BOGO is BACK!
Zach Bogosian of the Tampa Bay Lightning talks fatherhood, resiliency and life lessons from rink to home Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian is back in CHAMPA BAY after playing this past season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Part of the team that brought home the Stanley Cup in 2020, Bogosian and his teammates are ready to go for THREE this season. We recently sat down for a Zoom chat about Bogosian’s return to Tampa Bay and life as the husband of Bianca and father of Mila, 5, Hunter, 3, and Harper, nearly 2.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COME BACK?
ZB: Winning with a group is super special; you build lifelong bonds. I really enjoy the group of guys on the team, my wife Bianca fell into a nice group with the girls—it’s really been an easy family move for us. And the buzz around town is great. Obviously with the Lightning going back-to-back, the Bucs winning—as a sports fan it’s amazing, but as an athlete playing in a city like Tampa right now, it makes it a lot of fun, a lot of anticipation for the season. It’s a great time to be in Tampa!
HAS FATHERHOOD CHANGED THE WAY YOU PLAY OR APPROACH YOUR LIFE AS A PRO HOCKEY PLAYER?
BOGOSIAN: I remember when I was [a] young player coming in the league and being in the same locker room as a guy who has kids… you look up to them a lot. On paper, you’re not that much older than a lot of guys, but maturity-wise and life lessons—you bring that experience into the rink every day. Luckily in Tampa, we have so many guys who have families, so that was another driving force in deciding to come back here because you do want to have that support system when you’re on the road. A lot of the kids are the same age, and they all play together. You create that family atmosphere within the locker room. It’s awesome.
TELL US WHAT IT’S TAKEN TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY. BOGOSIAN: Lionel Messi said, “It took me 20 years to become an overnight sensation.” Everyone that plays a sport—someone somewhere down the line sacrificed, whether it was time, money, or whatnot to have you in that position. I owe a lot to my parents.
I was a smaller kid and there were kids who were bigger, stronger, faster, but I always knew deep down I wanted it more than them, and that’s all you can really ask. At the end of the day, if you have that mental resilience to put forth that effort—because it is a lot of effort, a lot of hard work, a lot of time, a lot of commitment, a lot of sacrifice—in the end it’s so worth it. Having that resilient attitude and being able to bet on yourself and have that self-confidence to stick it out is something I’m really looking forward to passing onto my kids as they get older.
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WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO CELEBRATE THE 2020 STANLEY CUP WIN WITH YOUR BROTHERS AND FAMILY? BOGOSIAN: Just to have the Stanley Cup in my parent’s house—my grandparents lived there and my great-grandfather built the house, so it’s had a few different generations. My great-grandparents came over from Armenia. They started the family in Massena, New York. A lot of time and effort and all that stuff I just talked about kind of came full circle and I was the beneficiary of all that. They paved the way for me, so it was cool to bring that to my parent’s house.
There’s no way possible that I would be sitting here right now in this Lightning facility, no way possible that I could be here without my parents or my brother to push me [and to] be there throughout my entire career and life. I had to travel sometimes an hour-and-half for practice … and they [my parents] had three boys playing hockey, three boys playing lacrosse or three boys playing soccer. So there were a lot of moving parts to all of this, but somehow someway, I just put my head down and kept plowing through and it just goes back to the support system I had.
YOU SEEM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT PLAYING IN FRONT OF THE FANS AGAIN! ARE YOU ALL READY TO GO FOR THREE? BOGOSIAN: That’s the plan. The guys did it last year and a big part of that group is back, so we’re feeling confident going into the year. When you win, especially back-to-back, you are the champions, you are the success measuring stick if you want to call it that. You are going to get every team’s best, but we’re up for the challenge. You already heard me talk about the quality of individuals in the locker room. I’m just super excited to be back with the guys and the team and looking forward to playing in front of the fans. I played so many years against the Lightning and I know how good the fan base is and how loud the rink is!
istockphoto.com/ Alesya Maleeva
by Laura Byrne, photos by Scott Audette | Tampa Bay Lightning
