Todd Holt will be the first to admit that he hasn't played a lot of hockey games in the last few years. However, for one night only, the former Swift Current Broncos player stepped out of retirement to share a beautiful moment with his two sons.
During the match-up between the Carlyle Cougars and the KW Oil Kings on Friday night, Holt was able to fulfill a lifelong dream -- playing on the same team with his sons Kaelan and Taysen.
"I always tell young players or teams that I talk to to cherish the moment, to live in the moment, to appreciate it -- and I caught myself taking my own advice. It was just magical."
On top of playing with his sons, the boys were able to share a moment on the ice that they'll never forget. Todd recalled the play happening fast, as if it happened in a blink of an eye. With the Cougars already ahead 4-2 going into the third period, the father-and-son trio would make a rush for the puck after a powerplay that expired. Taysen was on the left side of the ice, Todd in the middle, and Kaelan positioned himself to catch the puck on the right. Taysen would pass the puck to Todd, which made it to Kaelan shortly after. After a back-and-forth between the brothers behind the net, Taysen was quick to tap the puck in through the pads of Oil Kings goalie Dylan DeDecker. The Holt family, in what could be a scene lifted from a movie, scored the fifth goal in the Cougars' 7-3 win.
"I've scored. I've watched people score and I've hugged in that huddle of hugs. But, the smile on Jason's face was everything - and so was mine and so was Kaelan's. When we got back to the bench, the guys were really understanding. They understood the meaning of it and we had a big hug. [We] just cherished the moment. Yeah, the game went on, but we waited so many years to have that opportunity. To actually have that work the way it did, God bless everybody who had a hand in making this happen because it secured about a million things off my bucket list," Holt tearfully recalled.
After giving his thanks to the Carlyle Cougars squad and taking home the 'Player of the Game' distinction, the boys had a long drive home. Todd noted that they were reliving the goal over and over. "When we got back in the vehicle, all of us together, it was just like, you know, how many years has it been since we drove home after a hockey game? We've never driven home with fun that we just played in. I think somewhere from Alameda to Estevan...I thanked them for the opportunity. I enjoyed every moment of it with them."
"I want them to remember that game and remember that goal. It was inspiration. It was something that we could use [for] when we have a tough day, think of that moment, I said. It'll take you a long ways. It was really great. We got home. We didn't want to go to sleep. We just wanted to dance.
"It was a dream come true. It truly was."
The opportunity for Todd to play with his boys came during the off-season of the Big Six Hockey League. He remarked that Kaelan and Taysen were being head-hunted by various teams in the league because the Bienfait Coalers were not playing this season. The sons had convinced the Carlyle Cougars to add a riding to their contracts this season. The clause was to give them the opportunity to play with their 51-year-old father, a clause that paid dividends to a father-and-son trio just before Christmas. Holt, who now lives in Calgary, said that he was preparing for the game for the better part of 4 weeks. He admitted that he was a slow skater on the ice and that he was in awe of his sons' skill levels.
"I'm a lot slower than them. I appreciated their speed and their skill level was so high. Kaelan and Taysen are so amazing. I just was cherishing every moment, every time we were on the ice, every time I got the puck, every time I made a pass to them. You know, [it] was just like a first of another first of another first. Then, we scored that fifth goal. It was just very special."
So what's next for the legendary Holt trio? For Kaelan and Taysen, they'll continue to lace up for the Carlyle Cougars. When we brought up a hypothetical appearance in the NHL, the 51-year-old hockey legend jokingly said lacing up the skates again is 'a one-and-done thing'. "I'm elated that I got this opportunity. You'll see me at the Strippers' Tournament in spring, maybe. That's my next point of focus, playing for the Alameda Dam Sharks."
During his time with the Swift Current Broncos, he produced a record 423 points in 321 games.