By Alex Garrett 5-9-24
For someone born in Oklahoma, you wouldn’t think hockey would help shape their life’s story. Yet for my dad, John Garrett, hockey was a major part of his life, a pastime he passed along to me in many ways.
While he was born in Oklahoma, his family moved to Minnesota in the 1940s , and you know how cold and snowy those winters could be ! I believe he’d tell me how he played outdoors on frozen ice rinks when he wasn’t delivering newspapers in below freezing wintry conditions . Yep, my pop was as tough as any NHL hockey player dealing with the elements of Minnesota winters.
For many years , I’d hear the stories of how he also played in the Charles Schultz hockey league. The man behind the Peanuts loved hockey so much, he created a men’s league for the passionate hockey fan like my father . My dad also grew to love the Chicago Blackhawks after listening on radio to their 3rd Stanley Cup championship in 1961. He’d always talk about the remarkable stick work and athleticism of Bobby Hull and quite often would drop the names Gordie Howe or Canadien great Rocket Richard into any hockey-related conversation.
He’d always marvel at the way these guys could skate and control the puck with a hockey stick right up into recent years. I remember we were at an Islander game in 2019 and he was looking at how tall these players of today are and had a ‘back in my day’ kinda moment when talking about hockey players of smaller stature when he was growing up.
What I did not realize, until last year’s memorial honoring my dad, was that he played into fatherhood, according to my mom. One time in Secaucus , he held me when i was months old and skated me around the ice while holding me in the crook of his arm. That grew to skating me around Wollmann Rink at the age of 3. He put my little walker over the boards and pushed me up the ice !
We went to countless Ranger games, Islanders games and Devil games, and yes even a few Blackhawk games in Chicago. He taught me how to say team names and recognize the NHL logos at the age of 3! 30 years ago, during the ‘94 cup run, Pop took me to Grand Central to place 2 yr old me next to the Stanley Cup Trophy and brought me over to see Sam Rosen and John Davidson. Years later, Kenny Albert invited us into a broadcast of the Rangers at the Garden and we spent two periods listening to him and Dave Maloney call the action!
We had established a connection with an amazing guy in Billy Connell whose kindness led us into Mets and Ranger/Knick games during the late 1990s. We would get to know Rangers alumni, especially Rod Gilbert! Rod was a such a great friend to the Henry Viscardi School and the Viscardi Center coming to a yearly gala to support that very special school for kids with disabilities. No matter where we ran into Rod Gilbert, he would always greet dad and I with open arms even at the Rangerstown 5K runs.
In 2003, my dad also built a connection with the Devils started in George Steinbrenner’s suite! My dad grew that connection so much so we would sit with fmr. GM Lou Lamoriello at the Continental Airlines Arena where Lou presented me with a signed Scott Stevens jersey after their 2002-2003 Stanley Cup run.
Yet, there were two memorable hockey moments for my dad and I that I want to share . In 1999, with very few tickets available the hockey gods looked out for us as someone with extra tickets to Wayne Gretzky’s last game spotted us outside the Garden. He was so gracious, he just gave us the extra tix at no cost and we were able to see The Great One’s final game. Yet, the story doesn’t end there . We were taken downstairs after the game by Garden security, and Wayne Gretzky told us to wait and see him inside the Rangers locker room!!! We got to see Mr. Gretzky take off the Rangers sweater for the last time in his NHL career . While waiting for Gretzky’s press duties to wrap that day, I got to play floor hockey with Paulina Gretzky and then we got the entire Ranger team to sign a poster who played in Wayne Gretzky‘s last game. The only thing I really wish from that day was we still had the signed hockey stick from 99 himself.
The other memorable moment was the opportunity for my dad and I to take a picture around the Stanley Cup as he donned his beloved Blackhawks gear at the NHL Store ! We were on our way to a baseball game, ironically, and I can also tell he was starting to not be feeling as well but he made the trek to get a pic with The Cup and made a memory that for me will last a lifetime, as Sam Rosen would say!
The coolest thing about my father’s love of hockey is that you can still see it today. The whole reason I rollerblade is because he ADAPTED the ice hockey mechanism onto my one foot and put me on a rollerskating journey that is 25 years strong this November! 25 years of rollerskating since the age of 8 and I’m so proud to say it’s because of my dad ‘s love of hockey and my mom’s patience and support when I first started rolling , and my stepdad Vic’s consistent help with keeping my skate fresh that I zip around NYC today!
OneLegUpAlex 