Advice from dad helps Blackhawks' Sharp rebound

It's a trip Patrick Sharp will remember for a long time.

He'd been on the Chicago Blackhawks' "Father's Trip" before with his dad, Ian Sharp, but this year's excursion was a little different.

Patrick was in the middle of a rare scoring slump when the trip began, with 1 goal and 11 assists in 25 games, but that was secondary to a situation that had taken over his personal life.

A few weeks before the trip, rumors about Sharp and a couple of teammates spread through social media sites and a radio station, causing enough stir that each guy addressed the accusations publicly to deny them.

It took a toll on Sharp, who told reporters he was distracted and upset. Ultimately, the best escape came with Ian's arrival for the "dad's trip" to Arizona and San Jose.

"It was pretty important," said Sharp, who will take the ice in a huge game at St. Louis on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSN). "My dad's been fighting for a lot of years, and it was nice to spend some time with him."

Ian Sharp's fight is against a form of leukemia, which he has battled for several years.

"Sometimes I forget what he's going through," Sharp said. "I'll have a tough practice or tough game or tough stretch of games, and I think things are hard in my life. Then I talk to my dad and realize what he's dealing with. It gives you perspective."

That's a big reason Sharp's on-ice turnaround started during their trip.

Playing in front of his dad, he scored 2 goals in a 6-2 victory against San Jose, looking more like his old self. Sharp has 3 goals and 5 assists in 12 games since, and the Hawks need him to keep it going.

Sharp's name was at the top of the stat sheet for goals in Chicago's 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup championship runs and was lower down the list last year when the Blackhawks came within a goal of going to the Cup Final.

"He's a huge part of the team, and that game in San Jose when he had the 2 goals, his confidence was boosted," forward Kris Versteeg said. "He seems to be rolling ever since that day."

Increased statistical production isn't the only evidence. Sharp's tenacity in puck battles also has returned, along with a feisty attitude that helped him become one of the NHL's top scoring threats.

"He's a winner," said former teammate Jamal Mayers, who's now a television analyst. "He's willing to do the things that you don't really see and is willing to find a way to make himself relevant and step up at the right times. Whenever anybody who's a skill player like him steps outside of himself and plays with more aggression, maybe he throws his body around when he has to, everyone on the bench takes notice."

That swagger has returned to his game, and the road trip with his dad is a big reason.

"It was just us," Sharp said. "We did all the team events with the Blackhawks, but some of the best times were just having dinner with him the second night in San Jose, just by ourselves, or out on the street just kind of catching up on things and spending some 1-on-1 time."

One of the other highlights was touring Alcatraz with the rest of the group. Sharp had done it before with the Blackhawks, between playoff series in 2010, but this time he brought along "a big history buff" who was thrilled to visit.

At some point, the Sharps also had one of those talks reserved for dads and sons.

Sharp is keeping the specific advice his dad gave him private, but whatever was said seems to have worked.

"I always say he doesn't have a background in hockey, but he knows his kids very well. He can tell when things are bothering me personally, off the ice and on the ice. He watches me every shift, every practice, so he knows my tendencies and has some good advice for me that way."

Ian's perseverance against cancer also is an inspiration. He still works out, keeps himself in good shape and loves to joke with his hockey-playing son about who works harder.

"He hasn't let it affect his life," Sharp said. "He stays active. He's got a great place in Thunder Bay (Ontario) on the lake. I say he's got the nicest lawn in Canada. He's got a great property, and he enjoys spending time with his grandkids. My brother's got two daughters, I've got two daughters, and he's enjoying life."