The St. Louis Blues are bringing their dads on the road for two games.
The Dads’ Trip will depart from St. Louis on Saturday and travel to Chicago for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Blackhawks at United Center before continuing on to St. Paul for a Tuesday night meeting with the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.
Sixteen players will bring dads along for the trip, while defensemen Justin Faulk and Marco Scandella, whose fathers have passed away, will instead bring their brothers. Pavel Buchnevich will bring a billet dad that took him in when he was in the New York Rangers’ rookie camp since his own dad’s travel from Russia would be difficult.
During the trip, the dads will come to the arenas for morning skates, sit in on team meetings, ride on the team bus, enjoy pregame dinners and cheer on the boys from the suites.
“I’m excited. My dad has never been able to experience anything like this,” said Jake Neighbours, whose dad, Ed, will be coming along for his first-ever Dads’ Trip. “He’s from a small town in Saskatchewan, so it will be cool for him to get to see some NHL games on the road, be around the guys, see what we do on a day-to-day basis. He’s coming in early and staying late, so he’s making the most of his time. I’m looking forward to spending some time with him.”
“I don’t see (my dad) a ton anymore, so for him to be able to come on the road and experience what we do, it will be really special,” added Scott Perunovich, whose dad, Jim, will make the trip from Hibbing, Minnesota. “He did a lot for me growing up and I wouldn’t be here without him and all the sacrifices my parents made. This is sort of giving back, so I’m very excited about it.”
This year’s trip will be the sixth time the Blues have brought their dads on the road. The tradition began in 2015, and since, the Blues have posted a 7-1-1 record. The only losses came in 2018 (Boston, 3-1 L) and 2020 (Vegas, 6-5 OTL).
Last season, the team brought their moms instead, posting a 2-0 record in games against the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks.
“This will be exciting for all of us,” Neighbours told stlouisblues.com. “I think it’s obviously a little bit of extra motivation to get two wins for them and make sure they’re all happy and smiling and having a good time. They’ll love it all a lot more if we get a couple of wins.”
Below is a list of guests traveling with the Blues on the trip:
Jordan Binnington’s dad, John
Sammy Blais’ dad, Sebastian
Pavel Buchnevich’s billet dad, Richard Comeau
Justin Faulk’s brother, David
Kevin Hayes’ dad, Kevin
Joel Hofer’s dad, Steve
Kasperi Kapanen’s dad, Sami
Torey Krug’s dad, Kyle
Jordan Kyrou’s dad, Kiriako
Nick Leddy’s dad, Mike
Jake Neighbours’ dad, Ed
Colton Parayko’s dad, Tom
Scott Perunovich’s dad, Jim
Brandon Saad’s dad, George
Marco Scandella’s brother, Giulio
Brayden Schenn’s dad, Jeff
Robert Thomas’ dad, Scott
Tyler Tucker’s dad, Byron
Jakub Vrana’s dad, Karel
