On a Wednesday afternoon in late July, Jukka Heiskanen and Mia Mattinen are waiting for their son at a hockey rink.



Miro Heiskanen finished an informal skate at the Dallas Stars’ practice facility in Frisco around 11:15 am. Jukka and Mia’s son was the last player off the ice, picked up the pucks, and now an hour later the two are still waiting as Miro finishes up a workout back in the Stars’ training area.



The locale may be strange; this is only Jukka and Mia’s second visit to North America, and the Texas heat is blistering. But the scene is familiar. For 17 years they’ve been spending extra time at rinks, often waiting for their kid to be the last one off the ice and get ready for the drive home.



“It was great to watch him grow, it was something that he always wanted to do,” Mia said. “I asked sometimes if he wanted to do something else then play hockey, no, never.”



Miro was two-and-half when he...