Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Coming home for a Chicago Christmas

Rookie Kalder Varga reflects on holiday traditions and family time

Dec 19, 2024 | 11:55 AM

It is the pause that refreshes. Or so the saying goes. 

The Christmas break is upon us in the Western Hockey League, with players allowed to go home to enjoy time with family and friends and escape the hustle and bustle of the hockey season. 

Rookie Kalder Varga, 16, and teammate Jackson Gellespie, 17, were at Kelowna International Airport bright and early Wednesday morning, heading home to Chicago. Illinois. 

“We have a lot of excited family waiting for the holiday break,” Varga told RocketFAN. “We party hard and celebrate [Christmas] it with our lovely family.” 

The Varga family is no different from those around them. Over the holiday season, there will be plenty to eat and lots to drink, with a house full of guests to make the season special. 

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“He [father John] is usually on the couch watching sports, or watching a movie, so he is pretty to himself,” Varga said with a chuckle. 

John Varga is a Rockets’ legend, yet just got relegated this week when Andrew Cristall leapfrogged him for second place all-time on the franchises career scoring list. Cristall has 345 career points, while John Varga is now third with 333. 

Christmas has changed over the years for Kalder Varga. It seems to happen as you get older, where the presents under the tree are less fun, and more practical. 

“I remember as a kid, the trendy thing was a hover-board,” he recalled. “I got to ride around on one of those things. I am not sure once I learned how to ride it, they liked me flying round the house on it.” 

The self-balancing scooters became popular in 2014, when Varga was just a little kid. 

“It still works, but it is collecting dust,” he said. “There really isn’t anything I want for Christmas this year, outside of a new computer. I have everything I need, but that laptop would help with school.” 

When asked if he likes opening gifts on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, Varga doesn’t hesitate on which day he prefers. 

The Varga’s open gifts on Christmas Day.  

“On Christmas Eve, I get gifts from my extended family,” he added. “Santa pays a visit and presents me with the newest video game. Hopefully this year he will bring me that too.” 

With old Saint Nick paying a visit every Christmas, Varga was never scared of the jolly old man. 

“I was never a cryer,” he said with a laugh when seeing other children often perched on Santa’s knee at a local mall, with tears flowing from their eyes in horror as a picture is taken. 

“I loved seeing Santa because I knew I was getting a video game.”