Tigers’ stars Wiesblatt, Lindstrom taking inspiration from moms on Mother’s Day
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Game 2 of the Western Hockey League final in Medicine Hat on Sunday is far more than just another playoff game for Tigers’ captain Oasiz Wiesblatt.
It’s also Mother’s Day and will mark the first time the junior hockey star will see his mom, Kim, in two years.
Kim, who is deaf, has been working in London, Ontario while Oasiz pursued his hockey dreams.
Oasiz recently signed with the Nashville Predators, the organization his brother, Ozzy, plays in. Kim will be among the thousands that fill Co-Op Place hoping her son leads the Tigers to a 2-0 series lead over the Spokane Chiefs and, eventually, to the Memorial Cup.
“I’m really pumped to see her on Sunday,” Wiesblatt said on Saturday after a team meeting.
“Obviously Mother’s Day, so it’s really special.”
Wiesblatt is going to give Kim some Tigers swag and is excited to show her around the facility that’s been his hockey home for the past five seasons.
“She likes the hoodies and I’m gonna make her a nice card,” he said, emphasizing that it would be handmade and not store-bought.
“Maybe give her a kiss on the cheek…she hasn’t seen me play in a little bit…it’ll be really special for her to be around this rink, see my jerseys, see the atmosphere and culture that we’ve built here.”
Wiesblatt, who grew up in Kelowna, smiled when thinking back to the sacrifices Kim made for him and his four siblings growing up. They lived with their father while she worked different jobs in other parts of Western Canada.
Sometimes, the kids would join her and they all lived in a van while Kim went house-to-house selling ABC mats in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
“She sacrificed so many things for us,” he said.
“She worked three jobs sometimes, just for us to play hockey.”
Wiesblatt said that on occasion, the kids would assist in those sales calls.
“Either two of us would be in the car or all four of us would go up to the door with my mom,” he said.
“It’d maybe make the [homeowner] feel a little bit weird, but that’s just her. She’s unique and she’s really special.”
Wiesblatt’s teammate Cayden Lindstrom, a top prospect with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has also taken inspiration from his mom, Patricia.
She raised him and his three siblings on her own. Like Kim, she made plenty of sacrifices and held down multiple jobs so her son could pursue hockey.
“She worked so hard,” he said.
“She did such a great job. She stayed strong during hard times. She’s still staying strong now.”
Cayden still is in awe of Patricia’s hard work while he was growing up.
“Everything she does, I kind of think, ‘How’s she doing that?’” he said.
“She’d drive me 14 hours to Vancouver from my small town [Chetwynd, B.C.], just to play in a tournament for the weekend. Seeing that just shows how great she really is, just to put her work aside…just to drive me to a hockey tournament…she grinded pretty hard to keep me in the sport that I love.”
Wiesblatt doesn’t need any more motivation on Sunday.
He could captain the Tigers to their first WHL title since 2007, when the likes of former NHLers Tyler Ennis, Kris Russell, and Darren Helm starred at the old Medicine Hat Arena. The franchise’s first Memorial Cup title since 1988 is within grasp.
Wiesblatt did, however, allow that he will feel Kim’s presence at Co-Op Place on Sunday and it will affect him.
“It brings an extra heartbeat,” he said.
“I’ve worked so hard here for her…she’s my superhero.”
Patricia won’t be in the stands, but Lindstrom was all too proud to share why.
“She’s actually finishing up school for nursing,” he said, beaming.
“That’s another thing you’ve got to give her credit for, having four kids and still finding a way to go to school for nursing…I tell her every day how proud of her I am.”