From winning a second Stanley Cup to being traded to a retooling franchise and then signing a lucrative long-term extension, it's been a tumultuous last 12 months for Brandon Saad.

The Columbus Blue Jackets goal-scorer, though, doesn't require prompting to help him place the ups and downs of his professional journey into proper perspective.

Saad recently opened up about his family successfully liberating their relatives from war-torn Syria in an exclusive for The Guardian.

"It's definitely an eye-opener with them coming over and getting adjusted to the lifestyle and the new language and things like that," he revealed to Mathias Ask. "It definitely puts things in perspective for you."

Saad, who says that family members both in Syria and those now settled in the Pittsburgh area are safe and free of conflict, has been fortunate to be able to help ease their transition.

"You try to help out as much as you can. My dad has worked hard to be successful so he can help them as well. But any way I can help I'm always here for them," he said. "They know that. I've gotten pretty close with them over the short period of time."

And of course, his professional hockey player status has engendered new fans of the sport, and Saad himself.

"It's pretty funny to interact and kind of see them see things for the first time," he said. "They've definitely all taken an interest in it because of me."

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