BOSTON — Justin Brazeau didn’t let the emotion break through for long.
By the time he did the goal scorer’s skate past the Bruins bench, the 26-year-old rookie had his game face back on. By the time he met with the media after the game, he was answering questions about his dream-come-true moment matter-of-factly.
But the dam cracked just for a moment, 1:32 into the second period. Brazeau, a 26-year-old undrafted forward, spent 264 games spread out over five seasons in the ECHL and the AHL before getting a call-up to the NHL. On Monday, his AHL deal was replaced with a two-way NHL contract and the Bruins called him up from Providence.
Without the benefit of practice or even a morning skate with Boston, he was in the lineup on Monday skating with Jesper Boqvist and Anthony Richard, who he’d played with in Providence. No matter what happened in the game, he reached the NHL.
But with his parents, who’d caught a last-minute flight down from their Ontario home, in the stands, Brazeau collected a pass in front of net from Boqvist and snapped it by All-Star goalie Jake Oettinger for his first NHL goal as veteran Ryan Suter pushed him to the ice.
Brazeau didn’t remember the specifics of the moment.
“I kind of blacked out, honestly,” said Brazeau, who was still wearing Providence Bruins gear after the game. “Richy asked me where it went, I said I had no idea. Shot it, heard the crowd go crazy. So that’s obviously a good feeling.”
When he does watch the replay, he’ll see Boqvist come sprinting in for a hug, while Matt Grzelcyk races to the net to recover the keepsake puck. And he’ll see himself beaming. Joy has been in short supply for the struggling Bruins since the All-Star break, but for just a second, Brazeau’s was overflowing.
Before the game, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said he was excited for Brazeau to get a chance. The long odds and long road made Brazeau an uplifting story. That only increased when the rookie scored a big goal in a much-needed Boston win.
“You have to give a lot of credit to the young man,” Montgomery said. “He lost I-don’t-know-how-many pounds, but a significant amount to show how much he wanted to be an NHL player. I just think it’s great for anyone who tells you, you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough, not tall enough, not smart enough or whatever.
“No one can tell you what you believe inside of you,” he added. “Give a lot of credit to the young man.”
The weight loss was part of a design to get faster. The biggest question about his NHL potential was whether he could skate well enough to put his imposing size to good use. If Monday was an indication, he looked fast enough and plenty capable.
“Everything I was doing was hopefully building toward this moment,” said the 6-foot-5, 245-pound forward. “It’s definitely nice to get rewarded for all the hard work I put in.”
While he didn’t gush about himself, his teammates were plenty happy to pick up the slack.
“So happy,” Boqvist said. “Couldn’t happen to a better guy. We’re all so happy for him. He’s been working really hard. It’s great to see.”
Jeremy Swayman agreed.
“He’s the best. I’ve gotten to know him. Golfed with him in the summer,” he said. “It’s no surprise he’s had success everywhere he’s been. We’re thrilled for him to come in and score a huge goal for us. He’s an incredible human off the ice and works hard and gets results on the ice.”
Brazeau was more proud of the work than the goal.
“It’s been a long time playing pro hockey before I got there. It’s a cool feeling,” said Brazeau, who planned to give the puck to his parents. “It’s a long time coming. I worked hard to get here. To see that comes full circle. It feels pretty good.”
