FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For Jade Dewar, the “bucket-list” moment that came on his first Wild fathers trip was a unique one to hear.
“This is the very first time I saw a palm tree,” Dewar, 44 said. “This is the furthest south I’ve ever been in my life. I dipped my toes in the ocean when we landed (Friday) and I jumped in this morning. So that was an overwhelming experience.”
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Dewar, father of center Connor Dewar, and Aaron Shaw, father of Mason Shaw, compared notes. They’re both from tiny towns: Dewar from The Pas, Manitoba, and Shaw from Wainwright, Alberta. Each boasts fewer than 7,000 people.
“When we passed by the cruise ships,” Aaron Shaw said. “I was like, ‘My whole hometown could fit in there.'”
This is the first such trip for the Wild since the pandemic, with the staff and players allowed to invite a guest, whether that be a father, brother or role model. Jared Spurgeon brought his father-in-law. Jordan Greenway brought a buddy and mentor from Minneapolis. Marc-Andre Fleury brought a cousin. They were welcomed to picture-perfect weather in South Florida, a three-night stay at the plush Ritz Carlton on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Fishing, golfing or a trip to the track were on tap for Sunday’s off day. But judging by how some of the dads looked following Friday’s welcome dinner and reception, there might have been some “body maintenance” needed.
“I’m not going to lie,” Aaron Shaw said, smiling. “I’m feeling rough.”
Darren Addison, Calen Addison’s dad, couldn’t believe the comforts on the team’s charter flight, including shrimp and warm cookies. Todd Boldy, Matt Boldy’s dad, said he’ll never stay at the Ritz again — “at least on my own dime.”
Word was, Boldy — whose son signed a seven-year, $49 million deal last week — wasn’t picking up the tab (yet) for all the dads. The elder Boldy said his son will make more than he will make “in 490 years.”
“That doesn’t go into effect yet,” Todd Boldy said, laughing. “First of all, it’s not my contract. As I told Matt, when he used to borrow money. ‘I don’t get paid yet, maybe next week.’ I’m just happy for him. It’s great to be here with these guys — everyone gets to experience it. It’s fun to sit back and enjoy the ride with the boys.”
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During the “ride,” the four fathers took some time to sit down for a roundtable Saturday afternoon. The waves from the Atlantic Ocean could be seen from the window in the Ritz restaurant where I gathered with them around a table: Boldy, a Boston-area detective for the DEA; Shaw, a procurement manager for an oil company; Addison, a mailman and Dewar, who works in environmental protection.
The proud fathers discussed their favorite childhood stories of their kids, what the NHLers might be had they not been in hockey, what kind of advice they still give and what might surprise Wild fans about them.
What is your hockey background?
Addison: I played hockey up to senior hockey and that was it. I loved hockey, so I knew when (Calen) was born, I was going to push. I hate to say it, but it’s true, because I loved it. But I was nothing great, that’s for sure.
Dewar: Oh, I was awesome — until novice. Same thing. I went through minor (level) hockey, that’s about it. I saw when guys made it, the players I played with, you knew they were doing something different at the rink, away from the rink. I wasn’t going to do that, but you admired that.
Boldy: I have none. I played pond hockey. I always wanted to. But — back in the ’70s and ’80s — there weren’t a lot of rinks in Massachusetts at that time. There would be 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. practice, and it was expensive. I wasn’t getting up. I did football, basketball, baseball — all the free sports. Matt got into it because when his mother and I were married, they didn’t have football where we were living. His older brother (Mike) was into hockey and Matt followed in his shoes.
Dewar: There used to be a great (hockey) scene in The Pas. Sadly hockey has taken a hit. It’s just the cost of playing. The closest international airport is seven hours away. I would love to know how many miles we put on our vehicles.
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Smith: Like 100,000?
Dewar: Oh no, that’s half of a year. … Hockey is still a big fabric, part of Canada. But sadly I think the numbers are down in (The Pas) because of the cost. That’s just the reality of it.
What would your sons be doing if they weren’t playing hockey?
Shaw: He would do something in agriculture. As long as I can pay the way, he would do it.
Addison: I have no idea. I don’t know if there was a Plan B, to be honest. I hate to say that, but I really don’t know. Maybe he’d be a mailman beside me.
Dewar: Connor, I think, would be fighting sharks (laughing). I don’t know what he would have done. He decided when he was five he was going to play hockey. I just told him you couldn’t have girlfriends. He held true, and here he is.
Boldy: He’s got all the girls on Twitter loving him now.
Dewar: Oh, now that he’s (in the NHL), there’s no problem.
Boldy: I definitely wouldn’t want (Matt) to get into my field. Because it’s changing. He’d probably end up in business once he got his degree.
