ST. LOUIS — Standing outside the Terry Conners Rink in Stamford, Conn., in July, Gary Zegras was already excited about the idea of a dads’ trip with Jeff York and Gary Drysdale.
Just a few weeks prior, his son Trevor Zegras — who was inside the rink skating in the third annual Shoulder Check Showcase to raise mental health awareness and encourage people to reach out to and check in with one another — was traded to the Flyers.
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It reunited him with Jamie Drysdale and Cam York. The two defensemen played with the younger Zegras with the Anaheim Ducks and USA Hockey, respectively.
Of course, Gary had texted the dads immediately after the trade happened.
“We were excited for the start of the season,” Gary Zegras said on Friday after the Flyers’ morning skate. “Once we knew the [Flyers] dads’ trip was on the calendar, we all checked in with each other to make sure we were all going.”
“Yeah, he’s fired up,” Trevor Zegras said, adding his dad knows Bobby Brink’s father, Andy Brink, well, too. “The Garys are having a good time together. Gary Z and Cam’s dad go all the way back.”
It’s a reunion for the dads, who are three of the several dads on the Flyers’ annual parent trip, but also special for the kids.
“Especially my dad, being from California, he doesn’t get to come out to the East Coast that much, so he’s having a blast,” said Cam York. “I know as players, we always look forward to it because it kind of spices our trip up a bit, too. So it’s a ton of fun.”
The players all speak to their dads regularly. Jamie Drysdale talks to at least one of his parents after every single game. Cam York jokingly said his dad, who played college football at Cal State Fullerton when it was D-I and says he’s “not going to tell him how to play hockey at all,” only texts after good games, but they do talk 2-3 times a week.
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Gary Zegras, who was happy to have his son closer to home, has been to almost every game, including the Flyers’ win in Montreal earlier in the month. The one game he missed? Trevor scored his first two goals as a member of the Flyers in a win at home against the New York Islanders. He had a good excuse, though: he was coaching a youth hockey game.
The dad won’t be missing too many more games across the final 66 of the regular season. But like all the dads on the trip, he’s using it to connect with the players and their proud papas and to “get a peek behind the curtain” about their sons’ workdays.
They were in the locker room on Thursday, with coach Rick Tocchet speaking to the group, before hopping on the plane to St. Louis to see their kids play the Blues on Friday (8 p.m., NBCSP+) and the Dallas Stars (8 p.m., NBCSP) on Saturday. In St. Louis, there was a team dinner where general manager Danny Brière addressed the group. And several dads were seen chatting with president Keith Jones at the rink during morning skate.
“It’s a great time and opportunity to be here and see how the inner workings of how he does his job,” said Jeff York. “It’s always fun to see that, because we compare our jobs sometimes together, and I’m in his office now.”
For a long time, Cam’s office was the rink Jeff built behind their house in Anaheim Hills, Calif. With all of the kids out of the house, it’s now a pickleball court, but Jeff says his son can still go out there in his rollerblades and shoot pucks, which he “will do sometimes during the summer when he’s home,” said Jeff.
“It’s amazing, perfect California story,” he added about his son’s rise from the warm-weather state. “But he is the most competitive kid that you’ll ever see. His personality really doesn’t indicate that, but when you know him like I know him, and when you watch him do what he does, and how he handles his normal life, he is so competitive.”
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Don’t let them fool you. The dads are just as competitive.
When told that last year the moms were 2-0, with the Flyers shutting out the Boston Bruins before beating the same Blues they are playing on Friday — ironically, Jim Montgomery, the coach of the Blues today, was the coach of the Bruins last season — they are feeling the heat. Especially after it was noted that two years ago, the dads went 1-0-1.
“Yes, we’re feeling a lot of pressure,” said Gary Zegras, who tried to count the Flyers getting a point against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday with a bunch of the dads already in town.
“We want to get four points and make sure that we get another one of these on the calendar for two years from now.”
“And you know, hockey players are superstitious,” he added, before saying with a chuckle, “If we don’t go 2-0 and the moms go 2-0 next year, that might be the end of the dads’ trip.”
Breakaways
Goalie Sam Ersson will start against the Blues. He is 1-1-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average and .935 save percentage across three career games. … There are no lineup changes, which means forward Nikita Grebenkin will sit for a second straight game. Defensemen Egor Zamula (fifth game) and Adam Ginning (ninth game) will also be healthy scratches.
