A Night the Broz Family Will Never Forget

When Tristan Broz made his NHL debut Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, it was not only a surreal moment for him, but also for his parents, Elizabeth and Paul.

“Wow. Is this really happening?” is what Paul said to himself as he watched his son take the traditional rookie lap prior to warmups.

They had just finished watching Tristan and his sister Samantha, who plays at Brown University, in game action on Saturday night when he reached out with the news that he had been called up to Pittsburgh.

“It was after the Wilkes-Barre game, and we were watching some TV just after,” Paul said. “Sam plays hockey, too, so we had four or five hours straight of hockey, and we were just decompressing. He texted us, and then that’s when we got the news.”

Samantha currently plays hockey at Brown University. She’s a huge supporter of her older brother, and couldn’t be happier to witness this memorable night.

“I'm just so, so proud of him, like, I've been watching him his whole hockey career and always been inspired by him,” Samantha said. “He's one of the hardest-working people I know. He's always someone I've looked toward, he's always working. It's not easy, and it's been a long road, and I admire the way he's responded to each new challenge, the way he’s grown, taking it on, and wanting to always be the best.”

For both Tristan and Samantha, hockey has been a huge part of their relationship, making his NHL debut even more special for the whole family.

“They’ve been skating since they were two years old,” Elizabeth said. “There used to be a little bit of a competition, one pushed the other. He could sleep with his skates on and be happy. He just never wanted anything more than this.”

Before the game, Tristan called Samantha and reflected on the time when the asphalt on their driveway had to be redone, which became the perfect spot to play each other on rollerblades.

“We played as Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby, and it was so cool to think back on that,” Tristan said.

There was a lot of reflection happening around this dream come true for Tristan.

“I've seen him from tiny, tiny, rickety hockey rinks all the way to here, and I'm just proud that, through thick and thin, he just kept working at it,” said his other sister, Annabelle. “Sometimes it didn't go his way. He just kept trying for his goal, and I'm proud of him for that.”

It would be an understatement to say that Broz has worked incredibly hard to get to this point in his career. After playing one season with the University of Minnesota, he transferred to Denver University.

When Kyle Dubas went to watch Broz in February of his second season with the Pioneers, he was playing wing, in their bottom-six, and had just come off the power play. But through injuries came opportunity, and Dubas loved how Broz responded through all the bumpiness, becoming the team’s top-line center and thriving in that role.

Broz became the first player in Pioneers history to score two overtime goals during the NCAA tournament, in his second season with Denver. The first came in the regional semifinals against Massachusetts, and the second came in the Frozen Four against Boston University, sending the Pioneers to the title game, where they won the championship.

After turning pro that spring, Broz came down with mono in January, which derailed his first season with the Penguins organization.

“I just think he's pretty good at dealing with kind of the ebbs and flows of being a professional hockey player, just dealing with adversity and finding a way to kind of rise up and managing emotions really well,” Paul said. “There's a lot that goes into it, and I think he's just kind of turning into a pro and is figuring it out. So, it's been really fun to watch him grow up on the ice and off the ice, too.”

Tristan finished last year strong, and carried that over into this one, starting at the Prospects Challenge and training camp. He led WBS with eight goals at the time of his call-up.

“He made a good impression,” Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse said. “He earned that during training camp, and he goes in there, and he goes down to Wilkes, and he follows it up. He's playing well on both sides of the puck. He's a guy who's making plays and impacting the game offensively.”

After his first practice as a Pittsburgh Penguin, before the media could ask any questions, Tristan showed his gratitude towards all of the family, friends, and coaches who had helped him reach this point in his career.

“That’s really how he is,” Elizabeth said about his son’s character. “He’s really appreciative for everything that he has and appreciates everything that he’s earned off the ice and off the ice.”

For Wednesday’s game, Tristan had 20 people in attendance between his immediate family, extended family and some of his hometown friends.
“Just how many people that we have here as fans, he has so many people who have really supported him. We showed up tonight for him,” Elizabeth said.

It meant the world to Tristan to have everyone in attendance, and it was also a dream come true to play for the team he had cheered for his whole life, something his father influenced.

Even though the family lives in Minnesota, and Paul was a North Stars fan, it was the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals against the Penguins that sparked his love for not only the team but also Mario Lemieux.

“It's a very special franchise that's gotten a lot of really special talent,” Paul said. “To get drafted by them, to play for them, it's unbelievable and surreal. And when you think about it back to that, it's just wild to think about.”

After the game, Tristan was overcome with emotion at how special it was to have his family here. While Samantha was watching him play, she could “see it on his face that he was over the moon.”

“He’s wanted this his entire life,” she said. “Since he was six, this was the only thing that he’s ever wanted.”