Smith, Stephenson embrace Christmas as first-time dads

Golden Knights wives Tasha Stephenson, l, and Melissa Smith hold their newborns, Ford and Isla, respectively, donning personalized baby tops as they watch their fathers, Chandler and Reilly, play recently at T-Mobile Arena.

Photo courtesy: Reilly Smith

By W.G. Ramirez

LAS VEGAS — Both Reilly Smith and Chandler Stephenson, along with their wives Melissa and Tasha, respectively, have always loved Christmas.

The decorations, the traditions that are accompanied by holiday music, and everything that encompasses December vibes.

Don't mind the two Vegas Golden Knights stars if their eyes become watery this year, with an added dynamic to their Christmas morning celebration.

Both are family-oriented gentlemen, and both have played and loved hockey most of their lives. But as first-time fathers, both Smith and Stephenson have been skating with a different kind of blessing this season.

"When you're able to add a new member of your family like this, it's so special," Smith said. "Hockey has always been the most important thing in my life, but it's crazy how quick that takes a backseat when you have a child."

Stephenson said playing in the NHL is a "dream job," something he's wanted to do since he was a little boy. For him, there's nothing better than being around his teammates, making friendships, and strengthening those bonds.

Nevertheless...

"It's still just a job," Stephenson said. "And then having your own family, it is definitely number one. It puts everything in perspective and just shows that if you have a bad game it doesn't really matter because things are good at home."

Both Smith and Stephenson shared some time during the week leading up to Christmas, filled with heartfelt smiles when speaking of their daughter and son, respectively.

ISLA

Smith has always been one of the more mild-mannered Knights in the locker room since they arrived in 2017.

As patient as he can be with media members surrounding his locker, answering reporters regardless of the level of competence the question may be, and waiting for everyone to finish their questions. Rarely have we seen Smith lose his cool, if ever.

Sitting alongside the 31-year-old after practice, Smith's eyes lit up a little extra when talking about his daughter, Isla, his co-pilot on many rides home from T-Mobile Arens.

Isla (pronounced EYE-LUH), is now staying for the duration of most of his home games. And even though there's a 50-50 chance she's a bit cranky and might be crying, he's embraced his Girl-Dad role and loves the roughly 20-minute drive home.

"That's a bit of a wake-up call too, a little bit of change for me," Smith said.

And if she's not at games, he knows he can rinse off a loss or a bad game when he gets home.

"It's really nice ... when you come home and Isla's awake, or even if she's sleep, just going over and seeing her," Smith said "It puts life and your priorities really into perspective, what's really important. Obviously, this is a job that I love and I will always give my 100% to it. But it's nice to be able to forget about it sometimes when things aren't going well."

Not that things have been going bad, though. After Friday's 5-4 overtime win against St. Louis, Smith leads the team in goals with 17 and ranks tied for fifth with 26 points.

And while it seems his offensive game has blossomed rather easily this season, it's deciding how many gifts Isla will get to tear through on her first Christmas morning that's had him perplexed.

He's torn between getting her a lot of gifts that she may not even understand, or taking the minimalist approach and saving the big items for next year.

Smith remembers his and Melissa's first Christmas with their dog, which was a big deal. Thus, this year will be a whole new level.

Considering how much the Smiths have been looking forward to Christmas morning, and regardless of how much Isla realizes what is going on or the significance the day holds, they're both looking forward to sharing it with her.

"My wife buys our daughter everything so I don't know what would be on her Christmas list, but I'm sure it's already been picked out," Smith said. "It's really hard to guess which one she's gonna like because usually you get her something really cool and she doesn't care about it at all; you get her a block and she loves it.

"I'm sure she has no idea what's going on ... but for us, it'll be great to be able to share it with her."

FORD

Ford Stephenson is days away from crawling.

Chandler and Tasha eagerly await the day their baby boy can put one knee in front of the other.

"He sits on his own until he lets you know that he doesn't want to be sitting anymore," the 28-year-old forward said. "He has all the movements to crawl, but just can't quite figure out that that's what he needs to do. He'd just rather roll and roll and roll to get where he wants to be."

Until then, there's still always something new to appreciate - sounds, screams, laughs - and they're just enjoying the ride.

The same way Smith turns to mush when talking about his daughter, Stephenson perks up with an ear-to-ear grin when speaking about his son.

Ford has already made it to a Las Vegas Raiders game - Stephenson held him proudly outside the team's locker room after a game in September, waiting for friends to emerge - and of course, has seen his father play at T-Mobile.

Stephenson said he used to enjoy sleeping in, getting enough rest for body recovery before heading to the rink. Now, he doesn't mind early mornings, knowing he gets to share a giggle with Ford.

And like Smith, the end of road trips mean the beginning of spending time with his son as soon as possible.

"Coming home to see him, I almost want him to be awake when I get home and not be sleeping," Stephenson said. "But I'm up first thing in the morning with him just to hang out with him, spend some time with him, hear him laugh. He's always laughing and smiling when he's awake it seems, so it makes it a lot of fun. It's just infectious."

Bad days don't really exist. Bad games disappear more quickly.

Not that he's had many bad games.

Stephenson came out of Friday's game with the No. 1 star after registering three assists and the game-tying goal inside two minutes left in the game before extending the game in a shootout with a goal. He leads the team with 36 points, bolstered by a team-best 27 assists.

It was a night that made heading home for the Christmas break even sweeter.

"Going home to see the family ... just puts the biggest smile on your face," Stephenson said. "Can't help but smile and laugh when you look at them because all it can take is a look and he'll start laughing or smiling at you. It's really special for sure. Obviously, every stage of his life - every day, week, month, year, whatever it is - it's still going to be like that new feeling, just learning new things, teaching him new things, and learning as parents too."

Now it's on to what will be the most exciting day since Ford's arrival, Christmas morning.

"It's gonna be exciting for sure, just to see his reaction when he gets his toys and his gifts and all that," Stephenson said. "But yeah, it's just every day. Now is just so special with him and just watching him grow. It's crazy how quick the time goes and just everything he learns on a daily basis."

Added Smith: "You really don't understand until you go through it yourself. I played with a lot of guys who have had kids. One of my best friends, John, he has four and he'd always talk to me about different experiences with his kids and you try to understand, but you really don't until you're put in that position and your kid is everything to you."

Christmas has always been special for the Smiths and Stephensons.

Isla and Ford will make 2022's version that much more special.