Jeff Petry -- son of former Tigers All-Star pitcher Dan "Peaches" Petry -- lived in Farmington Hills, attended Orchard Lake St. Mary's high school in West Bloomfield, and grew up idolizing the Detroit Red Wings and Nicklas Lidstrom before he was drafted in 2006 in the second round by the Edmonton Oilers. Tonight, he'll return to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena where he played hockey games for Michigan State and Little Caesars minor league hockey as an enemy of the Red Wings [via John Keating]:
↵↵↵Just talked to former Tiger Dan Petry. Son, Jeff just got called up by Oilers. Will play vs Wings. Proud parents will be here!
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This will be Petry's second opportunity in the NHL, as he was called up for 21 games after Christmas before being sent back down to the AHL:
↵↵↵"I felt really good when I first came up," Petry said. "After the all-star break, however, I felt like I was having trouble controlling the puck. It was good to go down and get my confidence up, hopefully I can play as well as I was before. I just had to regain the aspect of controlling the puck and having it feel comfortable on my stick again," Petry said. "Coming back up, I just want to be able to make plays and be a hard guy to play against."
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Petry will be playing in front of family and friends tonight, but it could be a rough one to watch. His lowly Oilers are playing one of the best teams in the NHL on an uncharacteristic four-game losing streak and looking for proverbial blood.