from Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated,

Not long into his first season back home with Toronto, Daniel Winnik realized that meeting his parents for coffee wasn’t as innocent as it appeared. The real reason, he found, usually revealed itself at the end. Right as they were leaving, Winnik’s father would produce a bag of Maple Leafs jerseys—Winnik’s No. 26—and offer a pen. With time, Winnik developed a practiced response. “I’ll go, ‘What the hell is this? I’m not signing a million things for people every time I see you,’” the veteran forward says. “It just comes at the weirdest times.”

These stories, Winnik insists, are not unique to him. Ask anyone who is fortunate enough to lace up for their hometown teams and skate in front of their families, like Vancouver Canucks rookie Jake Virtanen (photo above). The opportunity brings magic and thrills, no question. He can visit his parents, roughly 40 minutes away from Rogers Arena. His grandparents can come down to rink level after home games. Fans recognize the teenager the moment he steps outside downtown. But he can also spend an entire afternoon signing jerseys that his father lays onto the table, assembly line-style.

Or ask Detroit Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin, who returned to his childhood house in Waterford, Mich., one afternoon last winter and found roughly 30 pictures and jerseys awaiting his signature.

“A lot of Christmas presents,” Larkin says.

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