Smith: Mike Russo said to ask you what your “game day” routine is like for your job.
Boldy: I’m a detective assigned to a DEA drug task force. We go do a search warrant, I put my vest and helmet on. You get an adrenaline rush like you were playing sports again when you were a kid. It ends up being life or death. But you get that adrenaline going.
When did you know your son had a chance to make it in hockey?
Boldy: I don’t think you ever sit there and go, “He can play in the NHL.” They work hard, they dedicate their time. As he started progressing, he was one of those bubble kids growing up in our area. Then Cole Caufield, Jack Hughes, Trevor Zegras, all the guys he played against when he went to the (U.S. National Team Development Program), he got that confidence and he got size. You could start seeing him stay at that level. Those kids, all the scouts said they were going to play. Personally, I never looked at him and said, “Oh, he’s going to play in the NHL.”
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Dewar: That’s a tough question. It’s when the hockey world becomes very small. I knew who Addison was, Shaw was older, but he went to the spring tournaments. The older they got, the club got smaller and you saw those kids more. I remember the first time an NHL scout came to talk to me. Montreal. I grew up a die-hard Habs fan. Stupid, I know. It was during Connor’s first year in Everett, he was like 16. This guy starts talking to me and I’m sweating, I start dripping. He came to me and said, “I think Connor is the hardest-working guy in this league.” … I saw Connor’s mom in the shop and gave her his card. She looked at me, “What’s wrong?” I’m like, “Look at this.” I was shaking. Awestruck, I guess. But too bad for them. I’m not a Habs fan anymore.
Addison: Honestly, he was really good right from the start. Just skating-wise. I just knew he had something different at age 9-10. Skating-wise, then they started hitting and he liked it. I’d always say, “OK, you’re pretty good here now.” Still, you never know. You go through injuries and stuff. You’re still wondering if they’ll get in (the lineup).
Dewar: I still log in (to social media) every morning. Is he in?
Addison: I do that all the time, it’s like, “Please, have a good game.” You never know.
When Aaron Shaw took the redeye to bring his injured son home for good, Mason Shaw's @IAWild teammates intervened: "Leave him here with us. We'll look after him." ICYMI on Shaw's journey of resilience to #NHL through the eyes of his father. #mnwild
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) November 2, 2022
Shaw: I think, probably like these guys, you hope they’ll make it to the next level. You go watch your local team and hope he makes that. And then someday maybe there will be interest in the bantam draft, midget. I think that’s as simple as it was for me. “Geez, I hope the next level keeps coming.” The time in Milwaukee (after Shaw’s third ACL surgery), that’s interesting to look back at it. There’s a part of me, maybe for him now, I think probably I would have gotten my way, and he would have come home. Thank God for that that he stayed, right? Thank God for the organization and people he surrounded himself with. They said, “If you’re going to take him home, take him home later. Not now.” And the rest has worked out.
Smith: Do you and Connor’s dad have the same kind of chemistry as your sons, who are so close (teammates and roommates)?
Shaw: We get along great.
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Dewar: We went through a lot of the periodic elements last night. Yeah, there’s chemistry. (Laughing)
Shaw: I think we’re all simple people, that’s probably where it comes from. It’s pretty easy that way.
Your favorite youth hockey story about your sons?
Boldy: One of the biggest things with Matt is we took him to play minor hockey, and they wouldn’t let him take his stick out until he learned how to start skating. He was so pissed off in the locker room, like, “I’m not going. I want my stick.” I told him, “I need you to go out there and I need you to earn it.” By the end of that, he was moved up a group or two with kids that had sticks because they had started skating. He started skating when he was a year and a half on his rollerblades, two years old on the outdoor rink because his brother was there. He wanted to be like his brother. The outdoor rink we made, the boys would skate (on it). But he wasn’t going out there without his stick. Not at all.
Addison: I’m trying to think here. The ‘Brick’ tournament was pretty cool. It was the first time where you’re at that age, you look at this guy, and the rankings, and he did very well. I’m like, “Wow, this is pretty good.”
Dewar: It’s funny about that. I knew nothing about that. When people asked, “How come he’s not at the Brick Tournament?” I’m like, “What is the Brick Tournament?” Obviously he was past the age of it when it happened.
Shaw: There was one moment that was interesting, it felt like it came full circle. The Oilers used to have a lineup program, where you could apply at McDonald’s to stand at the blue line during the anthem. He got to do it. And (when the Wild played in Edmonton this year), they asked for the picture from that. So that’s a funny full-circle moment.
The last time you gave your son a pointer, and he listened
Addison: Today?
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Boldy: “Leave me alone” — was that what it was?
