Children of Penguins' Dupuis pray nightly for his healthy return to ice
The children of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis believe in the power of prayer.
With that in mind, Dupuis' four kids take to their knees every night and ask for their father to stay healthy on the ice.
Dupuis believes he's on schedule to return for the upcoming season after a blood clot threatened his life in November. The 36-year-old opened up about his fears in a moving piece entitled "Why I'm Coming Back" in The Players' Tribune earlier this summer, admitting to knowingly playing with a blood clot in his lung for five games as well as his daily use of blood thinners and injections.
"They know what I'm doing," Dupuis told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of what his children - ages 4-11 - understand of his reasoning to return to the ice. "They know the injection part. They've read enough. We talked enough about it. ... Every night in prayers, my name comes up. Let's make sure daddy stays safe. They know what's going on."
Dupuis, who had been cleared for contact earlier this summer, injects himself in the abdomen with a blood thinner every day after practice. His stomach is littered with lumps from the injections, but Dupuis contends that he is getting healthier.
The Quebec native scored six goals and set up five others in 16 games last season. He has recorded 188 tallies and 217 assists in 853 career games with the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets and Penguins.
(h/t Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
