabres have revived their long-lost ritual of "Bring Your Father to Work Day," and 16 dads boarded the team charter Tuesday for trips to Washington and Philadelphia.
The journey began with a few meals and events in the nation's capital. It continues today when the Sabres visit the Washington Capitals in Verizon Center. The group travels by train to Philadelphia after a Thanksgiving practice in D.C. and will conclude the outing with a game against the Flyers on Friday afternoon.
"This will just be awesome," coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday after an early morning workout in Buffalo. "I've already said hello to a few of the dads, and I know how excited they are to be along. I've missed doing this for the past number of years. To get it back and do it again, I think it's going to be great."
It's been at least a decade since the Sabres turned a road trip into a family vacation. Bankruptcy and ownership changes were the main culprits.
"We went through that stage where, for a couple years with ownership, we just didn't quite have the resources to do it," Ruff said. "But now, you've got to give [owners] Tom [Golisano] and Larry [Quinn] a lot of credit for allowing it to happen."
It was tough to tell which group was more excited Tuesday morning, the fathers or sons. The dads chatted in the HSBC Arena stands and hallways while their kids practiced and packed their gear.
"Every team should do this," said left wing Clarke MacArthur, whose father, Dean, came in from Lloydminster, Alberta. "It just gives the dads a chance to see what we go through every day, and it's a pretty cool thing.
"I don't know if he got a lot of sleep [Monday] night. That was the topic of conversation. He couldn't wait to get on the plane and fly out."
The event is the first for most of the families, but the Ellis clan was fortunate enough to do it once before. Jim Ellis took a West Coast swing when Matt was a forward for the Detroit Red Wings.
"It's a nice chance to bond again after awhile. It's a good experience for the boys, as well as us," the elder Ellis said. "I've never been to Washington, so that's a good thing, but just to spend time with Matt is the big thing. The thing from the last trip, and I know it will be the same on this trip, is people really don't understand just how busy these guys are. That kind of opened my eyes last time."
The chance to expose his dad, Felix, to the daily life of an NHL player was part of the reason center Derek Roy was excited.
"It gives the fathers a little taste of the NHL," Roy said. "As much as we explain what happens in our lives and what we do, they obviously don't get to see it.
"They're going to see two good teams with Washington and Philly, two good cities, and just hanging out with their sons should be a good time. All in all, just seeing your dad after a game, that's something you don't experience often."
The trip and its high emotions come at a good time for the Sabres. They are 0-2-1 in their past three games and were outscored, 13-6. A boost is eagerly welcomed.
"It'd be nice to have a couple wins with it," Clarke MacArthur said.
Washington is also winless in its last three (0-1-2) and is playing its fifth game in eight nights.
"You look at this trip as a springboard," Ruff said, "and that's what we hope it will end up being."
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