Look, being a player in the National Hockey League is hard, and not just the physical aspect. For young stars Collin Graf, Zack Ostapchuck and Yaroslav Askarov, it’s being away from home, especially during the holidays. One moment you are playing in your hometown, and the next you are thousands of miles away for long stretches in a new place they now call home.
So, how are some of the young San Jose Sharks spending Christmas?
Askarov will be taking the calm approach.
“Just gonna chill at home,” he said.
Askarov is from Omsk, Russia, which is roughly six thousand miles away. But for him its not the home that makes the holidays special; it’s family.
“My family is gonna be here. My mom and dad will be here, and my younger brother.
So that’s the gift,” he added.
The only thing on his Christmas list.
For Graf, the holiday festivities happened prematurely.
“My family was here. They got here on Monday, and they left yesterday morning. So we did Christmas then. We opened gifts, and we went to dinner, because my brother’s got to be back,” he said.
This family journey was a shorter distance, as they were coming from Massachusetts.
Graf has two things on his Christmas list: “Winter hat. We play a lot of Nintendo Switch on the plane. So, just an extra controller,” he shared.
He also told us that he loves to play Mario Kart.
Ostapchuck has it easy.
“My mom actually lives in Vancouver now, so I’m going to go to Vancouver for a couple days. We play them on the 27th, so I just stay there,” he told us.
Sometimes being on the road a bunch is a blessing in disguise.
His Christmas list was looking parallel to Graf’s; video games are on the agenda this winter.
“Just the new Call of Duty,” he said cleanly.
All a guy needs.
Being on the road is hard. Your life becomes complicated, busy, and unpredictable. But sometimes nothing can stop the holiday spirit. And for the young players on the San Jose Sharks, if there’s a will, there’s a way.
