The morning of January 8 was chaotic for the Stars. After a scheduled day off, the team had to cancel practice and close training facilities indefinitely after six players and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. For Dallas Stars forward Andrew Cogliano, the chaos was very different. Around 10 a.m. that morning, Andrew accompanied his wife, Allie, to Texas Health Presbyterian. Later in the day, a healthy Olive Bea Cogliano was born at seven pounds and 10 ounces.
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For a pregnancy that took place during a pandemic, has spanned two countries, three cities, time together and months apart, the journey hasn’t always been easy.
When the sports world came to a halt last March due to COVID-19, Andrew and Allie drove back up to their Canada home in Windermere, British Columbia. Their first daughter, Lottie, was a little over a year old, and they wanted to add another baby to the family. The timing worked in their favor: The stoppage meant Andrew would have a lot of time to be at home with Allie to help in the early parts of the pregnancy.
Then, in late June, Andrew had to head back to Dallas for the NHL restart training camp. Allie stayed north of the border, where family would be around to provide support. She would need it: They spent 95 days apart over the summer — an eternity for a couple that has been together for 11 years. Learning how to be a single parent for an infant made it even tougher.
“(Allie) handled it very well. She was a strong girl and a good mother,” Andrew said. “She was with Lottie for basically 90 days, for the most part, taking care of her. It’s a lot of work with Lottie at that age and, unfortunately, I wasn’t there… I’m fortunate to have a girl like Allie who handled it with great strength.”
When the Stars’ season ended in the Stanley Cup Final, Allie once again had her husband’s company on a daily basis. The unknowns ahead of the next NHL season provided the family an opportunity to reconnect, and the Coglianos took full advantage of that. They spent time at the local lake in Windermere and took in some sunshine at their California home for a few weeks. From there, they made their way back to Dallas in December so that Allie could get settled for the home stretch of her pregnancy and Andrew could also get some time on the ice with Stars teammates before the anticipated training camp for the 2021 season.
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They had their eyes set on Jan. 15 as the due date. However, on Dec. 23, the NHL released a 56-game schedule for each team. The Stars would open their season with a long Florida road trip, starting with a back-to-back against the Panthers on Jan. 14 and 15.
“Pregnancies are difficult regardless of the situation, but the hardest thing with Andrew and what he’s doing is we’re trying to plan something that shouldn’t be planned, which is a delivery date around a hockey schedule,” Allie said.
The couple already has experience with calendar gymnastics. About one month before Lottie was born, on Jan. 14, 2019, Andrew was traded from Anaheim to Dallas after seven and a half seasons with the Ducks. Allie was 36 weeks pregnant at the time. A move out of California was not on the agenda.
“We talked to our doctor in California, and he said the healthiest thing for us is to be together, as a family,” Allie said. “So we were kind of used to this whole ‘moving right before we have a baby’ situation.”
Allie moved to Dallas in late January and was just about ready to have the baby. Then came the tricky part. Over the next month, from February 5th through March 2nd, the Stars had a five-game road trip followed by a three-game homestand and then a four-game road trip. The goal was for Andrew to be in the room when Lottie was born, which meant timing Lottie’s birth between February 17th and February 23rd. Allie went to the hospital around 10 p.m. on February 16th to get induced while Andrew was wrapping up a road trip in Carolina. As soon as he touched down in Dallas, he went to the hospital to be with Allie as they welcomed Lottie to the world on February 17.
Everything worked out, and the unusual logistics taught Allie what to expect with the couple’s second child.
“With this pregnancy, I called our doctor here in Texas and said, ‘See you when I’m 36 weeks pregnant again,’” Allie said. “’Let’s have another baby!’”
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Once again, Allie and Andrew wanted to make sure that Andrew could be present for the birth of their daughter. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak on the team, the Stars were supposed to board the plane on Jan. 13 to embark on a seven-day, four-game road trip through Florida and wouldn’t have returned to return to Dallas until Jan. 20. Traveling commercially in between wouldn’t have been an option given travel restrictions and efforts by the team to keep players safe, too. So, they moved the date up to Jan. 8.
In the waning days, there was one priority above all in the Cogliano household.
“We’re just trying to stay healthy,” Allie said last week. “My biggest fear would be if one of us came down with (the virus just) before the delivery. If Andrew got it, he wouldn’t be allowed to be there, and I would have to deliver the baby on my own because we both don’t have family here. If I got it, there would be complications after I deliver about being able to see the newborn. In this final stretch, we’re just really trying to be as safe as possible.”
Despite the positive cases on the team, Andrew was able to stay safe, adhering to all protocols. He was there for the birth of his child.
“Whirlwind of a weekend,” Andrew said. “All is well on our end. Hopefully that continues. One day at a time, you should know us Coglianos are pretty tough. We had great support from all the guys, Bones and Jim Nill. Our team is a special group and has a great family feel, that’s why we are successful.”
Even though he hasn’t been with the Stars for long, Cogliano says the city and team hold a special place in his heart for all of the joy that has come in his life in a relatively short period. Lottie was born within weeks after the trade to Dallas, and a few months later, the Stars were one goal away from advancing to the conference finals. A little over a year after that, Cogliano helped the Stars to within two wins of the Stanley Cup. Now, before beginning his 14th NHL season, Andrew and Allie welcomed their second child. Amid a tough stretch for the team, Olive Cogliano’s arrival was a bright light.
(Photos courtesy of Allie Cogliano)
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