BRIGHTON, Mass. – There are humble beginnings for every hockey player and it was no different for Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
Bergeron was named a Selke Trophy finalist this week for a ninth record NHL season in a row and is vying for a fifth NHL record Selke Trophy amid fairly stiff competition from Flyer forward Sean Couturier and last year’s winner , Blues center Ryan O’Reilly.
Hopefully, in one of these seasons, voters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) will see in their wisdom finally bestowing unprecedented honor on Bergeron for his continued excellence as a two-way player with the numbers this year to back it all up.
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Bergeron led all Bruins forward in turns per game (22.9) for a team that allowed a maximum of 174 NHL goals, and led the percentage of wins faced (57.9 percent) among the eight centers in the NHL they took more than 1,300 draws. Bergeron, 34, had 31 goals and 25 assists for 56 points, and his 23 plus rating ranked ninth among all NHL forwards.
In absolute terms in terms of efficiency and fighting dominance, penalty kick, overall defensive contribution and two-way play, Bergeron has a killer case that should make this the season that he finally beats the Hall of Famer Bob Gainey with his Selke collection.
But everyone could have missed Bergeron’s diligence, instincts, work ethic, and attention to detail had it not been for a frank conversation he had with his coach when he was still a teenager playing in the Junior Junior Hockey League from Quebec. It was in Bergeron’s only full season in Acadie-Bathurst when he scored 23 goals and 73 points for the Titans, and his head coach, Real Paiment, spoke to No. 37 about what it would take to get to the NHL.
He clearly made an impression on Bergeron, who was drafted in the second round by the Bruins in June and never again played another turn of youth hockey after impressing everyone in the Bruins’ NHL camp that after the fall of 18 unknown. years.
“In junior, my coach [Real Paiment] Back then I realized that I couldn’t go to the next level on my offense alone. I needed to work in fighting and he really put me on the wing for a period of time that year to make me learn to play with the right wing. I guess it was having more options. [at the pro level]”Bergeron said.” Basically he told me that if I was going to make it, I needed to explore more on the offensive side … but also on the defensive side. “I needed to improve and I couldn’t rely on just one thing to take me to the next level.
“Once I got to Boston, I think my coaches really helped me a lot. Whether it’s Mike Sullivan from the start, or Claude [Julien] when he came in it really helped me work on the defensive side of things. If they were my teammates, you try to take things of different kinds, make them yours and improve that way. Even now [with Bruce Cassidy] I still try to learn and I try to improve [improve] my game. It’s a work in progress … it still is. “
Clearly, there was a hockey work ethic and IQ with Bergeron that would always make him NHL-level success when combined with his undeniable hockey talent. Still, it was the conversation with Paiment that stuck with Bergeron and left an impression that helped him become the best two-way hub of his generation, an accomplished winner and a player who will one day end in the Hall of Fame. of Hockey.
“It was more what [Paiment] he said mid-year, where if you hope to get to the next level trusting one thing, then basically “you don’t get it,” Bergeron said. “You need to make sure you know all aspects of the game and work on all aspects of the game if you want to get to the next level. It was great to hear, but it was even better to put all the effort and time to do it. “
The rest is history, as they say, with Bergeron becoming the NHL’s youngest player during his rookie season in 2003-04, racking up more than 1,000 games with the Bruins, making him one of the league’s most respected players in the last 15 years and winning at all levels he has played in from World Junior, World Cup, Stanley Cup and individual awards like the Selke Trophy.
Clearly, it’s also about the skill that Bergeron has always brought to the table as perhaps the best second-round pick in the history of the Bruins franchise.
But it’s also a reminder of how important training is with young players at that key point in their hockey careers, and a coach who provides something Bergeron needed to hear at a crucial moment in his development.
