Horrified parents watch son fight in NHL debut for Blues

St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Peterson dropped the gloves late in the third period of his NHL debut on Tuesday, exchanging punches with Ottawa Senators rookie defenseman Jorian Donovan as his parents watched from seats near the glass at Canadian Tire Centre. The Blues won 7-2.

The 24-year-old, a 2020 third-round pick who stands 6-foot-4, played 8:57 on the fourth line alongside Ross Johnston and Pius Suter. He recorded four hits and drew a fighting major.

Broadcast cameras caught his mother, Angela, leaning back and covering her head with both hands as the scrap continued, while his father, Blaine, appeared nervous.

The Blues later posted the clip with Angela repeating, “That’s my son!”

"THAT'S MY BOY!!!" – Mom

Angela later described her reaction in blunt terms.

“I kind of went, ‘Oh my god, not another one. Oh gosh, what did he break now? Where is he bleeding?’” she told People.

She added that her son “did a good job” and called him “a great kid.”

Blaine noted afterward that Peterson left the dressing room with few marks and his teeth intact.

The parents had flown in from Placencia, Belize, after learning of the call-up. They drove two and a half hours to the airport in Belize City before connecting through Houston and Newark.

“I screamed. I cried,” Angela said of learning the news.

Blaine called the night “the highlight of our lives.”

Peterson, recalled from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds after Dillon Dube’s neck injury, said the game flew by.

“I kind of blacked out; it was going so fast,” he told reporters, via The Athletic. “My heart was going a million miles an hour.”

He expressed gratitude that his family made it and looked forward to seeing their reaction. Blues coach Jim Montgomery praised the physical, relentless effort from his fourth-line right winger in a strong first NHL appearance.