Advertisement

Rod Stewart might attend one of his son’s Spokane Chiefs WHL games

Liam Stewart and the Spokane Chiefs have done their best to play down the inescapable fact that, yes, the rookie centre is the son of world famous pop star Rod Stewart. Being the child of a household name no doubt has more perks than it does disadvantages, but it comes with great challenges, especially when the son is trying to make it as an athlete.

The 17-year-old Stewart has proved himself with the Chiefs as their No. 3 centre and his mother, former jet-setting model Rachel Hunter, by most accounts, has blended in with the other hockey mothers. However, there's bound to be more attention than usual for Liam Stewart, because as a recent Los Angeles Times feature on the Manhattan Beach, Calif., native noted, Rod Stewart is "heading to Spokane with a large family contingent [this] week to see Liam play in the WHL for the first time."

Rod Stewart, of course, is a soccer guy. He was a fair player in his youth, roots avidly for Celtic of the Scottish Premier league as well as Manchester United and recorded songs with Scotland's national team before two World Cups. During the 1990 World Cup, he scheduled his performances so not to conflict with important games.

From Kevin Baxter:

So on a recent bone-cold Saturday night Hunter is simply Liam Stewart's mom as she sits, shivering, among the other hockey moms — and dads and siblings — in cavernous Spokane Arena.

"At this level it doesn't matter who your mom is, who your dad is," Speltz says. "And yet for me, [Liam] handles it real well because he's still proud those are his parents. But it doesn't get in the way of his career goal."

That goal, of course, is the NHL — about as far from the catwalks of Europe and the recording studios of Hollywood as one can get.

And his parents couldn't be happier.

"Oh absolutely," says Rod Stewart, the iconic rocker who, at 67, just finished a successful concert tour of Australia. "I say this to my kids all the time: 'Whatever makes you happy makes me happy.' If he had wanted to be a carpenter it would have made me happy.

"He's his own man. He's not embarrassed by who his parents are. Far from it. But he also doesn't ride on our coattails." (The Los Angeles Times)

Baxter's whole story is worth a read for reasons beyond the fact Rockin' Rod is quoted at fair length, including a reminisce about the first time he and Rachel Hunter took little Liam skating in New York City ("he went with all the kids out on the ice and he didn't move off the center spot. He was absolutely terrified.").

Even if his name was Liam Smith, Liam Stewart cracking the Chiefs lineup would still be a good story. He was undrafted after playing youth hockey in Southern California and was probably not a 50/50 bet to make Spokane this year as a 17-year-old. In a sport that puts premium on fitting in and not elevating yourself above teammates, he also had to overcome a lot of presumptions that he would have a big head.

"People thinking I'm spoiled and I'll have all this and that," he says. "That's why I wanted to come here, just to prove to coaches that have doubted me in the past and all that kind of stuff — prove to everyone that I can do something on my own."

... What really caught the team's attention — what really showed them that Stewart was no pampered celebrity son — was his decision to pass up the Spokane apartment his mother had rented to live instead with a host family he had never met, as is the custom throughout junior hockey.

"He just wants to be with the guys," said Mitch Holmberg, a forward from Sherwood Park, Canada, who is Liam's roommate.

Even if that means joining the other rookies to clean the team bus at 5 a.m. — all for a monthly stipend of less than $300.

"It takes a lot of commitment to play down here," Holmberg adds. "I live with the guy and you never hear him talk about his parents."

Chiefs GM Tim Speltz pointed out that while the growing number of youth leagues in California may do well at teaching skills, Canadians and players from northern U.S. states are likely exposed to more competition.

"Young guys coming from California, they haven't had the same opportunity to play at the highest level," Speltz said. "Now it's going to be about the off-season, about how he prepares for next year."

Meantime, as he goes on in hockey, Stewart will probably get used to the references to his famous father. Last week, that all converged when he was the game's first star after scoring two short-handed goals in a game against the Victoria Royals at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre, where coincidentally, his father played the very first concert in 2005.

The Memorial Centre PA music man, Tom Grainger, was pitch perfect in the moment and played Maggie May after Stewart's goals, never mind that it was recorded more than two decades before any of these players were born. When it was time for Stewart to collect his game first-star award, it was his dad's version of Forever Young that played on the PA in a nice touch.

Rod Stewart, a Glasgow Celtic, Man United and Scottish national team fan, is far more interested in soccer and kicked several balls into the crowd from the stage that opening night of the Memorial Centre. On this night, the Royals were probably wishing his son had chosen soccer instead of hockey. (Victoria Times-Colonist, March 1)

Liam Stewart is eligible for this season's NHL draft but is not ranked by the league's Central Scouting Service. Between his drive, ability and rapid improvement, it sounds like he has some upside. Considering that he only made the birthday cutoff for this year's draft by nine days, he could be someone teams would take a long look at in his second year of eligibility. He's shown he's not a novelty act.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: Western Hockey League).