Predators centre from Metro Vancouver facing off against team he once idolized
As a young hockey player growing up in North Vancouver, Colton Sissons was a die-hard Canucks fan. Twelve years after being drafted by Nashville, the Predators centre is facing off against the Canucks during the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career.
“Playing against the team I grew up idolizing is a pretty cool experience, so it’s awesome that we got matched up in the playoffs,” he said after Tuesday’s game day skate.
The Canucks-Predators round one match up is a dream come true for Colton’s parents Doug and Debbie.
“We were excited solely due to the fact we would see Colton here for dinner at our house on Friday night and be able to see him a couple of times during the week,” said Doug, who still lives in the North Vancouver home where Colton grew up.
Doug says his son is living his childhood dream playing playoff hockey at Rogers Arena – even if it is for the visiting team.
“There was a ton of nerves going out onto the ice the other night. But once the puck drops and you make contact with that first guy in a Canucks jersey, the jitters go away and you get down to business,” said Doug, who watched game one in the stands with Debbie. “It’s a tough situation, my wife and I were a little bit out of place the other night, to say the least, with all the fans.”
Doug says he and Debbie watched the game incognito, rather than wearing gold Nashville Predators jerseys. But there is no question where their allegiance lies.
“We are just devout Preds fans, that’s it,” said Doug.
Colton said the love for the Canucks in the Sissons' household died when he became a Nashville Predator. “It’s been gone for quite some time now. Yeah, probably since 2012 when I was drafted. Those days are over,” said Colton.
“It was so exciting when he got drafted by the Preds, and then he’s just taken off from there,” said Doug. “He’s been a very reliable two-way player, one of the best in the league on face-offs, and his leadership has grown there dramatically as well.”
Colton’s Nashville Predators got to the Stanley Cup final in 2017, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Doug knows his son’s team is the underdog against the Canucks, and most other playoff teams this time around. But he’s confident they have a shot.
“Oh I believe it, 100 per cent.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
BREAKING B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her. His lawyers argue it wasn't murder
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for childcare as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.