Back to that “Same Old Place” for Forward Sam Herr

“Come on! Baby don’t you wanna gooooo? Back to that same old place, my sweet home, Chicago.” – Blues Brothers at the Palace Hotel Ballroom.

Growing up less than 20 miles from Allstate Arena in Hinsdale, Illinois and sharing early hockey memories with his family by attending Chicago Wolves games, Ontario Reign forward Sam Herr is watching his career come full circle as he returns to that special sheet of ice today when the Reign meet the Wolves for the first time in team history.

“It’s awesome,” exclaimed Herr. “The people that are coming tonight are the reason I stuck with hockey. Their support was awesome throughout the years. It made traveling, being away from home and friends from high school a lot easier. It’s special to play in front of them at this level. It’s a unique experience to play in front of extended family, not just immediate family. I was lucky enough to see a couple of Wolves games growing up. One of my coaches used to play for the Wolves so I had a little bit of background around them.”

When he takes the ice for pregame warmups, Herr will be looking for one special family member to share the moment with.

“I do have to single out my dad. There has been many times growing up where hockey has been a question mark and if it was going to continue. I got cut from a lot of teams. A lot of emotions when I’d play a bad game or I wouldn’t always be in the lineup. I remember a couple times in juniors and in college when I wasn’t playing and he was there for me. Family support is unbelievable. I cannot imagine hockey being easy on a parent to get into, but he never second guessed it for me. He made it a lot more fun.”

Will tonight’s game complete the circle of watching the Wolves to playing against them?

“Absolutely. We got into the Wolves when we had a coach, Tim Breslin, who sadly passed away the year he was coaching me, but when he was a Wolves alumnus, it opened our eyes to them. We’ve known some coaches that have worked with the Wolves. It’s special that I get to play against them.”

So…how many tickets did you request for tonight’s game?

“Oh my…my mom did one of those family passes. I think there is close to 35 people coming. There is a lot of pressure to perform, but it will be a lot of fun.”