One Detroit Red Wing. One entrepreneur. A podcast, a clothing line, a foundation. And four spirited boys under nine. Piece of cake.
The Petry family is a study in high-energy, productive, community-involved love. Farmington Hills-raised dad Jeff Petry, 37, is a Red Wings defenseman (and second-generation pro athlete — his own dad is Dan Petry, former Detroit Tigers pitcher and World Series-winner), with a hectic, demanding and unpredictable schedule while remaining a present and adored father. Mom Julie Petry, 36, is the calm in the chaos — in addition to being a full-time mom to those four kiddos, she co-hosts an NHL podcast, launched a quickly growing (and super-adorable) sports’ fan apparel company and volunteers with the boys’ school, among other organizations.
Jeff played varsity hockey for St. Mary’s Prep in Orchard Lake and college hockey for Michigan State University, then onto the Des Moines Buccaneers (leaving high school early to start his NHL career), Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins before landing with the Red Wings.
Both athletes, the couple met on their first day of freshman year at Michigan State: Jeff was at MSU for hockey and Julie was on a field-hockey scholarship. The freshman hockey class sat in the back row, and the freshman field hockey class sat right in front of them. They both lived in Wonders Hall that year, ate most meals together at Case and hung out as friends. They started dating their junior year; shortly after, Jeff left to pursue his NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers. Doing the long-distance thing until 2012, they were married in Julie’s hometown of Houston, Texas.
After moving around the country (and beyond) for Jeff’s career and with their children growing and planting roots, plus Jeff’s parents (dad Dan and mom Christine) still in Michigan, the family is ready to call Michigan home for the long haul, settling in Bloomfield Hills. Here, a his-and-hers of Jeff and Julie, who allowed us a peek into their lives.
JEFF SAYS:
BIRMINGHAM CITY LIFESTYLE: Are you happy to have landed back in Michigan?
JEFF: Growing up in Michigan being a fan of the Red Wings, it was always a dream of mine to wear the winged wheel.
BCL: When did you start playing hockey?
JEFF: I started playing hockey around four or five. My dad retired in Michigan and wanted to put us [Jeff and older brother, Matt] into a sport opposite season as baseball. Hockey was that sport. From a young age I was always more into hockey for its fast pace and consistent action.
BCL: Do you have any mentors or role models?
JEFF: I always leaned on my dad and his pro experiences, especially early on my path to the NHL. Growing up, a big influence on me was my coach at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Brian Klanow, and my coach in Des Moines, Regg Simon.
BCL: How would your coaches or teammates describe you?
JEFF: I think my coaches and teammates would describe me as a quiet but calming influence, both on and off the ice.
BCL How do you see your future?
JEFF: I see myself playing a little bit longer, and then being more involved in all of our boys’ sports after that. I’d love for Julie and me to grow our JP Foundation [see more below], and get more involved with local charities to help provide support in youth programs around the Detroit area.
BCL: Was there any urging from your dad to take up baseball?
JEFF: He never pushed me one way or the other. I always felt a pressure to continue playing baseball because I didn’t know how to tell him I wanted to focus on hockey. My junior year of high school, the two sports began to overlap too much and I had to make a choice. I drove over to [my hockey coach] Brian’s office and asked him how to tell my dad. Brian told me to be honest and just tell him. While I was driving home, Brian called my dad to give him a head’s up. When I got home, I told my dad my plan to stop playing baseball — he couldn’t have been more supportive.
BCL: What is your favorite thing about being an athlete?
JEFF: Being part of a team. I’ve been a part of some great teams and met teammates from all around the world, creating bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime.
BCL: What are your favorite things about having a family?
JEFF: I love having someone to create and share all the memories with. And someone to lean on when things aren’t going the way you picture them. As a father, it’s exciting to see your children grow. What brings me the most joy is seeing them achieve something they worked hard at, whether in sports or school.
The boys play baseball and hockey. I think it’s important for them to be involved in sports and part of a team. Lots of my core memories as a kid came from time with teammates and traveling to various tournaments.
BCL: How do you balance hockey and family?
JEFF: Having four boys is challenging at times, but also very rewarding. I try not to bring the rink-life home, especially when things aren’t going well at the arena. My family has helped me, over the years, to clear my mind and park any issues. Julie and I try to focus on being present with our boys. As a parent, the challenge is the travel and picking up on the routines without interrupting the flow when returning from a road trip. Our wives learn how to thrive while we are gone and it’s important for me to come home and not disrupt the flow, while also fitting in time with each boy.
