Former Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov and his wife Maria became parents last week, welcoming their son Miroslav into the world. After some time away for the birth, Samsonov returned to action with the Toronto Maple Leafs this week.

Samsonov has been all smiles when speaking about his son. He’s even found that Miroslav eases the pains of a rough loss.

“You’re smiling every day, and after the game,” Samsonov said with a grin on Friday. “It doesn’t matter. You come to the home and you see this baby, you feel great. You don’t have time for mad. It’s so good.”

Between games, Samsonov posted an adorable photo of him in bed with Miroslav and his dog Ruby. Former teammates Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov were among those who liked the photo.

After his first practice back with the team, Samsonov called the time around his son’s birth “Probably the best week in my life.”

“A lot of emotion, a lot of nervous, but I mean like good nervous, yeah?” he said. “Before he’s born, yeah. But right now, last four days, we stay all together at home. It’s unbelievable. I feel perfect, you know? From the time he’s come for me on my skin, you feel so warmy. He’s so cute.”

He noted that he was present with his wife for the birth, but didn’t watch while it happened.

“The doctor’s asking me ‘do you want to see?'” he recalled, “I said ‘no, no no, just call me after.’ What time I see him first, I got some shock a little bit. But it’s a good shock.”

Did he cut the umbilical cord?

“No no no,” he said nervously. “For sure, no no man. That’s not for me. I’m so scared. (laughs) I am afraid.”

Samsonov has had an excellent year with the Maple Leafs, now made even better with the growth of his family. Congratulations to Ilya and Maria!

Screenshot: Toronto Maple Leafs/YouTube