It gets lost among the emotions that come with cheering for a hockey team like the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it’s always worth remembering that some things in life are bigger than the great game. And Mitch Marner had what was undoubtedly the best day of his life on Sunday, as he and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed a baby boy to the world.

Marner missed practice to attend to the birth of his son, Miles, on Sunday, and spoke about the experience at morning skate on Monday.

“Really exciting, obviously it was the birth of our son, so, very special moment, just an incredible moment,” Marner told reporters. “It’s hard to explain as a parent, everyone feels it, it’s something really cool.”

Asked about his energy levels heading into Game 1 of the second round against the Florida Panthers, Marner quipped that he felt fine and that he was just the cheerleader during the process.

“I mean, I just sat there and cheered,” Marner said with a laugh. “My wife was an absolute beast through it all, she was so impressive to watch, you know what a woman’s body can do, how much strength they have. It was incredibly impressive to sit there and watch, and just kind of be her cheerleader for two days, and it was something really special to watch and be part of. I’m a lucky guy, for sure.”

Family comes before just about everything in life, so when asked about what was going through his mind while the team was in Ottawa closing out the first round, he made sure to note where his priorities were.

“Family always comes first, so if something happened during that series, I was going to go and join her and be her cheerleader there. Lucky enough it didn’t happen, my son was smart enough to know not to come on a hockey day.”  Marner said to a room full of laughter.

It seems almost inconceivable that Marner will now have to shift his focus to another gruelling playoff series against the Florida Panthers, but that’s the life of a professional hockey player. He and the Leafs will be facing Sam Bennett, who he was teammates with only three months ago at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and said that the team knows exactly what he’s going to bring.

“He brings a lot of speed, brings a heavy shot, makes plays, but obviously, his physicality, his willingness to get around the net and just do things for his teammates, it’s pretty high end,” Marner said of Bennett. “You’ve seen that the past couple of years when he’s been in Florida. I got to see it first class at the 4 Nations, in the second game, first shift, he fights one of the heaviest guys in the league, and one of the craziest. So, he odes a lot of things fr his teammates, he’s going to bring it in every single game, so you’ve got to make sure you’re ready for the intensity.

Round 2 against the Panthers kicks off on Monday night with Game 1 from Toronto.