Golden Knights use technology to keep in touch with families on road

SUNRISE, Fla. — Paul Stastny remembers the post-dinner phone calls growing up. How his father, Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, would ring from his hotel room on the road to catch up with his family.

Times have changed since then. Paul Stastny and his Golden Knights teammates don’t make many hotel room phone calls anymore. Instead, they use apps such as FaceTime and Snapchat to keep in touch on the road.

Technology plays a big part in keeping players connected to their loved ones during the nomadic NHL schedule. The Knights have put it to good use lately, as they finish a stretch of eight consecutive road games — sandwiched around their bye week — Thursday against the Florida Panthers.

“Technology, sometimes it’s bad, sometimes it’s great,” said Stastny, a father of two. “For reasons like this, with pictures and how fast you can communicate with people, you never really feel like you’re away from people. Especially when you have young kids, it’s great to have.”

Plenty of Knights are grateful to be playing in this era. They know that even a few years ago they never would have been able to get pictures or videos of their kids sent to them on the road.

Defenseman Nick Holden, who has four children, has witnessed the technology evolve over his career firsthand.

“It was like a transition to there was nothing, then there was Skype and now, obviously, FaceTime,” Holden said. “It’s just such a nice tool to have so I can at least see my kids and say goodnight and kind of talk to them, see how their day went at school.”

Holden said he typically tries to talk to his children after school, but his and their schedules make it tough to stick to a consistent time. It’s even more difficult when the Knights change time zones. Most players have experienced the same issue, but they always find a way to make it work.

“You make time,” said defenseman Jon Merrill, who has three kids. “What’s really important in life is your family, so we make time to make sure we say hi to them.”

For most players, that usually means a video chat over FaceTime. That way they get to see their kids’ faces, plus it usually holds their attention slightly better than a phone call.

“It’s better. Even the baby, right? You can see his face and his smiles and stuff,” said goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, referring to his 10-month-old son, James. “My second-youngest, too, she’s 4 and just talking, she really has no interest.”

Stastny and Holden noted even FaceTime can’t keep some of their kids’ attention, but it’s good just to see them and spend time with them. Stastny often gets pictures and videos from the messaging app Snapchat from his wife when his children have activities, too.

Those things keep the players feeling connected to their families as they travel around the U.S. and Canada during the season.

“In these days, it’s a lot easier,” said left wing Tomas Nosek, who has a 1-month-old son named Patrik. “I can’t imagine how (it was) 20 years ago. It’s probably a lot different. Right now, I miss him for sure. In these days, there’s a lot of technology so you can see photos, videos, FaceTime them, so it’s a good thing.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.