Flyers prospect Luke Vlooswyk isn’t the only athlete in his family. His mom, ‘Lisa Longball,’ is an 8-time Canadian long drive champ

Lisa and Anton Vlooswyk usually have to drive 1½ hours north from their home in Calgary to see their son Luke play for the Red Deer Rebels. This week, they’re heading 4½ hours southeast through the clouds to watch the defenseman skate in orange and black for the first time.

“I remember him pretending, when he was playing mini sticks in the basement, that he had a shootout goal to win the Stanley Cup. Or in street hockey, playing with the buddies and making a goal, pretending it was for the Stanley Cup Final,” Lisa Vlooswyk said. “And then to actually be at the NHL draft and to get drafted to such an amazing NHL team, it just almost seems surreal.”

» READ MORE: Flyers top 20 prospects: Porter Martone is No. 1, but where do Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko rank?

The 6-foot-5, 207-pound Vlooswyk, whose dad is 6-7, will suit up against the New York Rangers’ prospects on Friday and Saturday in Allentown. In front of as many as 8,500 fans at the PPL Center — including his parents — the fifth-rounder taken in June’s draft will get a chance to show off his defensive abilities and a big, booming shot that he has been working on all summer on the golf course.

The golf course?

Vlooswyk grew up in Calgary, where it feels like there are just as many golf courses as hockey rinks, and has been golfing since he was 3 years old and playing hockey since he was 5. As a right-shot defenseman — who tended goal for a year when he was younger but didn’t like it — the connection makes sense because the sports are similar in their mechanics.

“I liken a little bit the slap shot, and then really hitting a driver,” Lisa Vlooswyk said. “The key for distance in golf comes from your legs and your core, and that’s also where it comes from in hockey.

“Luke, he hits it so far. He hits it Happy Gilmore far, I think. It’s crazy. I was longer than him until I would just say this summer. … I’ll hit my drive 320 yards, and he’ll now airmail my ball and hit it 350.”

Growing up, she jokes that her dad tried to drag her into golf when she was in eighth grade, but they would only play nine holes here and there after a junior golf coach told her to go down to the end of the line to hit alone while he worked with the boys.

It wasn’t until she was in her 20s and dating Anton that she rediscovered her love of the game. After volunteering at an LPGA Tour stop in Calgary, Lisa, whose nickname is “Lisa Longball,” started competing in golf tournaments and quickly discovered that she was outdriving everyone. So when she saw an advertisement for a long drive competition, she signed up, won it with a 313-yard drive using a set of clubs from Costco, and is now sponsored by Callaway Golf.

“She is an eight-time Canadian long drive champion. She’s come second in the world multiple times, and, pretty much, she just hits a golf ball a mile,” said her proud son. “She used to be a teacher, and then she kind of found this weird ability to hit a golf ball a really long way. So she made a profession out of it, and now she public speaks and runs her own golf school.”

» READ MORE: Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko, and Oliver Bonk headline the Flyers’ rookie camp roster

While Luke joked that he has to be good at golf because he’s been playing it for 15 years, he also appreciates that the sport keeps him outdoors and active during the offseason. And it’s been a busy few months for the defenseman.

After hearing his name called with the 157th pick, Vlooswyk hopped on a plane from Los Angeles to development camp in Voorhees. A self-proclaimed sponge, he soaked up everything from players he grew up idolizing, like Patrick Sharp, who now is a special adviser in hockey operations, while hitting the same ice as one of the guys he models his game after.

“I really like to watch, actually, on Philly, Travis Sanheim,” Vlooswyk said. “He’s just a really good defensive defenseman; it’s almost kind of a rarity in the game now.

“I think there’s a lot of young players who kind of focus on the offensive side. So someone like Sanheim or Colton Parayko in St Louis, those are guys that I like to watch, who are big, they use their size, and really hone their craft in the defensive side of the game.”

And the 18-year-old left a good impression with the Flyers.

“I was happy with him. … He’s a big guy. He’s got to, certainly, work on his mobility, some of the things, but I think he projects out to be a pretty good skater once he’s filled out and grown into his body,” assistant general manager Brent Flahr said after development camp.

“I think he knows what he is. He knows he’s a defensive-first guy, but he’s long, takes time and space away. He’s got an edge. I think he knows what his identity is, which is half the battle at this point. So I thought it was real positive, and he’s motivated.”

Skating in his first full season for the Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Vlooswyck was one of four finalists for the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the WHL’s scholastic player of the year. He led the team’s rookie defensemen in points (17) and was tied for second among all players in plus-minus (plus-8) — something that surely can be credited to golf, too.

» READ MORE: Grading the Flyers for Day 2 of the NHL draft, when they added some sizable players

“I think it definitely helps just knocking down pucks, stuff like that. I’m not normally net-front tipping, but, yeah, I use what I can,” he said with a laugh, adding that it does help with his eye-hand coordination, especially when poke checking pucks away.

After rookie camp, Vlooswyk will make the long trek back to Alberta alongside Rebels teammate and fellow 2025 Flyers draft pick Matthew Gard. Lisa and Anton also will head back west and will start to make the shorter drives to Red Deer.

All are looking forward to more long drives to NHL rinks — after all, they run in the family.