Ryan Lomberg's wife Marissa gave birth to their second child, a baby girl named Lennon, on Thursday
The Florida Panthers opened up the team’s 2023 Training Camp on Thursday at the Ice Den in Coral Springs, but one player from the 59-man roster was not present.
He had a pretty good excuse.
Ryan Lomberg was not at the practice rink on Thursday because his wife Marissa was giving birth to their second child, a baby girl named Lennon.
“It's tough to put into words what it means to be a father.” Lomberg said on Friday. “It's something that's bigger than hockey.”
While it may seem like a no-brainer to be by your wife’s side as your child comes into the world, it’s not always that easy with professional athletes.
“It's tough to sometimes take yourself out,” Lomberg admitted. “Obviously, we have a very fortunate and lucky job and we've all been training our whole lives to get to this point, but looking beyond hockey, something I've always wanted was a big family, so I’m very excited to welcome another little Lomberg into the family. I’m very, very lucky and fortunate.”
The timing was pretty interesting though.
As his teammates were enduring the start to another incredibly difficult and physically demanding training camp under head coach Paul Maurice, Lomberg, who is known as one of the hardest working guys in the locker room, was notably absent.
“It is truly a veteran move,” Maurice said of Lomberg timing his daughter’s birth with the start of camp. “Which we would chirp him heavily about, except he's an incredibly fit guy. I think when we get our fitness results from our testing back here very soon, he wants the title. So if there's going to be a guy to miss a day of camp, Ryan Lomberg’s got a green light. We’re very happy for him.”
After spending the night at the hospital with his wife and new baby girl, Lomberg was at the rink bright an early on Friday.
Interestingly enough, when the Panthers players were huffing and puffing at the end of their practice session (when Maurices lines up pucks at center ice and has his players work through a 30-40 minute drill that features one-on-one boards battles followed by three laps around the rink, done ten times in succession), Lomberg was notably out there with a big smile on his face as he worked his way up and down the ice.
“I couldn't be happier to be out there with the guys again,” Lomberg said afterwards. “Obviously having a kid is a good reason to miss a day training camp, but to hear about how the guys are battling and grinding, it's tough to not be around when stuff like that is happening. So I was happy to be back out there today working hard with the guys, sweating and grinding away.”
Lomberg is entering his fourth season with the Panthers.
He’s seen his role both on and off the ice grow with each passing year.
As one of the veteran guys in Florida’s locker room, Lomberg is viewed as a team leader, someone players can look to an example to follow and turn to when they need advice or inspiration.
“We obviously have some great leadership in that room, and I like to think that I'm one of the guys that are holding guys accountable and just kind of boosting everybody up and making sure that we're all aware of how good of a team we can be,” Lomberg said, adding some fatherly advice before leaving the room.
“Don't get down and just be confident and try hard, and then let's get after it again.”
