This started with a story derailed by the mumps.
I had lined up an interview with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry during a West Coast trip for a story in this magazine and program on Sportsnet’s TV network. But the night before the interview, Sportsnet producer George Skoutakis and I received an email from the Anaheim Ducks media director informing us that Perry was ill.
The focus of the entire interview shifted to Getzlaf.
Certainly, there is plenty to talk about with Getzlaf on his own—the Ducks are the best team in the NHL and there’s a good chance the centreman will be a Hart Trophy candidate again this year. But we wanted to get a unique perspective on the Anaheim captain—something to tell us more about who he is rather than what he does.
So from my hotel room, I cold-called Getzlaf’s father, Steve, who lives in Regina. We spoke for about half an hour, mining back into the days before his son was a famous hockey star and unearthing stories that might give us a new perspective.
Steve told me about tearing up when he first saw his son skate in a Team Canada sweater at the world juniors, about watching him win the Stanley Cup and about the day he learned he was going to be a grandpa. (“Are you ready to be a grandfather?” Getzlaf asked him. “I can be a grandfather any time,” Steve replied. “Are you ready to be a dad?”) Near the end of our conversation, Steve told me about a young man named Hawken who had meant a great deal to Getzlaf over the past few years.
Trailer: On Wednesday Jan. 21 watch Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey for the full version of Dan Robson’s feature, Fighting for a Cure.
Hawken suffered from a disease that caused his muscles to break down and would eventually lead to his death, if a cure isn’t found. His courage in the face of such a crippling disease broke Getzlaf’s heart.
The next day, Getzlaf and I stood in front of the camera running through the gambit of things you ask an NHL star—the Stanley Cup win, the Hart nomination, the Ducks’ chances this season—and he offered up the standard NHLer answers. It was fine, usable stuff, for sure. But when I asked Getzlaf about Hawken, everything was different.
His tone changed quickly. It’s not that he wasn’t being sincere before, but he became genuinely interested in telling us about this incredible young life. Everything else suddenly seemed irrelevant—and the direction this story needed to take was clear.
Getzlaf thanked us for asking him about Hawken, and when we asked if we could learn more about the story he said he’d give us all the time we needed. A couple weeks later, George and I flew back to Anaheim to meet Hawken Miller, and we learned why he held such a place in Getzlaf’s heart.
That’s what this story turned into. And without the mumps—hat tip to Corey Perry and all the lumpy-cheeked pros—it never would have happened.
Be sure to check out Dan’s full feature in the current issue of Sportsnet magazine, available now on Next Issue and iTunes.
