‘Dads Trip’ brings out the ‘nerd’ in Hawks’ fathers

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Blackhawks forward Colin Blackwell knew his dad, Jim, who was his youth hockey coach growing up, would appreciate getting to peek behind the curtain to see what really goes on in the day-to-day life of the NHL.

“He says there’s a lot of food involved,” Blackwell told the Tribune after Friday’s practice at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

“It’s been a lot of fun, certainly a lot of food,” Jim said later.

The Hawks invited players’ fathers to the team’s road swing through Los Angeles and Anaheim, Calif. The annual “Father and Son Road Trip,” or “Dads Trip” for short, had been postponed a couple of seasons because of the pandemic.

But the roster has turned over quite a bit recently, so a lot of dads — including Juhjar Khaira’s father, Sukhjinder, and Taylor Raddysh’s father, Darren — are newcomers.

“It’s really just (attending) meetings and (seeing) how detail-oriented a lot of them are from other teams’ systems,” Blackwell said. “He’s a pretty knowledgeable hockey guy, but (he didn’t know) some of the modern-day lingo, something that he might not have said or done when he was coaching me growing up.

“So just being part of those meetings, from penalty kill and how some of those systems are set up to try to shut down the other team’s best players … There’s a lot of cool things that I think, as a little bit of a hockey nerd, he loves that.”

Jim Blackwell concurred. “That’s the best part of it,” he said. “Having been a part of his life early on, coaching, this is where I feel the most comfortable: underneath the rink, not up in the stands, just in the locker room, looking at the equipment, just being a part of everything that is their daily life.”

Colin Blackwell, who’s in his first season with the Hawks, said Jim attended dads trips in the minors, but “we weren’t doing charters and stuff along those lines like this, so it’s a little bit different hospitality, and they treated us really well.”

And walking alongside some more recognizable dads — namely Patrick Kane Sr. and Bryan Toews — brings attention too.

“Last night was a blast to be up in the suites with all the dads wearing our jerseys,” Jim said of the game against the Los Angeles Kings. “And even walking around there’s 50 of us or so, we were embraced by other Chicago fans that were in the stands last night. There were quite a few other red jerseys. I was thrilled to see that.

“I’m more behind-the-scenes fun. But it was fun to be treated like a celebrity to come in on the bus to go underneath, to take the elevator up to the suite.”

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson didn’t say it outright but he likely wants to make sure all the fathers see their sons on the ice between the two games.

“We’d like to get everybody a chance to play on a special trip like this,” he said. “I know it’s professional hockey and it’s business, but everybody’s been deserving.”

Khaira and defenseman Filip Roos were back in for Saturday’s game against the Ducks.

Said Richardson of the dads: “They’re a pretty fun group and they seem to get along. It’s almost like our team does. A lot of respect for all their families and how they’re raised. You can see it.

“But I’ve met Raddysh’s dad a couple times because he lives in my building,” Richardson laughed. “So I ran into him before the trip.”

Some dads, such as Kane’s father, are old hats at this trip.

“He’s kind of spoiled, he gets fathers trips all the time,” Kane said. “He likes going on the road and seeing some different arenas.”

Kane said he appreciates having his father there.

“It’s fun because I know how much he loves hockey and obviously enjoys it,” Kane said. “Always like spending time with my dad, too. It’s been a little bit difficult the last couple of years ... so it’s always nice to get together with him and spend some time with him, especially when it’s just you and him, one-on-one time.”

Of course, not every player could have his father there.

Caleb and Seth Jones’ father, Ronald “Popeye” Jones, is an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, who were playing the Celtics in Boston.

Popeye and Caleb were both in Chicago on Sunday when the Bulls hosted the Nuggets, but gameday demands make it difficult to connect in person during the overlapping NHL and NBA seasons.

“We’ll text every once in a while or he’ll see if one of us had a good game,” Caleb Jones said. “Or if he watches the game he’ll send a text and let us know how he’s doing and we’ll respond to him.

“But it’s kind of tough with the identical schedules, and maybe one day one of these father’s trips will line up (where) he’s playing on the road somewhere the same time like last year a few times. … But we’ve kind of gotten used to it.”

Still, Jones still gets something out of the trip.

“Actually it’s been fun,” he said. “I’ve gotten to talk to some guys’ dads and get to know some people, so I’ve enjoyed it. But it obviously would be nice to have him here.”