“The most cherished thing” – Troy Stecher talks about his dad’s letter and how defenceman’s friends helped him in tough times
Troy Stecher thanks his friends to be there for him when he was going through a tough time after his father’s death.
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Troy Stecher [Image Credit: Daily Hive]
Calgary Flames defenceman Troy Stecher recently opened up about his dad Peter’s letter which he found after the 65-year-old passing away. Stecher said that he was clearing his dad’s apartment when he found a note dedicated to the 28-year-old.
It was just a dad’s advice written on paper with much love and care for his son. Stecher further spoke on how much his dad meant to him and that after his passing away, he felt empty within the rink. Peter coached Stecher and the emptiness in the defenceman’s life could be felt clearly.
Stecher said that to him his dad was his parent, best friend, and coach. Despite all the heavy feelings, Stecher is still grateful that his father could see him bathe in the NHL spotlight. The letter was written three years earlier prior to his NHL debut but was never sent to the 28-year-old. Peter passed away due to complexities in his diabetes at the age of 65.
Troy Stecher thanks his friends to be there for him during tough times
![Troy Stecher [Image Credit: The Win Column]](https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Q_1680095500-1024x768.jpg)
The letter was beaming with pride that Peter felt when Troy Stecher debuted in NHL. The note stated, “My brother was with me at the time, so it was cool to take a couple of moments and shed some tears”.
“It basically touched on everything that I live my life by today, and how I play hockey. My dad was born in ’55 and was a blue-collar guy who loved cars, and worked in the shop, and was going to tell you how it was.”
“He probably pissed off a lot of people the way he talked, but it wasn’t because he was an a–hole. It’s because he was honest, and that was the generation he was raised in.”
“Basically he wrote, ‘just keep working hard, and you’re going to face obstacles – anything a dad would say to his son. At the end of the day I don’t think it matters what it says on it. It’s just the fact it came from my dad and it was for me. That’s the most cherished thing about it.”
Since then, Stecher has always kept the letter with him, folded with care. Although he was upset to see the letter folded with lines, he admitted that it was better than keeping it flat and pristine in his Vancouver home which he rarely visits due to games.
Stecher also thanked his close friends Zack MacEwen and Jacob Markstrom who were also going through the pain of their father’s passing. He said that having those two beside him meant a lot as the trio understood the pain they were going through. They could comfort and understand each other very well.
“It was nice to be able to talk to someone you could relate to, because it’s hard to be able to open up about those conversations. Just having someone there who was feeling the same way was huge for me, and the way I grieved, and the way I got over it.”
Markstrom who wrote a lengthy heartfelt letter at that time, said “Just going through it, and having a teammate and close friend go through the same thing, you know how tough it is and you want to be there”.
“It was obviously not a pleasant time in either one of our lives. It’s been a few years now, and it’s still a void. I don’t talk about it much to anybody outside the family.
“But being fortunate enough to be in a team sport like hockey, the group is really tight, and when you go through tough times, hockey-related or non-hockey related, you have a great support system, from the support staff to all the teammates. It helps.”
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Kaushani Chatterjee
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