Avalanche forward Ian Laperriere has sons ages 5 and 3 — and both will have an opportunity to play youth hockey.
Dad does not, however, believe that having his sons live with their skates on will get them closer to where he has gone in the sport.
“I won’t put my kids in the rink five days a week, trust me,” Laperriere said. “At a young age — I don’t believe in that. You need to push them a little bit because they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into, and know if they like it or not.
“At one point, at a certain age, you’ll realize if your kid really enjoys it. If he doesn’t, there are other sports out there.”
Laperriere likes to skate with his boys twice a week after Avs practices. His oldest, Tristan, is using a metal chair to stabilize himself. When dad takes the chair away, Tristan wants off the ice. And that’s Laperriere’s worst nightmare.
“I don’t want him to rebel on me, and he won’t because I won’t push him,” Laperriere said. “Up to 12, 13 years old, I think you should skate twice a week, then have a game or two on the weekend.
“But if the kid isn’t having fun, and it gets to be too much like work, they’re going to quit as a teenager.”
His boys are also involved in karate and soccer. Laperriere was big into baseball as a kid. He said when he was 13, he had to choose between hockey and baseball, because “time-wise, for my parents it was too much. I did choose hockey and it worked out for me.”
He believes the goal of youth hockey should be striving for a healthy lifestyle, which includes commitment, sacrifice and discipline. Shooting for the NHL should not be the focus, he said.
“We have a great life,” he said of NHL players. “We make good money and have great advantages, and I can see why any parent would want the best for your kid. But I don’t think it’s healthy to see the money and fame and think it’s healthy for your kid. It (should) be like, ‘Do you like it? Do you want to do that? Then you’ve got to sacrifice to do it.’ ”
