Boston Bruins
“I saw a kid that was committed, that wanted to go the extra mile.”
Frederic Brunet wasn’t much of a Boston Bruins fan growing up.
It’s far from a revelation, given that the playmaking defenseman hails from Gatineau, Quebec.
But even though the now-Bruins blueliner grew up supporting the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, he admitted he always held an affinity for a fellow Québécois who anchored Boston’s forward corps for close to two decades.
“He’s a legend in Quebec,” Brunet said of Bruins great Patrice Bergeron.
Now a regular member of the Bruins’ D corps, Brunet is already rubbing shoulders with several NHL greats, be it current captain David Pastrnak or Hockey Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara — a frequent presence at both TD Garden and Warrior Ice Arena in his role as hockey operations advisor and mentor.
But the 23-year-old defenseman already had plenty of ties to Bruins royalty well before he donned the spoked-B.
After jumping to juniors with Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL, Brunet moved to Quebec City to train with many professional hockey players during the offseasons. And ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft, Brunet crossed paths with Bergeron — readying for what ended up being his final season in the NHL.
“He was the nicest guy ever,” Brunet said of meeting Bergeron for the first time. “I mean, it’s so intimidating for me just to go out there and shake his hand. But I mean, the person he is, he just welcomed me with open arms. And I think at the gym, like we’re all really close. So just seeing him every day, seeing him go about his business, was really inspiring for me.”
Even before the Bruins selected Brunet in the fifth round (122nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Bergeron was impressed by what he saw from the young defenseman during workouts in Quebec.
The son of an Olympic figure skater (his father, Michel, represented Canada at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games) and the younger brother of an Olympic speed skater (Cédrick Brunet competed for Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games), Brunet’s mobility on the ice is evident whenever he hops over the boards.
But what stood out most to Bergeron about Brunet was his dedication off the ice. At one point, he visited Bergeron’s home in Quebec to do more conditioning work ahead of the ‘22 Draft
“I saw a kid that was committed, that wanted to go the extra mile,” Bergeron told Boston.com of Brunet. “He came to my home one time to train, because he wanted to practice the bike tests at the time.
“He really put in the effort, getting up early in the morning, and doing what was needed to be at his best and to really put his best foot forward. When you see that in a kid, I think you want to help him out.”
For Brunet, those days spent with Bergeron still resonate with him — especially now as he tries to find his footing up in the NHL ranks.
“You go work out, you turn around — and it’s Patrice Bergeron, one of the greats in Quebec. … Just seeing him go out there and work like it’s his first day,” Brunet said. “That’s pretty much what I took from it. He never stopped, and that’s how he became one of the greats. And I think it’s just inspiring for me, just watching him go about his business.”
While Bergeron is now enjoying retired life, Brunet’s career at hockey’s highest level is just beginning.
And so far, the returns have been promising.
The Quebec product has appeared in 10 of Boston’s first 13 games of the 2026-27 campaign — scoring a goal and four total points while averaging 16:24 of ice time per contest.
Brunet has found a strong rapport playing on a mobile D pairing alongside his close friend, Mason Lohrei.
In the duo’s 125 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time so far this season, the Bruins have outscored opponents 6-2 — with Brunet’s mobility and willingness to activate off the blue line meshing with new assistant coach Matt McIlvane’s preaching of a more assertive and dynamic D corps.
“We’ve been good friends for a while now, so I think it was easy for me to come in and play with him,” Brunet said of playing alongside Lohrei. Obviously, it’s a bit stressful for me coming into my first year. But having Mase by my side — one of my good friends — calming me down a little bit for the first couple of weeks.
“I know he always has my back. … Obviously, if we don’t have a great game, I know we can complement each other in that way. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far. And I think it hasn’t been perfect shifts all the time, but I think we’ve done a good job picking each other up. And I think that’s what a good pairing is.”
As Brunet noted, his first month as a full-time NHLer hasn’t been without its warts.
In Tuesday’s 2-1 road loss to the Hurricanes, Brunet fell victim to the maelstrom that is Carolina’s frantic forecheck.
In the final minute of the first period at the Lenovo Center, Brunet’s brief bit of indecisiveness behind Boston’s net was all that Carolina needed to strike — with Logan Stankoven picking his pocket and retrieving the puck.
Seconds later, Stankoven fed the puck to linemate Jackson Blake, who beat Jeremy Swayman with a quick set of moves near the crease to knot the game at 1-1.
It was a painful—but valuable—learning lesson for Brunet, with Marco Sturm noting the day before Tuesday’s defeat in Raleigh that growing pains are to be expected for Brunet and several other youngsters on Boston’s roster.
“He’s already better than I thought he would be at this point,” Sturm said of Brunet. “He’s still learning a lot. Throughout the road trip, he was really good, but at the end of it, you could tell — even the last two games — he wasn’t that sharp. But again, this is absolutely normal.
“So we’re gonna watch. We’re gonna help him. We’re gonna guide him, and there will be a time, for sure … we have to reset him, like anyone else. But that’s part of the development. I always say it’s a hard league, and other guys are ready too. But he’s been great.”
More hurdles are to be expected over the course of a long NHL season, especially for a rookie.
But Bergeron believes that a player with Brunet’s mettle and skill set has the means to be an impact player in Boston for the long haul.
“He’s been playing great hockey,” Bergeron said of Brunet. “I really like the way he’s moving the puck and seems to be confident with it as well. … I’m really happy for him. I definitely see that there’s going to be more to come with the talent that he has.”
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