BOSTON -- In the past three days, the father of Rick Nash has been squired from city to city on the Blue Jackets' plane, feted with gourmet meals and given unfettered access to the team.

None of these perks, however, rate with a most simple pleasure: Waking up in the same room as his son on game day. Jamie Nash hasn't seen this side of his famous boy since he was a skinny 12-year-old playing summer hockey.

"It just brings back a ton of memories when the family would share a hotel room and we'd be off to some tournament," Jamie Nash said. "We came back and crashed at the hotel the other night, and I thought, 'We were doing the same thing 15 years ago.' "

The Ritz-Carlton in Boston is a long way from the Super 8 in Buffalo, N.Y., but 18 hockey dads, accompanying the Jackets on the team's first father-and-son trip, have savored the journey.

Regardless of the nationality or accent, the stories of parental sacrifice and player appreciation sound similar. It is Juan Manuel Torres taking a second job delivering newspapers to ensure Raffi could have new skates. It is Czech-born Michal Hejda overcoming a fear of flying to travel across Europe to see Jan play.

"I wish I could speak three or four languages right now," said Bill Mason, father of goaltender Steve Mason while sitting on the bench yesterday watching the Jackets finish practice in TD Garden.

About 10 feet to his left, Michal Hejda and Milo Voracek were conversing in Czech. Fathers from Canada, America, Sweden and the Czech Republic are represented.

"I think there's an unspoken bond here, we've all been to 6 a.m. practices in our time," Bill Mason added.

The father-and-son trip, which began Tuesday in Philadelphia and concludes tonight after the team flies home from Boston, was the idea of Rick Nash and general manager Scott Howson.

Some teams have been doing them for a decade. Terry Clark, the father of Chris Clark, went on similar excursions with the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals.

With the average NHL salary just under $2 million, many of the hockey dads have flown first class or had their son pick up the tab at a swanky restaurant. Pampering is not the point of the experience, Jamie Nash said.

"Some people are garbage men, some people are postmen, Rick happens to play hockey," he said. "We're all still people who enjoy spending time with our kids. I'm happy for him, but I don't buy into the hype."

The dads seem more wide-eyed about the toll the game takes on players. They have been able to roam the locker rooms, attend team meetings and peek into the trainer's rooms.

"You get a real sense of what they go through," Bill Mason said. "It's like the walking wounded in the changing rooms, all ice and Saran wrap."

It has been a bruising season in many ways.

Bill Mason will get a chance to see Steve start against the Bruins tonight. It has been a difficult road for last season's Rookie of the Year and many of his teammates.

The hockey dads still dispense fatherly advice even if they don't grasp the nuances of the game at the NHL level.

"I tell Steve to stay positive and don't read the newspapers," Bill said.

Mason still calls his dad before and after every game.

The fathers and sons ate together at an Italian restaurant last night before heading back to the hotel. Rick Nash has enjoyed meeting the different dads, he said, and learning about their backgrounds.

Michal Hejda will return to Prague in several days and resume watching his son's games in the middle of the night on the Internet. He essentially flew halfway around the world to make three hour-long minute flights.

"I wouldn't have missed it," he said wearing a Blue Jackets hat with Jan acting as his interpreter. "I feel like I'm part of the team, getting to see the inside stuff. It's a once in the lifetime experience."

treed@dispatch.com