Perhaps you remember the feeling when you heard Pavol Demitra died.
Imagine how his son felt.
It was September 7, 2011. The former Blues star and fan favorite Demitra — at that point 36 and playing in Russia — was killed in a plane crash.
“I was at home, it was just like a normal day,†Lucas Demitra, now 21, said softly in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. “It was like a feeling when you’re like getting sick. In the stomach. You want to vomit. It was just the worst feeling.â€
Lucas was 8.
He was born in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, but at the time of his father’s death, the family lived in Pavol’s native Slovakia. This month, Lucas has returned to his birthplace for the same reason his dad arrived in 1996: to play professional sports for a ºüÀêÊÓƵ team.
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A soccer standout, Lucas recently signed with City2, the second team of ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC. He will thus play his home games at CityPark, which is 0.7 miles from Enterprise Center, where his dad played such wonderful hockey.
And so, Demitra will surely score, yet again, for ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“I don’t really remember it all because I was little,†Lucas said of his dad’s career, which earned Pavol enshrinement into the Blues Hall of Fame. “I saw some videos — he was amazing when I watched. Sometimes I went to training with him. I remember meeting the other guys and looking at the facility, that was awesome. …
“(As a father), he was amazing. He was always trying to do fun things with us, because he didn’t have much time because he was training, then he was sleeping. Every time he was with us, he tried to do something fun. Mom was, like, the strict one. We always played — we had little goals and we had little sticks and we always played one-on-one in our home. And that would last for two hours.â€
Pavol played here from 1996-2005, creating offensive havoc with linemates Scott Mellanby and Keith Tkachuk. Pavol made four All-Star teams. He won the NHL’s Lady Bing Trophy in 1999-2000, the season the Blues won the President’s Trophy. And wearing the Bluenote, Pavol scored a total of 204 goals with 259 assists for 493 points. Think about how many men have played for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Blues. Well, only six had more points for the team than Pavol Demitra did.
In October 2023, Lucas came to ºüÀêÊÓƵ for his dad’s Hall of Fame ceremony, along with his mother, Maria, and his sister, Zara, who is now 18.
“That’s when it hit us that everybody loved him,†Lucas said. “Everybody was amazing when we walked into the hockey stadium, everyone was clapping and standing up. … It was just a good feeling that everybody loved him.â€
As for Maria, “well, she’s the most amazing mother,†Lucas said. “She had it really hard to raise two kids alone. So that was really hard. She’s so strong, because we never saw a weakness from her that it’s hard for us (as a family). And she was always there for us. She was trying to help us anyway in our life, in every way.â€
And so, to help her son grow as a man, Maria had to say goodbye to him. Lucas lives alone in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Tkachuk actually invited him to live with his family, but Lucas wanted to try living on his own.
It was Tkachuk who wore Demitra’s No. 38 jersey in the 2017 Winter Classic Alumni Game at Busch Stadium.
“He’s one of my closest friends and he’s a part of this history,†Tkachuk said at the time. “I wish he was here.â€
For City2, Lucas will play forward. He previously played for the Slovakian soccer club AS Trencin. He said he was 17 in his first game — and in that game, he scored a goal. He also battled injuries in recent years, but as City sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel saw in Lucas’ tryout earlier this season, “he is 100% fit.â€
So, how did Lucas end up in ºüÀêÊÓƵ? Pfannenstiel has a connection to a fellow German named Peter Hyballa, who, of all the clubs, recently managed AS Trencin.
Pfannenstiel called other contacts and got positive reviews, as well. When he watched, he was impressed by Lucas — the kid was quick! — and better yet, the kid was American! Having a U.S. passport alleviates the overall process for players in Major League Soccer. And at the tryout, Pfannenstiel said Lucas’ talent, “at City2 level, was impressive. And so, for us, it was a no-brainer to give it a go.â€
Pfannenstiel made the point that it was strictly a soccer decision. But Pfannenstiel also said that Lucas’ connection to the ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports fans “is something special. … He’s the son of a ºüÀêÊÓƵ legend.â€
I was curious if Lucas thinks about Pavol while he plays soccer?
What’s that like, practicing soccer in the shadow of the arena where your late father was an All-Star?
“I don’t think about it because if I thought about it would be hard for my head — and for my performances,†Lucas said. “But sometimes you just sit and think about it when you’re not at the facility or playing. And then it just hits you.â€