Alex Galchenyuk’s Bell Centre debut becomes family affair for first-round draft pick.
MOTHER, FATHER AND SISTER travel to Montreal to see Alex’s first game
When Canadiens firstround draft pick Alex Galchenyuk sent his family the good news by text message last Friday, followed by a phone call, they scrambled to make it to the Bell Centre to watch him play his first NHL game Saturday.
His parents, “Alex Sr.,” as he’s known with the Sarnia Sting where he’s an assistant coach, and mother, Inna, left for Montreal late Friday night after the Sting’s game.
“People in Sarnia seemed so excited,” said Inna, who spotted many fans wearing Canadiens hats when she picked up her husband after the hockey game.
At Galchenyuk’s request, they brought along Leo and Mary, the family’s Yorkie and bichon-shih-tzu mix.
They drove until 5 a.m. before stopping at a hotel. But with Alex Sr. hoping to see the morning skates at the Bell Centre they hit the road again a few hours later.
His sister, Anna, 25, drove up from New York City.
“He wasn’t freaking out nervous — he was excited nervous,” Anna said of her 18-year-old brother before the Canadiens season opener Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You could see in his eyes he couldn’t wait to get out there.”
The excitement and joy of watching Galchenyuk make his NHL debut still lit up their faces Monday as his mother and sister recounted the experience at a downtown Montreal hotel. (Alex Sr. was at the Bell Centre watching the Canadiens practice.)
“Goosebumps, tears, everything altogether,” Anna laughed, recalling her reaction during the pregame introductions.
“I even started singing,” Inna said.
“She was singing O Canada,” Anna said of her Russian mother.
“I was so happy. I was so happy,” Inna said.
The Canadiens drafted Galchenyuk, a forward with the Sting in the Ontario Hockey League, last June.
The Canadiens can play Galchenyuk in five games before having to decide if they want him to stay with the team or go back to the Sting. And head coach Michel Therrien hasn’t tipped his hand yet.
Galchenyuk, who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., where his father was playing hockey at the time, started skating at 18 months. Inna recalled his first scrimmage at the age of 3 in Detroit where Anna had figureskating practice. While she skated on one rink, he skated on the sheet of ice with kids who were a few years older.
The final tally was 5-5. Galchenyuk scored all the goals.
“He didn’t know which net he’d have to score (on). So he would score five in his net and five in the opponent’s net,” Anna said.
Galchenyuk asked his mother afterward to stay near the net he needed to score on in the next game.
Saturday before the game, the Galchenyuks stocked up on Habs merchandise.
“Me and Mom got jerseys, Dad got the hat, a T-shirt, so we were all set for the first game,” Anna said.
It wasn’t the only exciting hockey event this month for the Galchenyuk family, who travelled to Ufa, Russia, for the World Junior Hockey Championship to watch Alex play for Team USA, which won the gold medal.
“We don’t even have a time to breathe. One flows into another,” Anna said, adding how her brother flew to Montreal for the Canadiens training camp shortly after the world juniors.
After Thursday’s intrasquad Canadiens game at the Bell Centre with 17,000 people in the stands, Gal- chenyuk admitted to looking up at the crowd.
“It’s unbelievable,” Galchenyuk told reporters. “You dream about this since you were a little kid.”
His father got his own taste of the city’s zeal for hockey on Saturday when the Canadiens opened up the Habs and Leafs morning skates as part of a bid to make amends for the NHL lockout.
“Our dad was in total shock, by the way, after he came to the morning skate and there were 8,000 people in the stands,” Anna said.
She described her brother as a “very focused kid.”
“And I always say he’s really mature for his age,” said Anna, adding he’s the first person she turns to for advice.
The Galchenyuk family is sticking around for Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers.
As the interview came to an end, Alex Sr. arrived at the hotel after watching the Canadiens practice.
They were so excited to see Alex’s first game, he said.
When people were cheering his son, “I didn’t cry, but I got like wet, wet eyes,” he said.