The Blashills: Proud hockey parents talk about Jeff’s new job
By @MichaelCaples –
DETROIT – Jim and Rosemary Blashill watched their son start his new job today.
There aren’t many jobs out there where you bring your parents (and the rest of your family) to your first day, but this is one of them.
Their son is the new head coach of the Detroit Red Wings.
A proud moment for any parent, of course, just made a little bit more special when it’s the hometown team that the son grew up watching.
“You know, we’re so excited,” Rosemary Blashill said. “I think it’s been a lifelong dream of his, and he’s worked very hard to get there. We’re so proud of him. We’re just so giddy today.”
MORE: Red Wings officially announce Jeff Blashill as new head coach
Rosemary and her husband, Jim, sat in the second row for today’s press conference, as Jeff Blashill was named the 27th coach in Detroit Red Wings franchise history.
It is the latest step in a wild hockey journey lived by both parents and son – one that started in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with a heavy emphasis on Lake Superior State hockey.
“We had a great time in Sault Ste. Marie,” Rosemary said. “He moved to Sault Ste. Marie when he was 18 months old. By the time he was three or four years old, he was going to the Lakers games, he would sit there, he would cross out who wasn’t playing. His sisters, who were about four years older, would run around the rink, but he would sit right with Jim and never miss a bit. He got into playing hockey himself, by the time he was six years old, and it’s just been quite a ride.”
Jim Blashill, a former Detroit police officer, said that his son might not have had the athletic ability to become an NHL goaltender, but that his work ethic growing up was second to none.
“He was a goaltender from very early on,” Jim said. “He was always focused, he would read books, he would look at videos, he would go to camps, he would do whatever he could to make himself as good as he can be. In his own words, he turned out to be OK, not spectacular, but I think he got all that he could out of himself. I think he’s doing the same thing as a coach.”
That’s not to say Jeff wasn’t impressive between the pipes – any college hockey Division I goaltender knows his way around the crease. Plus, Jeff won a national title with his youth Lynn Auto team during his Sault Ste. Marie days. But it was during his back-up goaltending role at Ferris State where a coaching career truly began, according to Jim.
“You know, when he was at Ferris as a goaltender, he didn’t play a whole lot the last couple of years, so he was on the bench, and I think at that point, we started to see some coaching ability,” the elder Blashill said. “He would help, he would help the team, and so on. In fact, one of the players once mentioned that he was already a coach.”
Jeff’s many coaching stops – Miami University, the Indiana Ice, Western Michigan, the Red Wings and the Griffins – have put him in the position to become the Red Wings’ new head coach. They have also kept him within driving distance of his family, as well. His parents have since moved to Traverse City from Sault Ste. Marie, but anywhere within the Mitten State still makes for manageable trips to see their son in action.
“Miami and Indiana and here, in Michigan, it’s great,” Jim said. “He wanted to certainly coach at the highest level, and that being in the NHL, and it could have been Edmonton or something like that, and we would have wished him well, but we wouldn’t have seen a whole lot of him. This is like a dream come true for us, because he’s really as close as he can be, and so on.”
And when asked to describe her son, Rosemary painted quite a picture for the Hockeytown fan base.
“He’s a very thoughtful, personable person,” she said with a big smile on her face. “He’s got a heart that’s bigger than Michigan, or maybe more, and he really tries to do the best at whatever he does, no matter what it is. He loves hockey, he loves the Red Wings. One day he told us, ‘I’ve never worked a day in my life’ and that he has so much fun doing what he’s doing. As a person, he’s just a great person; he’s a great son.”