On Father's Day, here's a list of Senators stars who transitioned from listening to their Dad's NHL war stories to carving out their own careers.
For well over a century now, the sport of hockey at its various levels has helped galvanize the bonds between fathers and their children. Whether it's playing on an outdoor rink, at the local arena, or just watching on TV, when a game of hockey breaks out, even the grumpy or stoic tend to open up with the people around them.
Not a single player in the NHL, including the Senators, would be where they are today without the support of at least one of their parents or guardians. But quite a few current Senators had a little extra nudge, with fathers who actually played in the NHL.
As kids, they heard all the NHL war stories from their dads, who coached them and shared what it takes to play in the league.
The list has grown smaller over the past few years with the exits of Josh Norris, Jakob Chychrun, Mark Kastelic, Patrick Brown, and Roby Jarventie, who all had Dads who played in the league.
Here are the current Ottawa Senators who grew up completely immersed in NHL hockey before stepping out of their father's shadow and into the limelight.
Drake and Norm Batherson
Imagn ImagesOkay, we're taking liberties. Drake's father, Norm, never actually played in the NHL, but since he was briefly part of the Senators organization, playing for their top farm club in PEI, we're going to make an exception. Former Senators enforcer Dennis Vial is Batherson's uncle.
Ridly and Mark Greig
Imagn ImagesRidly Greig's father, Mark, played nine seasons in the NHL, suiting up for the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. Ridly's late uncle, Bruce, briefly played for the California Golden Seals. Greig's sister, Dara, will play for the Ottawa Charge this fall.
Jake and Geoff Sanderson
Imagn ImagesWith Geoff having eight different NHL stops in his career, the Sanderson family moved around a lot. Geoff had 700 points in just over 1100 NHL games, with stops in Hartford, Carolina, Vancouver, Buffalo, Columbus, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Edmonton. The Sandersons may have chosen to play different positions, but they share the gift of phenomenal skating ability.
Brady and Keith Tkachuk
Imagn ImagesKeith had an outstanding NHL career with Winnipeg, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Atlanta. He's one of the NHL's few 500-goal scorers not in the Hall of Fame. It will be interesting to see if he gets the call on Monday to be part of the 2026 class.
Jorian and Shean Donovan
Imagn ImagesThe Donovans hold the distinction of being the only father-son team to both play for the modern-day Senators. With the wild number of injuries on Ottawa's blue line, Jorian got into his first two NHL games this season. Shean had a well-travelled NHL career, playing 951 games with seven organizations. His final three seasons were in Ottawa.
With the emergence and success of the PWHL, it won't be long before we can do this list on Mother's Day, making a list of Senators whose moms played pro hockey.
For now, whether you're celebrating your dad or you're the one being celebrated (or both), we wish you a Happy Father's Day.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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