What Impressed Ray Bourque Most About Patrice Bergeron’s Bruins Career

There are plenty of similarities between the Bruins careers of Patrice Bergeron and Ray Bourque.

Both grew up in the Canadian province of Quebec and got their respective starts in Boston, a city and surrounding area that is, well, quite different from the French-speaking locales the two eventual franchise legends emanated.

Not only did Bergeron and Bourque come from a similar part of the world, they also linked the long chain of B’s legends with Bergeron coming to Boston just a few years after Bourque departed. Bergeron’s stay in the Hub lasted nearly as long as Bourque’s, a run that came to an end Tuesday when Bergeron announced his retirement after 19 seasons.

While Bourque and Bergeron never shared the ice as teammates, Bourque was able to admire the six-time Selke Trophy winner from afar.

“Amazing. When I talk about good players and good people and having your best players be amazing people, he’s the perfect example,” Bourque told NESN.com’s Meredith Gorman in an interview earlier this week. “From Day 1, when he got here, I just remember hearing that this player … expectations had it that he surprised in camp and they had to keep this kid because of the maturity and his game and as a person. Is he too young? Is he ready? From Day 1, he was an amazing player and a Bruin.”

Just as the Bruins had to do when they traded Bourque to Colorado in 2000, the club now needs someone to carry the torch and attempt to fill the void left by Bergeron.

” … It will be a tough loss on the ice but also off the ice. He’s just been an amazing ambassador in terms of his play and how he’s conducted himself off the ice, as well. Very, very impressive and an amazing man.”

It also wouldn’t be shocking to see Bergeron and Bourque share one more thing in common in three years when the former becomes eligible to join the latter in the Hockey Hall of Fame.