As John Dick was flying from Australia to Alberta to be with his dying father, he decided that they would spend the next few awful, idle weeks in hospital watching hockey on TV.

They would make wagers on games and rekindle fond memories of a young boy and his dad cuddled together on the couch together as they hooted and hollered at the Edmonton Oilers.

“I was gonna rely on hockey for keeping his mind off of this horrible thing that’s happening inside of his body,” Dick recalled Monday.

The plan changed shortly after Dick got home to Leduc. The NHL locked out its players and recently cancelled all games through Nov. 1.

Dick explained that his dad, who is suffering from terminal throat cancer, is on morphine and other medications that often make him forget about the lockout.

Fed up with the lockout, the 31-year-old budding filmmaker decided to make a video pleading with the National Hockey League and its players to get the season started for his dad and other disheartened fans. The video, titled “NHL Lockout Kills Dreams,” has been viewed about 50,000 times since it was posted on YouTube last Thursday. 

Watch our story with this incredible father and son on Global Edmonton.