DALLAS – NHL Draft night – and draft night for any pro league – writes a story of joy and achievement for prospects and their families.
Years of hard work, and endless commitment of time and finances culminates in a dream come true: being given a shot to play at the sport's highest level.
But for Dallas Stars fifth-round draft pick Riley Damiani and his family, draft night was a whole different story – one of an untimely bathroom break that led to a special reunion between father and son.
Rino Damiani was as patient as biology allowed him to be in waiting for his son’s name to be called Saturday at American Airlines Center.
“He was telling me for the last 10 picks that he had to go to the washroom,” Damiani said in a video produced by the Dallas Stars, “and I was telling him, ‘Nope, you’ve gotta stick around.’”
But nature wouldn’t allow it. Rino was in the bathroom when Riley’s name was called as the 137th overall selection in the NHL Draft.
“I think he had just gotten out of the arena and my name got called,” Riley said. “My mom was freaking out, and I looked over and my dad still wasn’t back.”
Rino said he saw Riley’s name come up on the TV in the bathroom and ran back to his seat.
The Stars’ video shows a teary reunion for Riley and Rino in the concourse of the AAC, filled with pride, congratulations and “I love yous.”
“I told all the media about how you missed it,” Riley told his dad. “This story’s gonna be everywhere.”
Riley Damiani, 18, has played two seasons for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League.
He scored 19 goals and logged 18 assists and 37 points in 64 games in the 2017-18 season, according to Stars blog Defending Big D.
