SUNRISE, FLA.

Not unlike the other dads on the annual Maple Leafs fathers trip, Tom Clune has a touch of pride when he watches his son, Rich, take each shift wearing a blue and white sweater.

For Tom Clune, that pride comes from a different source.

May 5 will mark his oldest son’s sixth sobriety anniversary. Rich’s battle with addiction to alcohol and drugs was publicly known, but there was greater awareness with his intense struggle when he wrote a piece, called The Battle, that was published last July on theplayerstribune.com.

“The thing we are so happy about now is that Richard is healthy,” Tom Clune said on Monday, referring to himself, wife Anne Marie and sons Matthew and Ben, as he took in the Leafs practice at the BB&T Center.

“It was a long road and you don’t have a playbook for something like that. When he was going through it, no, we did not know the extent. You go back over it in your mind and you think, ‘Geez, how did we not see that?’

“When we got into (helping Richard become sober), everything else gets put on hold. We were, to be honest, scared shitless. You are talking about a human being as opposed to a hockey player.”

Truth be told, Clune is not sure whether May 5 is his actual sobriety anniversary. The first 10 days of May 2010 were such a “hazy time,” he said, when he checked into a rehab clinic in Toronto, he had lost track. So he picked the halfway point between the 1st and the 10th.

Today, the temptation for Clune to reach for a drink or a drug is gone.

“The only times I get in a bad mood, it has to do with hockey,” Clune said. “If we lose, or if I feel like I didn’t play well, I will get mad, but my mind doesn’t go to those places anymore where I feel like I need to have a drink or take a drug. I don’t need to self-medicate anymore.

“I’m starting to become an adult, is what they say, and I’m not running from my feelings. I face them head on.”

While it’s simple clean living that drives him when he gets out of bed every morning, Clune, who grew up in Toronto and idolized Wendel Clark, has no interest in jeopardizing his role with the Leafs. The 28-year-old is slated to play in his fifth consecutive game with Toronto on Tuesday night when the Leafs visit the Florida Panthers and undoubtedly will continue to bring elements of determination and sandpaper to the fourth line.

After spending the majority of two seasons with the Nashville Predators, Clune played in one NHL game in 2014-15 and signed with the Toronto Marlies last summer. The Leafs then signed him to a one-year, two-way NHL contract in October, and he was diligent in his desire to get back to the NHL once he was sent to the Marlies again.

“It’s one of those things where you go, ‘Holy, he has done it,’ ” Tom Clune said.

Said Leafs coach Mike Babcock: “He is a good man. He has been in the NHL and then not been there, and I think sometimes when you are in that situation, you are a little more hungry than the rest of the guys.”

Clune realized there was going to be more attention on his personal life when he further laid bare his struggles last summer.

“I’m not out to save the world, that’s for sure,” Clune said. “It has been interesting. I have been able to help others … you can’t do it alone. It’s a disease that you can’t beat yourself.

“It’s rewarding to know I never gave up on myself and I am very grateful that I have had the help from my family and my father in particular, he has been there through every step. It’s a special opportunity to have him come on this trip when I am up with the Leafs.

“My life is awesome. It’s surreal.”

terry.koshan@sunmedia.ca

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