Cassius Darrow is not a parent. As he shared in his Player’s Tribune post, he is asexual. While this doesn’t mean he can’t and wouldn’t be able to have a loving, committed relationship and father/adopt children, Darrow is not in any sort of relationship (nor does he wish to be).

As for Parent’s Day, Cassius’ mother, Gemma, is a proud woman who tends to refuse any nice gifts her son tries to send to her. He has to sneak nice, sensible things to his mother when she’s not paying attention. She has refused any and all gifts since Darrow purchased her and his sister Hanna a new, larger, nicer (but still modest) house a few years ago.

“Your love and presence are all the gift I need” is a common refrain any time he visits his mother back in Germany. This year, with the pandemic, Cassius hasn’t been able to return home to visit family since 2019. This makes everyone involved very sad, most especially Cassius.

When Cassius returns to Germany for IIHF training camps prior to the annual tournament, he takes time to visit the cemetery where his father is interred. He will kneel in silence by his father’s headstone, and occasionally with “talk” with his father, sharing what is going on in his life. He has not been able to do that for some time, due to COVID-19.

This is how he “came out” to his father, a very challenging and emotional task for the SHLer. It was March 17, Season 52, the ten-year anniversary of his father’s death, Darrow requested leave from the team to fly back to Germany. Once there, he picked up the same bouquet of flowers he ordered every time his visited (a specialty bouquet featuring Grape hyacinth and irises, as his father’s favorite color was blue) and set off for the cemetery. He spent two hours by Finn Darrow’s grave, talking about his asexuality and sharing himself fully with what he had left of his father. Tears on his face and a weight lifted from him, Darrow left the cemetery smiling in his truth.