Much is made of the NHL season being a long, arduous grind for players, who battle on the ice 82 times in a regular season (assuming they stay healthy) and sometimes play even longer if their team qualifies for the playoffs. And while they’ll almost universally tell you that they wouldn’t trade living out their dream for anything, it’s no secret that spending half the season on the road away from their loved ones takes its toll, especially for NHL fathers, who must juggle their hockey careers and family lives.
Not only is there a physical distance to contend with, but there is also the anguish of potentially missing major personal milestones or scrambling to be there in time. Case in point, several Kraken players have become fathers during Seattle’s first four NHL seasons, which only adds layers of logistical chaos and anxiety for everyone involved.
Sound Of Hockey spoke with four Kraken players who have experienced these life-changing moments during the season since they each joined the organization to learn what those days are like leading up to the birth of their child and what they go through to share the moments with their respective partners.
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand and his wife Jill became parents for the first time when baby Otto arrived in April 2023. In the days and weeks leading up to Otto’s arrival, Bjorkstrand was keeping a close eye on the calendar, as every player in that situation does.
“It’s challenging. We travel a lot, so you look at the schedule and the due date, and [you wonder], ‘Will I be in Seattle, or will I be in Arizona or wherever we were?’” Bjorkstrand said. “So, mentally it could be a little bit hard for the wives and stuff. Of course, you want them to feel that support and enjoy that time together and not make it too stressful. It’s always already a big thing.”
When Bjorkstrand got the call that Otto was on his way, it so happened that the Kraken had just gotten to Vancouver, where they were preparing for a game against the Canucks. He quickly scrambled into action to find a way back to Seattle.
“It was a back-to-back. We played at home and flew there, and I got a call in the middle of the night that she was going to the hospital, so I had to find a way to get in a car and drive back in the middle of the night.”
Bjorkstrand managed to return to Seattle in time, and he was thankful that Otto chose a date on the schedule when the team was within a reasonable driving distance.
“It’s a process, it’s a long day, it’s an experience, but I guess it’s what we signed up for. Fortunately for me, I was close. We’re in Seattle, Vancouver’s the closest, and everywhere else is quite a ride… Being home would have been the best situation, but I was fortunate it was in Vancouver where you’re only three hours away in a car.”
Jordan Eberle
Before captain Jordan Eberle suffered a major pelvis injury that will keep him out of the lineup for most of the regular season, he talked about his past experiences welcoming his first two children, and preparing with his wife Lauren to welcome their third child, Landyn, who was born about a month ago.
When we spoke with Eberle, Lauren was in the final days before her due date, so the family was on high alert. At the time, Eberle was doing his best to focus on hockey when he was at the rink.
“I think hockey is such a great thing that whatever may be going on in your life, you’re able to escape on the ice,” Eberle said. “And that’s always been a thing that I’ve loved. When things have been tough at home, or whatever it may be, hockey’s always an outlet for guys. You’re not thinking about it as soon as you get on the ice.”
He too was considering where he would be geographically when the time came but said the approach he and his wife take differs from what many players and their partners choose to do.
“A lot of people have scheduled C-sections and have a day planned so that they’re able to be there,” Eberle said. “We actually do home birth… we try to do it as naturally as possible, so that means that it’s whenever it comes, right? And if I’m on the road, obviously you try to get back as quick as you can. A lot of times you don’t make it, but I’m hoping that it happens while we’re at home. It’s just luck of the draw.”
Getting injured took away that uncertainty of where Eberle would be when Landyn arrived, although the injury itself was anything but “lucky.” In a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 14, he got tangled with defenseman Connor Murphy and slammed into the end wall. Several days later, the Kraken announced that the veteran winger had undergone successful pelvis surgery and would be out three months.
Lauren posted an image on her Instagram account a few days after the announcement showing Eberle in a hospital bed holding the newest addition to the Eberle family.
We are happy to report that we have since seen Eberle moving around on crutches, so he is becoming more mobile again. Hopefully, that is making things a little easier on the Eberle family.
Adam Larsson
Defenseman Adam Larsson’s ironman streak as a member of the Kraken was perfectly intact through two full seasons and nearly a third. But he mysteriously went missing from the lineup for a 3-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on April 5, just two weeks before the end of last season.
The absence turned out to be for good reason, as Larsson had been scrambling back to Seattle, where baby Alba was ready to join the world.
“We were in Anaheim at the time, and I was lucky we were there, because there were multiple daily flights,” Larsson recalled. “It took some time too when I got home. [My partner] was still at home when I came home, so that was good news.”
Larsson admitted that the pending birth was taking a heavy toll on him mentally in the final days of the pregnancy, to the point that he was having trouble sleeping, something that’s quite necessary for professional athletes aiming to achieve peak performance.
“I guess if it’s your first one, you kind of overthink stuff, and that was on my mind for the last three weeks leading up to it. But I guess it kind of depends where you are too. It would be a lot more stressful if you were maybe in Ottawa or Winnipeg, but I was lucky that within that span, we were in California for most of the time.
“I called her the day before, and I was like, ‘Shit, I’m having such trouble sleeping.’ And she was like, ‘Just put your phone on airplane mode,’ because I was just lying there waiting for a call that we’ve got to go. Then, sure enough, it happened that night. I had like 60 missed calls. I was like, ‘Oh, shit!’ I woke up, jumped on a plane, and went back home.”
Larsson’s story reflects the mental and physical toll that NHL fathers endure during these critical moments. He was relieved to have made it back in time to welcome Alba.
Brandon Montour
Montour also had a surprise absence from the lineup during a road trip to Eastern Canada earlier this season.
He missed a 4-1 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Halloween because he had hustled back to Seattle to meet his daughter and second child, Maison. That was not how things were supposed to go.
“She arrived early,” Montour said. “The C-section date was supposed to be Nov. 21, so obviously, this was Oct. 30, and we were in Toronto. I just got a phone call from the wife that she was going to the hospital.
“It was a day off, so I was planning on heading home to see family [in the Toronto area] and whatnot for the day, but obviously that changed the plans. I found the quickest plane I could to Seattle, was there for a couple days, and met the guys back in Ottawa.”
Montour didn’t tell us this directly, but connecting the dots, we don’t think made it back in time for the birth, and he also went through something similar when his first child arrived.
“Those are the tough things about this business. Things like that tend to happen, and as nice and as great as the sport and everything to do with being in the NHL is, that’s part of the business that’s not fun, because you’re always gone.”
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
That new dad power, though–every time a player has a new kid he seems to get some little extra juice in his game for a week afterward.