Father-son trips not easy for Schultz

TAMPA, Fla. - Jake Voracek's father, Miloslav, flew nearly 5,000 miles from Kladno, Czech Republic to join the team.

Regis Gostisbehere, father of Flyers rookie Shayne, only had to drive up a few hours up Alligator Alley from Margate, Fla.

Jeff Schenn made the now-familiar trek from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as one of 17 fathers lucky enough to have at least two sons skating in the NHL this season. (He wore Brayden's jersey to the game on Thursday night against the Lightning.)

The Flyers' annual father-son road trip is an opportunity for players to say thank you for all of the long hours driving to and from practice as kids, while also offering an up-close-and-personal look at the glamorous, but also pressure-packed, world of an NHL road swing.

On their two-game trip, which concludes tonight at BB&T Center in South Florida, no area of the operation is off-limits for the Flyers' dads. They were permitted to sit in on team meetings. They watched the morning skate. They were even able to visit the locker room before and after games - the same as when they used to tie and untie their son's skates.

With all the other fathers milling about the dressing room, defenseman Nick Schultz had a smile on his face - even though this particular trip is tougher than any other.

His father, Robert, is never far from his mind. This week, especially, he is everywhere. Robert Schultz passed away in 2008 at the age of 60 after a complication from pneumonia.

"It's been about 6 years now. I'm not sure it gets any easier," Schultz said. "It's great to see all the dads. They have a blast, a lot of laughs. But it does make it a little harder. It sucks that I couldn't have my dad here to get a couple more trips out of him."

This week, the memories of his only father-son trip are fresh in his mind. His father joined him in 2006, while he played for the Minnesota Wild, on a three-game tour through California. It was the first year the Wild had done such a trip, which most teams now do.

In California, Robert Schultz made his son laugh by packing all of his toiletries in a plastic bag. That was him, though.

Schultz said his dad was "always there for him" and his two older brothers. He coached all three boys. Terrence, the oldest, was a goaltender. Kris, the middle child, once racked up 389 penalty minutes in the Central Hockey League minor pro circuit. Nick ended up becoming Minnesota's all-time leader in games played (743).

When he wasn't at the rink with his boys, Robert Schultz was a grain farmer. He worked the land his father passed down to him and made extra money in the harsh winters as a mechanic.

"When you're from Saskatchewan, that's pretty much what you do," Schultz said.

His mom, Carol, served multiple terms as the mayor of their 800-person town, Strasbourg. She still lives there, active as ever in the community, involved in "a little bit of everything," Nick says.

Robert Schultz remains a fixture at the local rink, even years after his death. In 2009, the Schultzes took the money from his memorial fund and donated a new Zamboni to Strasbourg's rink. The Zamboni is adorned with his initials: "RGS." When he wasn't coaching, Robert Schultz was always driving the Zamboni.

He was a true hockey dad, in the stands for Nick's first NHL goal.

"It doesn't matter how old they are, they still want that support from family," Robert Schultz told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on that trip in 2006. "As far as we're concerned, they never really have a bad game. And if they do, we don't tell them.

"For me, it's just reinforcing that they do something they love to do, and it's still a game. Even though it's professional hockey, there's still some fun in it like there was when they were 12 or 13 years old."

Schultz was not the only Flyer without his father this week. Zac Rinaldo brought his uncle, Terry, and injured defenseman Braydon Coburn asked his father-in-law, Gradon Skjerven.

The Flyers had given Schultz an open invitation to bring one of his older brothers, but the brothers had other obligations. The two older Schultzes live on the same block in Medicine Hat, Alberta and are planning an excursion to Philadelphia later this month.

Both Kris and Terrence have already accompanied Nick on father-son trips since their dad died - but they know he could never be replaced.

"This week would be a lot harder for me if I didn't get an opportunity to take one with him," Schultz said. "We had a great time, something I'll always remember. It's really a nice little way to pay back. It's easy for your dad to come and stay with you in Philly - but to see what road life is like, being in the nice hotels and seeing behind the scenes, that's what makes it fun."

Steve Mason (0-3-1) will be looking for his first win of the season tonight in Florida. It's his first start since Oct. 21 . . . Vinny Lecavalier (left foot) will return to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 11 . . . Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, signed as a free agent on Thursday, practiced with the team yesterday but is not ready to play yet . . . Rookie Shayne Gostisbehere will be sent back to AHL Lehigh Valley to make room for Colaiacovo on the roster. Brandon Manning will remain in the lineup tonight.

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