Once upon a time Patrice Bergeron treated team dinner outings as a game of copy-cat.
ESPN’s Kristen Shilton revisited a fun fact about the Boston Bruins captain Wednesday in a column. Bergeron wasn’t always comfortable speaking English. In fact, when the Quebec native first joined the Bruins as an 18-year-old, his shyness factored heavily into his food choices when he joined teammates at restaurants.
“Bergeron barely spoke English when the Bruins drafted him in 2003 and was self-conscious about his thick French accent,” Shilton wrote. “Early on, whenever he’d go to dinner with teammates, Bergeron would be too nervous to try pronouncing any menu items, so he’d just order the same thing as whoever was sitting next to him, regardless of what it was.”
Oh to have access to Bergeron’s inner monologue when he was eating whatever happened to be in front of him.
His English improved since then, and he has been one of the team’s most-eloquent spokespeople, in English, French and/or on the ice for what seems like forever.
Bergeron, 36, will represent the Bruins on Saturday at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game.
