Sami Kapanen flew from Kuopio to Helsinki to Paris to Chicago, logging almost 6,000 miles and more than 20 hours of travel time to join his son, Kasperi, for the Blues Dads’ Trip this week.

“I woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning on Saturday. I think it was,” Sami told stlouisblues.com. “When my plane finally landed in Chicago, customs took me over an hour to clear, and then there was a huge line for a taxi. (It turns out it wasn’t an ideal weekend to come to Chicago with Thanksgiving, and then there’s a conference of about 80,000 people coming in town, but I wasn’t going to miss this.”

Kasperi is in his first full season with the Blues after joining the team in February 2023.

Although Sami might be enjoying his first dad’s trip to St. Louis, he isn’t a stranger to the NHL – in fact, he probably knows the game better than any of the other dads on the trip.

Sami put together a 12-year NHL career that started with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes organization before he joined the Philadelphia Flyers for his final four-plus seasons. Overall, he played 831 games, recording 189 goals and 269 assists (458 points) in a playing career that started in 1995 and continued through 2008.

He even had Craig Berube as an assistant coach while with the Flyers during the 2006-07 season.

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Currently, Sami is doing player development work and scouting European players for the Flyers.

“I feel a little bit awkward having a St. Louis Blues jersey on while working for the Flyers,” he joked.

Sami has been enjoying watching Kasperi to begin this season; he’s recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in 20 games so far and his two-way game has been stellar. That has given Berube a player that can be versatile in the lineup, which is handy when trying to combat the ups and downs the team has faced in the early going of the season.

“I’m proud, and I think mainly I’m so happy for Kasperi,” Sami said. “This is something he’s been working on since he was a little kid. He wanted to become a professional hockey player and play in the NHL.

“Making your dream actually happen and living it—I know how that feels. I’m extremely happy for him.”