Patrice Bergeron has been a leader for the Boston Bruins well before he earned the captaincy after Zdeno Chara.
Chara has said Bergeron was "everything I'm not" in terms of leadership and the 37-year-old has earned the respect from his teammates, coaches and opponents around the NHL.
And he continues to take the C seriously as he makes sure those around him are at their best.
Bergeron also has helped newcomers Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi feel right at home -- a quality that makes head coach Jim Montgomery's job that much easier.
"When your captain is Patrice Bergeron, people get acclimated real quick -- to what the culture is and why it's special to be here, more importantly," Montgomery told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena after Wednesday's practice, per the team. "Under Patrice Bergeron there's a bunch of assistant captains that are great as well, that understand that Spoked-B matters more than anything and that's what we're driving towards."
Bergeron leads in more ways than just rallying his teammates and holding them accountable, he also makes sure they're doing OK throughout the course of the grueling regular season.
"It's more than just leading by example. He sets the example. We practice like champions every day because of him and others, they compete," Montgomery told reporters. "There's a professionalism to what we do on the ice, but more importantly, being around Patrice -- Patrice's awareness of other people and being empathetic, whether they're going good or whether they're not going good, he sees it, he addresses it, he communicates with them.
"The best example is, I've met with several players because your job as a coach is to look and be aware of those things and you've got to pick guys up or hold them accountable, whatever the case may be and a lot of times, I'll be meeting a player in my office this year and (ask them), 'How you doing, man?' And they'll be like, 'Well, Patrice talked to me. I'm in a better place.'"
It's a long season for the players and they spend the majority of the year with one another. Making sure everyone is OK -- mentally and physically -- and providing an opportunity to be able to talk about anything probably helps the team chemistry that's been on display all season.
Having someone like Bergeron as your captain and teammate already is a privilege, but having him as your friend and someone who checks in on you just shows he goes above and beyond.
