{"id":3453,"date":"2026-06-24T08:03:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3453"},"modified":"2026-06-24T08:03:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:03:38","slug":"bruins-legend-patrice-bergeron-reflects-on-whirlwind-of-number-retirement-hall-of-fame-announcements-its-been-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3453","title":{"rendered":"Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron reflects on whirlwind of number retirement, Hall of Fame announcements: \u2018It\u2019s been wild\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>The career celebration directing Patrice Bergeron\u2019s life in recent days chugged into Brighton on Tuesday, with the freshly ordained Hockey Hall of Famer his typically gracious, humble self during a half-hour news conference.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3451\">Celtics select University of Houston\u2019s Chris Cenac Jr. No. 27 overall in NBA Draft<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Bergeron, 40, some 24 hours earlier was welcomed into the Hall\u2019s class of 2026. Last Thursday, the Bruins announced that their legendary pivot will have his No. 37 retired. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If anyone expected receiving hockey\u2019s highest honor was going to deliver, say, a bolder, brasher Bergeron to the podium, they clearly got caught skating with their head down these last 20-plus years. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The \u201cBergy\u201d of today, the one who spoke so eloquently and appreciatively Tuesday, is very much the same baby-faced 18-year-old who arrived on Causeway Street in the fall of 2003. Granted, he is older, stronger, and far more confident and fluent with his English, even if, as he noted, he has yet to master a Boston accent.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>But, boy, did the boy master Boston.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of wild,\u201d mused Bergeron. \u201cIt\u2019s been only a day for the Hall of Fame, a few days for the jersey retirement. It\u2019s something that you never dream of, and to be in this position, I feel very thankful.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>All the attention, and all the discussion, added Bergeron, made him \u201cout of my comfort zone, in a way. I\u2019d rather talk about my teammates than this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A day earlier, the Bergeron household was abuzz, particularly when sons Zack and Noah arrived home from school. Indeed, word arrived in the late morning that Dad was headed to the Hall of Fame. The boys, both hockey players, knew what it meant.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Youngest son Felix, he wasn\u2019t really in on all the congrats and conversation, because 2\u00bd-year-olds better grasp toy trucks and blankets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As for Victoria, Patrice and Stephanie\u2019s lone daughter, he shared with the media that she processed the Hall of Fame news with, shall we say, reserve before she finally spoke.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThen she was like, \u2018OK, can I watch TV now?\u2019 \u201d said a smiling Bergeron, laughter erupting, in part because he imitated Victoria\u2019s voice. \u201cI guess she put me back on earth pretty quickly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Bergeron\u2019s feet, of course, were firmly planted on the ground the day he arrived as an unknown Round 2 draft pick. He was handed a first-ballot speed pass into the Hall on Monday based on the numbers on his stat sheet, including his half-dozen Selke Trophies as the game\u2019s premier defensive forward. Even without the numbers, he might have made it to the Hall just by the way he played.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Bergeron centered his game on hard work, attention to detail (especially on defense), and an unremitting desire to improve.  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What drove him above all, he said, was a sense of never feeling satisfied.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI always kind of wanted to raise the bar and get better,\u201d said the former captain. \u201cI felt like there was always something to learn \u2014 from teammates, from opponents, from coach and trainers. That was always what drove me to keep improving, pushed me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3449\">Harry Kane, England silenced by a stout, joyous Ghana group in Foxborough<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Two key figures to aid in that quest, he noted, were fellow Hall of Famers Zdeno Chara, who preceded Bergeron as captain, and Mark Recchi, whose last NHL appearance was the Game 7 Cup clincher in Vancouver with the Bruins in 2011. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cRex really loved the game,\u201d said Bergeron, \u201cand that was very contagious for others like myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Thursday, Bergeron confided that Recchi, 18 years his senior, was the one who truly brought out his voice. They spent two-plus seasons as teammates, Bergeron only 23 upon Recchi\u2019s arrival in 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe was definitely the one that helped me find, or trust to use, my voice more leadership-wise,\u201d said Bergeron. \u201cI always led my example, but he gave me that push, to step up and not be afraid to let the team know what I thought.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Recchi, the crafty and creative winger, proved to be a valuable coach. The rite of passage to team leader, recalled Bergeron, brought with it a surprising revelation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s funny, but you think it would be awkward, right? It was kind of the contrary,\u201d he said. \u201cI was always maybe a little hesitant to say anything, because I didn\u2019t know if the guys would listen or take anything from it. Then the first time I did it, the guys responded so positively, and that was great \u2014 the positive feedback really gave me confidence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was a far quieter, nearly mum, future Hall of Famer who first pulled on hockey skates as a Quebec preschooler. Bergeron\u2019s parents frequently have told the story that he barely stood upright that first hockey season, preferring to sit on the ice and stack pucks. When drills began, he would gather pucks, sit inside a net, and watch the others skate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A full season, nothing but watching.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Asked about it Tuesday, Bergeron said he remembered skating to the sideboards to tell his parents that his skates were \u201ckilling me. You know, just the usual.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Young Felix now tells his father the same. Apple and tree. The tree knows the drill. He lived it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAt some point, once I started like picking it up and skating,\u201d recalled Bergeron, \u201cI realized it\u2019s a lot more fun than just sitting in the back of the net.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Decades later, Nov. 9 in Toronto, the journey will be complete. From the back of the net to the front of hockey\u2019s class.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3447\">AJ Dybantsa\u2019s dream fulfilled, his selection at No. 1 a victory both for Brockton and all his hard work<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All the attention, and all the discussion, added Bergeron, made him \u201cout of my comfort zone, in a way. I\u2019d rather talk about my teammates than this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron reflects on whirlwind of number retirement, Hall of Fame announcements: \u2018It\u2019s been wild\u2019 - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3453\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron reflects on whirlwind of number retirement, Hall of Fame announcements: \u2018It\u2019s been wild\u2019 - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All the attention, and all the discussion, added Bergeron, made him \u201cout of my comfort zone, in a way. 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