BCL: Any favorite local activities?
JEFF: In the summertime, we love riding our bikes into Downtown Birmingham. In the fall, we always like taking a family trip to an apple orchard. On my own, I enjoy golf and hunting.
BCL: Are you involved in any organizations?
JEFF: Anything involving helping children. Julie and I recently helped bring Leveling the Playing Field to Michigan, an amazing organization that collects new or used sports gear and allows those who are less fortunate to come pick up equipment to participate in sports.
BCL: What’s a characteristic you love about Julie?
JEFF: I’m grateful for my family and the career I’ve had, and being able to share that with my wife and kids. Julie is a dedicated, hard-working person. She’s the first one to volunteer for anything and she puts 100 percent into everything she does.
JULIE SAYS:
BCL: What’s your background?
JULIE: When I began college, I wanted to be a sports journalist; I shifted into nutrition, and ended up with a degree in communications.
I was always into sports from a young age — I grew up with an older brother, so to play with him I had to keep up with him and his friends playing baseball, football, basketball, etc. In high school, I was on the varsity field hockey, basketball and lacrosse teams all four years. I chose to pursue field hockey in college which led me to MSU.
BCL: Tell us about your podcast.
JULIE: I co-host Never Offside with Julie and Cat [pod link: pod.link/1789625045], with Cat Toffoli; it was just launched in January under the NHL productions. We record every Tuesday with a guest: everyone from fellow hockey wives to players to celebrities — anyone who wants to chat hockey and the NHL, tell funny stories and real-life moments that fans don’t get to see.
We played with Cat and Tyler Toffoli [now of the San Jose Sharks] in Montreal, where we became fast friends, even during Covid years. During our short time there, Cat and I would go on long walks and just talk and talk and talk — that’s when we sort of manifested the beginning of this podcast journey. Cat has a broadcasting background and works for the L.A. Dodgers, and had been approached for some time about doing something of this sort, but kicked the can down the road for a bit — now here we are, a full season in. We have a natural chemistry together, and we are having so much fun. People have been telling us that they love it — we laugh, because people even come up to our husbands to tell them they love us!
BCL: Who have you interviewed?
JULIE: We’ve interviewed hockey wives across the league — Angela Price, Meredith Gaudreau, Kenzy Larkin, Veronique Fleury and more. We’ve also interviewed celebrities like Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Connelly. Each episode is different based on the guest and their connection to hockey. We like to think we pull back the curtain a little bit to let the fans in on behind-the-scenes life around the NHL.
BCL: You are an entrepreneur. How did Line Change come about?
JULIE: When my husband played for the Canadiens, Angela Price [wife of then-goalie Carey Price) and I realized we were tired of shopping in team stores and never finding things we’d actually wear — understated fan gear made with great quality and fit. We created a clothing line called Line Change [linechange.com] in 2019, developed from a need for a better assortment of higher-quality clothing designed purposefully for women who want to show support for their favorite teams, with style. We like to say we are redefining the female sports fan. We currently are in the majority of NHL teams, a couple of NBA teams and various other leagues.
BCL: What makes it unique?
JULIE: We ourselves have shopped in many a team store, and the female options have always seemed an afterthought — it was ‘shrink it and pink it’ or an ill-fitting V-neck with a team logo. We create pieces you want to wear even if you are not going to the game, but just bopping around town, that doesn’t scream ‘super fan.’ You can go to a game and then go for dinner or drinks after without feeling like you need to change. Our quality is unlike other brands that do sports apparel and we pride ourselves in that.
BCL: How does giving back factor into the brand?
JULIE: Giving back to the communities we call home during the hockey season has always been important to Angela and me, so when we started our brand, we wanted to make sure that carried over. A portion of proceeds goes back to each team’s charities, and a percent of proceeds from sales directly on our website go back to the Line Change Foundation, which supports different organizations dear to our hearts around sport.
BCL: What about Line Change makes you proud?
JULIE: It is really special to share a vision and build a company on the same moral ground with one of your best friends. I am proud of the team we have built and how we continue to grow and learn as we forge our way through the uncharted waters (for us) of growing a clothing business.
BCL: Do you have any other entrepreneurial endeavors in the works?
