The Free Press’s Helene St. James adds her voice to the chorus of media members who have covered Jeff Petry’s introductory press conference, offering an early morning-published article which discusses Petry’s wish come true in being traded to his hometown team:
“To hear that news that you’re coming home and coming to play for the team you watched growing up, to be able to put on this jersey, that means a lot,” Petry said. “Detroit was the No. 1 spot on my list. I want to play here, and I’ve wanted to my whole life. I like what I see when I look at that roster and the steps that this team has made over the last couple years. It’s a very special moment.”
Dan Petry was busy in his role as studio analyst for the Tigers when the news broke, so the first father-son conversation was fairly short.
“I wanted him to be one of the first to know,” Petry said. “I haven’t spoken to him too much. We’ll find time to catch up now that things have settled in.”
It’s funny how things work out: Both of Petry’s parents are Californians who became Michigan transplants thanks to Dan’s baseball career; he played 11 seasons for the Tigers, wrapping up his career in 1991. The Petrys moved from Grosse Pointe to Farmington Hills when Jeff was around five.
“My dad retired here and it was, ‘What can be put our two boys in that is going to keep them busy year-round?’ ” Petry said. “It was baseball always in the summer. My dad knew nothing about hockey, but he knew it was big in Michigan, and that was his reason behind putting us in hockey.”
The 35-year-old Petry was 9 when the Wings won the Cup in 1997. He described his childhood bedroom as “Red Wings everything.”
“Hockey was always something I enjoyed more than baseball,” Petry continued. “It took me a while to finally tell my dad that. But I knew in high school that hockey was going to be the sport that I wanted to pursue. My dad was thrilled that I had chosen what I wanted to do and wanted to make my own path.”
