Karl Subban says while he's in Thunder Bay, he might have to look up Henry Staal.
With one son, Pernell Karl (P.K.), entrenched as an NHL all-star and good-will citizen with the Montreal Canadiens, and two more – Malcolm, a goaltender drafted by Boston and Jordan, a defenceman in the Vancouver Canucks organization – well on their way to NHL status, the 57-year-old patriarch is soon going to have some tough decisions to make should his offspring face off against each other.
Staal, of course, has three sons in the NHL, Eric and Jordan with the Carolina Hurricanes and Marc, a defenceman with the New York Rangers.
“The Thunderwolves,” Subban joked, decked out in the familiar blue and white colours of his alma mater Lakehead University when asked who he’d root for in the above scenario.
“No, you know what? First I started out as a hockey fan and then you become a parent. So I’m not as big a fan as I am a parent. It’s like the Staals from Thunder Bay. I’d better get some advice from them because at times they had their boys play on different teams.
“I don’t know how they did it. But it’s been a lot of fun, a great ride and a great journey. And a lot of it started here in Thunder Bay with me playing senior soccer here and attending the university here and working.”
Subban journeyed back to the city on Friday to take part in the annual John Zanatta Memorial men’s basketball alumni games, at the gym where he played university ball from 1979 to 1984.
Born in Jamaica, the elder Subban moved to Canada in 1970, settling in Sudbury, where hockey ruled the airwaves.
But he took to basketball, and said he arrived in Thunder Bay with an eye on making the NBA. He quickly realized it probably wouldn’t happen, so he set out to become the best educator he could be, knowing hard work was the way to get there.
It’s a lesson he imparted to all five of his children, three of whom chose hockey as a career.
“When we had our children, Maria and I, and started out in life, that’s what we wanted our children to do, to work hard. We didn’t want their size or anything to hold them back. The only thing that can hold you back is you,” said Subban, a retired principal who once worked at the River Street A&P to pay for his classes.
“If you work hard and you don’t come up with excuses you can have an impact on life and life can have an impact on you in a positive way.”
In P.K. Subban's case, the advice paid off. He made headlines last month when he committed to donate $10 million to a Montreal-area hospital.
It made Dad proud.
"What I've learned over the years that if you're able to use your success and achievement to make the lives of others better, that's probably the best success or achievement anyone can have. That's what P,K.'s doing at such a young age and he's far ahead of where I was at 26," Subban said. "Good for him. We've talked about it, him making it in hockey. And now he has to make it in life.
"One way to show that you've made it in life is to do things for others and he's certainly doing that."
Subban, who admitted he could hardly sleep the night before his return to Lakehead, recalled his time in Thunder Bay fondly.
“It gave me my start in life. I made so many friends and obviously I’ll be seeing some of my classmates this weekend, but most importantly I want to see my teammates. They had a big impact on me, especially the game we just played in the name of John Zanatta, who coached us and was our leader and mentor and did so many wonderful things for all of us,” Subban said.
“He had an impact on all of us and he certainly had an impact on me.”
