Summer Hockey Series: Q&A with Catherine Laflamme (Letang)

catherine laflamme kris letang hockey wives interview

Today, I get to introduce you to Catherine Laflamme! She is the hockey wife of Kris Letang who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Together, they have two adorable kids, Alex and Victoria, and they are all trying to figure out how to live life in this crazy time - just like us all! Below you will find her answers to the “hockey wife questions” and get to learn a bit more about their family and her life married to a hockey player!

Hockey in the summer!! What does this look like for you and your family? If you are living in the city with your bf/hubby is there is certain rules the team is recommending? When the guys head to hub cities what will you be doing?

Summer is much different than usual this year, like everything else! Usually, when the season is over, we start with a little family getaway and our time is mostly spent with our family and running everywhere for the kids activities. This year is actually pretty calm. I drove back with the kids and our dog mid-July, from Pittsburgh, just a few days before the boys left for the bubble. We did a quarantine of 14 days and now we try to spend our time with my sisters. We haven’t seen them at all (besides during the Christmas break) since last summer, so it feels good to be with them and all the kids are happy to be together. It is always nice to be back home with our friends and family.

Is there something you look forward to when the guys are gone? (for example less cooking, having the bed to yourself, etc.)

Meals are always interesting in our house. I was diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago, so I need to be really strict with my diet. Our daughter, Victoria, had a severe intolerance to dairy the first year and a half of her life, but for the last few months things have been much better. Kris eats pretty much everything and Alex is a picky eater, the typical kid’s menu. We always need to have a few options on the table to please everyone. The nights are also an interesting part, my kids love to join me in bed when Kris is away.

We potentially have a fall season with no hockey, any plans?

We don’t have any plans for the fall. Our son, Alex, will start second grade. We still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen with that.

What is your favorite part of quarantine with your boyfriend/hubby?

It was just nice to have him around all the time. Their schedule is pretty intense and we don’t get to spend as much time as a family and couple as we wish. We went through a few television series together and we spend a lot of evenings playing chess and backgammon with our son Alex.

What does the hockey bubble look like for your hubby/bf? Is there anything he does in his hotel room? Play video games, watch YouTube, etc.?

Kris likes video games (a little too much, haha!) so I know he plays a lot of them in the bubble. Alex and him find a way to play online games together. Victoria is our little clown, so she always makes the FaceTime sessions funny.

What is your favorite hockey memory?

Kris went through a lot of challenges with his health during his career and there was a of stressful times we went through as a family, so I think every time Kris was able to go back to his passion it was such a positive time for us and made great memories. If I have to pick one, I would say the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 was definitely a really beautiful moment to see my husband with such joy, especially after everything he went through. I have the chance to see so much admiration in my son eyes towards his dad and that is definitely the most beautiful thing of all.

If you have 30 minutes free, what can I find you doing?

30 minutes free are pretty rare. I feel that every time I have a little bit of free time I cook, clean and do laundry, but if everything is done, I love to read books.

What’s the best piece of advice you have received?

My mother always told me when I grew up "You reap what you sow''. She was always telling us to ''plant beautiful seeds'' in life with our attitudes and decisions. I try to stick to that.

Name 5 things you are loving right now.

1. Books, I love to read and it might sounds weird but I really like to run errands in libraries. I find it really relaxing.
2. When I was a kid, I practiced figure skating many times a week for 15 years and went snowboarding for a long time as well, so when we get the time, I still really like to do it.
3. Kris and I really like a few local restaurants around Montreal like La Station Organique and La Vie La Vie, so we just like to go there and enjoy the food.
4. Hanging out with my kids, they look so much the same, but they have such different personalities and they make me laugh a lot.
5. Cooking, I think during the lock down we tried all the banana bread and brownies recipes. Alex is a good little helper in the kitchen.

What is your favorite thing about the city your hubby/bf plays in?

The people we’ve had the chance to meet in this city are so nice and kind. We’ve met incredible people during this chapter of our life. Pittsburgh is a really nice city to raise a family. We are there for so long and last year we decided to build a house, so it was a really fun project to work on since I did all the design on my own and my boss (Kris) was pretty happy about the result, haha!