Scott Radley: Rob Kitamura will finally get his Stanley Cup ring and watch his team in the playoffs

As a scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he wanted his guys to win on Monday night. Obviously. That would've wrapped up the Stanley Cup and made him a champion for the second year in a row.

But was a teeny tiny little part of him kind of grudgingly OK with the overtime loss so that the series stretched for one more game?

I can't say I was crushed," Rob Kitamura says.

Most of that was from the fact that he works exceptionally hard to keep an even keel and not let himself get too high or too low during games. When the outcome matters to you as much as it does to him, letting your emotions swing too far in either direction isn't all that much fun.

The other part though? Through two playoff runs and Stanley Cup final appearances, he hasn't been able to see a single second of action live. COVID kept him at home last summer and it's kept him in Hamilton this year again.

Night after night, he's watched from the basement with his wife, Molly, and his nine-year-old, Lightning-obsessed son, Wyatt. Until he can't take it anymore and heads upstairs to watch from a different room where he can be alone. Or stops watching altogether and reviews the game on PVR the next morning.

You're so invested but there's that powerlessness," he says.

Of course, even tucked away in another part of the house, he can't insulate himself completely. Various hockey apps ding on his phone when something happens in the game. Checking them is almost a Pavlovian response.

And when Tampa scores, you just know he can hear Wyatt's celebrations echoing through the house.

More my wife," he laughs.

But it's been a long-distance relationship. In normal times, teams would fly in their scouts for the finals, if not more than that. But that's been impossible during the pandemic. So he's been nowhere near the action.

In the most-ironic of twists, the guy who sees more than 300 games a year can't get to a rink when it matters most. He never even got to celebrate with the Cup last year. The dream of every hockey-loving Canadian is to have a day with the big mug. He never even got to touch it.

Worst of all? He hasn't been able to give this experience to his boy.

Kitamura remembers what it's like to be nine and hockey crazy. Wyatt's room, his clothes, his blanket, his pillows and everything else are covered in the Lightning logo.

He's all in," Kitamura says.

I love the Lightning," the Grade 4 student at Ridgemount Elementary School adds.

Now imagine being that passionate and having a dad who works for the team that won the Stanley Cup and is one win away from doing it again but you can't experience it because of issues nobody can control.

Last year the final game was on a school night so Wyatt was in bed when they won. Since he was asleep, Molly and Rob couldn't even scream and yell.

I turned to Rob and said, Well this is a different feeling of being a Stanley Cup winner,'" Molly says.

As a father, it gnaws at him. He knows you don't get to experience this every year. Many scouts work a career and never even make the final. Two get there twice in two years is remarkable. To possibly win it in successive seasons? Ridiculous.

To have this happen and never really get to fully share it with your kid? That's tough.

It's a little bittersweet," he says.

Which brings us to Monday. When the Lightning lost in overtime forcing a Game 5 in Tampa, the 49-year-old was disappointed for sure. But the absence of silver actually came with a silver lining.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, he was in his car headed for the Buffalo airport to catch a flight to Florida to try to get into Tampa airport just minutes before Tropical Storm Elsa shut it down. The franchise is holding its pre-draft meetings over the next few days and all hands are to be on deck.

The timing means he'll be able to be in Amalie Arena on Wednesday. Likely wearing last year's Stanley Cup ring that he'll finally receive once he arrives - It's not something they want to throw in Purolator," he quips - with a chance to see his side win the championship in person and then lift the Cup. He's not a drinker at all but he's said he'll make an exception to sip something bubbly from it if that opportunity presents.

He's not counting any pre-hatched chickens but if Tampa wins that game, Monday's loss will have turned out to be the most delightful defeat he's ever suffered.

His family still can't join him. But back home, there's no school on Thursday. So Wyatt will at least get to see the whole thing. Right?

I'm staying up," he says.

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com