For Paul and Jake Maurice, Panthers and Everblades reaching respective finals creates family affair
The NHL and ECHL affiliates are each playing for their respective titles, with a father-son combination adding to the connection between teams
There is no doubt that the current state of the Florida Panthers franchise is the golden era in their 30-year history. However, these last two years have been a bit different.
Panthers are set to take on the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final with Game 1 set for Saturday night.
It’s not only a second consecutive time the Panthers have made the Stanley Cup Final, but their ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, are in the Kelly Cup Finals for the third straight season, their second under the Panthers affiliation.
The Everblades took a 3-1 series lead after defeating the Kansas City Mavericks on Friday night in Game 4 by a final of 4-1 at Hertz Arena. Florida is now one win away from becoming the first team to win three consecutive Kelly Cup’s since it was first awarded in 1989.
Prior to game 4 in Estero, THN Florida had an opportunity to sit down with team play-by-play broadcaster Jake Maurice to discuss the growth of the game with the success of the Everblades.
“Coming down here [from Winnipeg in 2022], I wasn’t expecting it to be a dead hockey market," he said. "I knew Florida was coming off a strong season, I knew the Blades were coming off a Kelly Cup champ, Tampa had been dominant. I’m really surprised how much people down here love hockey, but the Florida locals seem to over the last few years have adopted hockey as a real part of their sporting life.”
The Panthers being just over 100 miles from Estero helps with creating the fan connection outside of Southwest Florida, where there are consistently more than a handful of Panthers sweaters in the stands during Everblades games.
Jake Maurice made the move to Florida when his dad, Paul Maurice, was hired as the head coach of the Panthers back in the summer of 2022.
Jake Maurice previously did play-by-play for the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) before making his way to Florida.
In the case of Paul Maurice, life as a head coach in the NHL is a “first guy in, last guy out” type of deal. With almost 30 years of NHL head coaching experience, there is the opportunity to achieve a goal that he had worked all his life for, winning the Stanley Cup.
“He grinds, he sacrifices, he puts in more effort than anyone I've ever seen,” Jake Maurice said. “It's hardly uncommon where he's awake at 5 a.m. and he's not back until after nine o'clock. He's driven, committed in a way that very few people in the world are. And it's showing in his work down here and what he's been able to help the Panthers do.”
Jake Maurice, throughout life, got to peak behind the curtain with life as a coach's son. It's certainly helped prepare him for his own individual journey in broadcasting.
“It's always super humbling to watch him work, because it sets a standard for myself, in my work that I want to strive to get there,” Jake Maurice said. ”I don't think there's anything else you can really say except how proud I am to be his son.”
There are the ups and downs in a season where one game might be decided on a strange bounce, or a missed call. However, the coach is still required to answer questions regardless.
Paul Maurice has grabbed the attention of NHL world with his entertaining press conferences over the years, but where does that come from?
“My older brother Mike told me that ‘I love listening to your press conferences because that’s where I learn about the game’” Paul Maurice discussed in a sit down with Katie Engleson of Bally Sports.
Paul Maurice even went on to mention how Jake Maurice went into sports and broadcasting and thought about it from his son's perspective.
“If that were my kid asking an NHL coach a question and you were a jerk about it, I would take that so personally,” Paul Maurice said.
“It's kind of understanding more, because I grew up with him,” said Jake Maurice. “And because I saw what it was like, the difference between coming home after a win or a loss, especially depending on how the win or loss happened, some losses are a lot easier to handle than others. It's knowing when's the right time to ask a certain question.”
It’s more than just an opportunity for the players on the ice for the Panthers and Everblades to win a championship in the same season, but for father and son to climb the mountain top in lock step while playing two different roles on two different teams, but under the same umbrella.
One’s success truly is the others’ success, in more ways than one.
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