JULIE: Not at the moment, before Line Change I was always spitting out ideas to Jeff about things I wanted to do or start. But one day you might find Jeff and me starting a wine label or opening a wine bar here in Birmingham …
BCL: Do you have any other favorite organizations?
JULIE: In addition to Line Change Foundation, Jeff and I are involved in bringing to Michigan Leveling the Playing Field — a ‘food bank’ for sports equipment. LPF collects gently used gear from local youth-sports communities and donation bins across the city, then volunteers sort and distribute it to under-resourced youth programs and schools. We’re very fortunate to have our four boys in youth sports, but that’s not available to everyone. Being a small part of LPF, helping make sports more affordable and accessible for other kids in the community, is really special and important to us as a family.
Jeff and I also created the JP Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families, children and underserved communities through impactful programs and meaningful partnerships. We’ve met so many incredible people through Jeff’s career and our community involvement, and we wanted to create something that could give back in a meaningful, lasting way.
BCL: How do you balance it all?
JULIE: Sometimes I don’t feel like everything is working! But the key is being very organized and staying energized. Jeff’s schedule is our anchor and then the kids go around that; fortunately, with Line Change, we prioritize our families, so we schedule all meetings around when kids are in school and so forth. Making sure I take care of myself, starting with good nourishment to help me thrive, is important too.
BCL: Tell us about life as the wife of a pro-athlete?
JULIE: It’s definitely special in ways — but to me, I am married to a normal guy that plays hockey for a job. The lifestyle is different in every city: In Canada, people live and breathe hockey. You can’t go to the grocery store without being recognized. Early on in Jeff’s career, before kids, I found it challenging to find something for myself, a sense of purpose, if you will. We moved to Canada right after we got married and it was very isolating at times, especially with all the travel the guys do. It was important to find things that were for myself.
Cons: You move around a lot, you are often away from family, especially during holidays, your kids have to change schools a lot and you are constantly rotating groups of friends as trades or changes happen, so you can never feel too comfortable. When off-season hits or when Jeff’s career is done, it is (will be) a beautiful thing to have him more present and have a partner to parent with consistently, and to not have to plan family activities around his hockey schedule nine months out of the year.
Pros: We are able to live a beautiful, adventurous life, with some really neat opportunities and experiences that we otherwise wouldn’t. I’ve gained friendships that I would not have encountered.
Seeing our boys get to watch their dad play in the NHL and the experiences they get to have is by far my favorite thing: There are just so many special moments that I will never take for granted.
BCL: How do you like Michigan’s winters, compared to Texas?
JULIE: Ha! I do love Michigan! It took me the first three years of college to really start to like it, and it took me about a decade to get used to winters. But Michigan winters are nothing compared to the Canadian ones I dealt with. Now, I really do love everything about it and all the seasons. It is such a beautiful place and I love the life we have built here.
BCL: What is special about raising your kids in Michigan?
JULIE: I love the community we’re surrounded by here in Michigan — it gives small-town feels but with everything a big city has to offer. I love how our boys get to experience all the seasons and I love the sports programs that are offered by the town. I love being able to walk around Downtown Birmingham. We love to walk the grounds at Cranbrook — it feels like you’re transported to another place.
BCL: Do you have any favorite local activities?
JULIE: For workouts, I love Sage House Pilates. Dining: Commonwealth, Phoenicia, Forest and Wilders are some of our favorites. Shopping: I love A Good Day boutique, Found Objects and Caruso Caruso! Wellness: DripIV, Pure Beauty MedSpa and Global Wellness Concierge.
I really enjoy playing tennis and being a regular at a workout class when I make that time for myself. Gardening is also a hobby I really enjoy.
BCL: Do you have any mentors or role models?
JULIE: Oh gosh — many. I had many coaches that gave me a lot of wisdom on mindset, how to approach my sport — and how to be a leader. Becky Manning, Cranbrook graduate and captain of our MSU field hockey team, was a huge influence in my life. We are still close today and I have always looked up to her professionally and as a mother. And my mom is the ultimate selfless, fearless leader that built the foundation of my determination and go-getter mentality.
BCL: What’s a characteristic you love about Jeff?
JULIE: I love how calm and thoughtful he is — he is always thinking about others and doing thoughtful things for everyone. He also brings this calm to our relationship, that is a beautiful balance to my rather upbeat spirit.