For most of us, when we check our phones and see that it’s Monday again, it’s met with an overwhelming groan. When the boss calls you on a day off, it’s never a good thing.
However, for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tanner Richard and his girlfriend Andriana Schupbach, this particular Monday is one they will always treasure. “I was at work and he was getting a haircut just down the street. He came into my work, looking suave as ever with his fresh signature European cut and I thought to myself, ‘Hey! He came in to show me his hair!’ He gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “I got called up. I wanted you to be the first to know.'”
Richard’s journey to this particular Monday morning had been years in the making. Tanner’s father Mike has a ten-year hockey resume of his own. Mike spent most of his North American career in the OHL and AHL, but did suit up for seven NHL games with the Washington Capitals in the 1987-88 season and the 1989-90 season. He played the rest of his career in various Swiss leagues, where Tanner would eventually start playing as well.
When the Richard family took a trip to Florida in April of 2004, they were lucky enough to get tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning playoff game. What a game to be at; Game 5 in the opening round series against the New York Islanders where Martin St. Louis scored the game winner, four-minutes into overtime to send the Lightning to the second round.
It was Tanner’s first NHL game.
Fast forward eight years later, the Lightning picked up Guelph Storm forward Tanner Richard in the third round of the entry draft. Richard would go on to play over 200 AHL games with the Lightning affiliate Syracuse Crunch, scoring 33 goals and dishing out 96 assists.
On Friday December 16th, after finishing up a game against the Hartford Wolf Pack, Richard would receive a call from Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman, telling him that he would be joining the team in Edmonton the following night.
“It was late, like, 1 AM, and I had just talked to him and told him goodnight because I had a migraine and had to work the next morning,” said Schupbach. “About ten minutes after telling each other goodnight, I received an ‘are you awake?’ text. My heart dropped. He never says that so immediately. I thought something bad happened.” Schupbach said. ”But he called and said he got called up and I could “hear” the smile on his face. I told him it was the best migraine I ever had.”
“I was so excited. I was nervous for him. And I was a little sad because it was so late that no flights could’ve gotten me to Edmonton in time for the game, so I would miss his NHL debut. But it turns out it’s a good thing I couldn’t get a flight.”
The plane that was taking Richard to Minneapolis, where he was supposed to catch a connecting flight to Edmonton, sat on the Tarmac for over two hours before taking off, causing him to miss his flight to Edmonton by a half hour.
“He was miserable, heartbroken, and sad. In over four years together I had never seen him this sad. I just had to keep telling him that everything happens for a reason and it was obviously meant to be this way.” Schupbach recalls the phone call the two shared as Richard sat in the airport in Minnesota. “The only thing I could do was give him space and positive thoughts. That’s the hardest part of everything, seeing him crushed and knowing there’s nothing I can do to make it all better.”
Richard would get on a flight back East where he would make it to Syracuse in time to play the Crunch game Sunday against the Providence Bruins. He was going back with the mindset that he would do everything he could to get his phone to ring again. “He told me how he just needed to go back and play well and pray for the call up on Monday. Despite his disappointment on missing his debut, he needed to keep his head straight and set the emotions aside his team. It really showed me his maturity. I really respected his positive attitude because that took a lot of mental strength,” said Schupbach.
“The next morning, the phone would ring again. On the other line, Yzerman once again, with a ‘What do you say we try this one again?'”
“My boss and coworkers immediately jumped on their computers looking for the quickest flight to Tampa. It was chaos. We booked blindly without knowing he was even going to play. We just had a good feeling and it worked out.”
Schupbach would get a flight booked to Tampa, get home to pack and get to the airport all in about an hour, with an assist from Syracuse Crunch forward Yanni Gourde and his wife Marie. “They’ve been some of our closest friends in Syracuse and we are so thankful to have them in our lives.”
Richard made it to Tampa without a hitch, leading the team in the post-game stretch and trying to keep his nerves under control. “I could tell he was nervous. He seemed upset during the day. He was quieter than usual. I asked him if he was okay, because this is his big day and he should be happy. And he said he was too happy so he tried to push it out of his mind because it was making him nervous. He just wanted to treat it like any other day. Tanner is pretty good with handling himself. This was the first time I saw him visibly nervous.”
Richard’s game day routine stayed the same. A pregame lunch, a nap/rest from 1:00 PM until about 3:30 PM. “I got kicked out of the hotel,” (By Tanner) Schupbach laughed. “I have family who live in St. Petersburg so I went over and had an impromptu visit.”
As the clock wound down closer to puck drop, neither Tanner or Andriana knew that he would be in the starting lineup against the Detroit Red Wings. “I was standing in the hallway leading to the seats with a line of people in front of me waiting for the National Anthem to finish. I just looked up at the TV screen and happened to see him on the blue line and my heart sunk because I knew I couldn’t get to our seats in time to see him start. So, I politely pushed my way through the line and looked over a gentleman’s shoulder and just caught him as he took and opening faceoff and won it. There was a huge sigh of relief and excitement with him winning the draw.”
Richard would go on to get over 12 minutes of ice time, record two hits, 1 takeaway and one blocked shot. Fans immediately took to Richard’s physical style of play. But, what does the girl who knows Tanner best have to say about his debut? “He played well and had some good plays. He’s his toughest critic, so he always knows there are areas of improvement to be made. But overall, he was happy with his game. Tanner played simple and played smart. I was just so proud of him.” The two met up after the game, where Schupbach embraced him with a huge hug. “He just had a permanent smile on his face the entire night, I’ve never seen him so happy. He was proud of himself, he was glowing.”
The War Memorial, where the Crunch play their home games in Syracuse has a far different atmosphere than Amalie Arena, that seats over 19,000 people. “Whoever said Tampa isn’t a hockey town clearly has never attended a game at Amalie Arena, because the fans were outstanding. They added so much emotion and were very supportive and welcoming. I specifically liked the sign that said ‘Good Luck Tanner Richard, Welcome to the Show!’”
Now that the first game is out of the way, the butterflies can start to settle. Andriana left the day after the game to head back to Michigan to spend the holidays with her family. “I hope to watch some games on TV. We are playing everything by ear since we don’t know where he will be or when he will play. You never know when you can be sent back to Syracuse, or recalled to Tampa so we are just going to enjoy the ride while we can.”
And as for Tanner? We don’t think he’s stopped smiling. “He loves the guys in Tampa and he kept saying how awesome they treated him. He felt welcomed and comfortable.”
“It wasn’t a bad Monday after all.”
(Photos/Christine Gunn)
(Feature Photo/Andriana Schupbach)
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