Bobby Ryan's goal scores Ottawa boys a puppy
Andrew Duffy, Postmedia Network
First posted: Tuesday, January 26, 2016 08:27 AM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2016 09:50 PM EST
OTTAWA - After years of lobbying their parents for a dog, the Jansen brothers finally had their mom on board: Their dad, Warren, was the only holdout.
On Sunday morning, 10-year-old Cole approached his father with a question about his bottom line.
“Dad, what’s it going to take?” he demanded.
Impressed by his son’s forthright approach, but still convinced that he’d be left holding the bag for the dog’s care, Warren Jansen looked for a reprieve. So he offered his son a deal: If Bobby Ryan scored in the Senators’ game against the New York Rangers that afternoon, he would get the dog.
“But if not,” Warren Jansen told his son, “you leave me alone about it.”
What happened next became an Internet sensation. The boys, Cole and his brother, Reece, 7, went to the rink with a sign, informing Ryan of what was at stake: “Bobby, Dad said if you score, we get a puppy!”
It was a tall order because Ryan was facing the Rangers and their notoriously stingy goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist. But late in the second period, Ryan potted a rebound on a mad scramble in front of the Rangers’ net.
The boys went wild while dad staggered into the aisle in disbelief. But he has vowed to live up to his side of the bargain, and the family is now trying to decide between a Pomsky — a cross between a Siberian Husky and a Pomeranian — and a rescue dog.
One thing they do know for sure is what they’ll name their new pet: Bobby.
After the game, Ryan told reporters that he was happy he could assist the Jansen boys in their quest for a dog.
“I saw the dad’s face when they announced the goal and he wasn’t too impressed, but the kids were, and that’s all that matters,” he said. “If they want a rescue (dog), I’ll rescue one for them.”
The Jansen boys heard Ryan’s offer and the family has since been in contact with the Senators Foundation, which has helped to raise money on behalf of Sit With Me, a dog rescue and adoption organization in Ottawa.
“The boys heard that, and whatever Bobby says, they’re going to agree with,” Jansen said. “He’s their favourite player times 10 … I should have known better. He’s been on such a hot streak that the odds were not in my favour.”
Ryan, who has scored in four of the past five games, even gave the boys a signed stick after being named one of the game’s three stars.
“They were like, ‘Oh, my God, who gets to sleep with the stick?’ And they both did. We got up this morning, and the boys were in the same bed with the stick. It was pretty cute.”
Ironically, it was only because Cole’s atom hockey team lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of a weekend tournament (2-1) that the whole family was in a position to go the game together. “It’s amazing how it all fell together like that,” Jansen said.
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