Dewar: It’s just normal conversations. Not always about hockey. It’s nice when they do call sometimes and it has nothing to do with the game. Sometimes it’s “How do you cook steak?” Life stuff. “How do I register for that?” I’ll say, “Yeah, you’re paying taxes now.” It’s more life now than hockey.
Boldy: I never played (hockey). Any advice I ever gave Matt was how to be an athlete. He played baseball, lacrosse, golf growing up. The only thing I could contribute — I never played — was, “Work hard, have fun, be with your teammates and do what coach says. Don’t complain. Earn everything you get.” That’s basically all I could give him.
But again, it’s mostly lifestyle stuff. He called me one time when he got a flat tire. “I can’t change it, I tried to change it.” All of a sudden, I’m working, and I went down to show him how to do it. The second time he got a flat tire, he FaceTimed me and said, “I just want you to watch me do it. I’m going to do it.” And he did it. He passed! These are young kids and people don’t realize that.
What’s been your proudest moment?
Boldy: Just watching him achieve his dream. It doesn’t matter if it’s Matt or his brother or sister. As a parent, and we were talking about this the other day, I take pride in what they achieve.
Dewar: Almost every person will come up to me and say, “You must be so proud.” And I think sometimes this comes across as arrogant, but I’m not proud. I’m just f****** happy that the world didn’t make a liar out of me when I told him he could do whatever you put your mind to. And he did that. Am I proud? I guess. I’m just happy his dream came true.
Addison: Hockey-wise, for me, it was world juniors when they won, that was very special. You’re stressed, of course, but when they won, it was the best.
Shaw: I’ve got one for you. I like watching these guys with the kids now. I’m proud of that. When you see them signing stuff for a kid, when little kids come up to them. They were those kids once. Outside of hockey, you’re just proud of your kids, no matter what. You don’t have to bend down and talk to them, so I’m proud watching these kids. They don’t even know yet — they’re too young to know what they’re doing, or maybe they do know. My kid was that kid that used to hang around for a signature. There may be many Matt Boldys, many Connor Dewars and Calen Addisons everywhere now. I think that’s pretty cool. Nobody wants my autograph.
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Dewar: I don’t know about that. You gave some out last night.
Shaw: (Laughing) Did I? They’re like, “Can I get your player’s card?”
Dewar: As a dad, you almost lose your identity. You’re not Aaron Shaw anymore, you’re ‘Mason Shaw’s dad.’ I’m Connor Dewar’s dad. When I go up north, guys I grew up with, they’re like, “Hey how’s your kid doing?” I’m like, “You don’t want to say hi to me?”
Is it hard to be the parent of an NHL player in the social media world?
Addison: I pay attention to everything.
Dewar: It drives me crazy sometimes.
Boldy: I’m biting my tongue.
Dewar: I don’t send anything, though.
Boldy: I read it, and I’m like, “You people have no idea about my son. He’ll start ripping it up soon because as mad as you are (about his slump), he’s 20 times that trying to work through it.”
Dewar: Connor would police me on social media. They go through training on all that stuff. I got off a night shift, and it was minus-43 temperature in my car. I took a picture of it and put it on Facebook,” … I’m going home to take a nap. I got a text. It was Connor. “Take that off Facebook.” I’m like, “Nobody is watching me. Settle down.”
What are your plans for the off day?
Boldy: I’m going fishing. You too, aren’t you Shawsy?
Shaw: Yep, I’m there.
Dewar: I won’t be going fishing. We’ve been here a couple days and everyone talks about sharks and how they have all these tagged sharks around here.
Boldy: Connor is going to fight them, we’ll be good.
Smith: So you won’t fight sharks?
Dewar: Nah. (Laughing)
What would surprise people about your son?
Dewar: Connor is actually pretty witty. He probably opens up a bit more with the boys.
Addison: He may only say five words, but those are the five you remember.
Boldy: People know Matt is good at golf. Just a competitive kid. He hates to lose. Even floor hockey at home, he’ll play with his younger sister, he always picks her because she doesn’t take any crap. And he hates to lose.
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Smith: We already know yours about Mason — his karaoke skills, right?
Shaw: Well, I haven’t seen him sing karaoke yet.
Boldy: The first time I met him, I was in Cody McLeod’s room and he was playing the guitar.
Shaw: One thing about my son is he’s a caring soul. You might not think it when you watch him play and see his attitude, but it’s not. I wouldn’t be shocked if you told me there was an old lady with a flat tire on the road and he helped her change it.
Addison: Just when he plays, he’s got ice in his veins. Which is a good thing. He’s very competitive. But when the game is over, he’s like, “Game is over. That’s it.” On to the next one. He doesn’t dwell on stuff.
Dewar: Connor is awesome at making dirty dishes and leaving them around all the time.
(Top photo courtesy of the Minnesota Wild)
