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NHL AWARDS CEREMONYJune 20, 2012Patrice BergeronLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Q. How did it feel to hear your name called? PATRICE BERGERON: Felt pretty special, actually. It's a huge honor, like I said, just to be nominated. And to actually win it is something very special and just looking at some names right now. It's very humbling to be with them. Q. When you were first nominated, what goes through your mind and do you prepare for actually winning? How do you prepare for something like this? PATRICE BERGERON: Honestly, I didn't really worry about it or thought about it until today just because I had to prepare a speech and I don't really like them. That's the only reason why. But like I said, I was honored. I have to give all the credit to my teammates and they're the reason why I'm here, and making me a better player. Q. You said over and over about your teammates and about the sport, but actually having won it, does it feel a little more special than you might have thought? PATRICE BERGERON: Yeah, it does feel special, obviously. It's playing both sides of the rink I take a lot of pride in, something that‑‑ that's the way I learned to play hockey. And to actually win an award that's given to the best defensive forward or two‑way forward is something very special. And but like I said, I can't do this without my teammates and they're the reason why I'm here. And I'm really happy that my name's going to be on this trophy. Q. Do you get to share with family and friends? How important was it for you? PATRICE BERGERON: It's very important. They're the reason; they always help me. They support me. They've always been there for me through ups and downs and growing up and everything. So friends and family, I'm very close to them, and I wanted to say something in French to them. Q. Earlier names on that trophy... PATRICE BERGERON: I'm looking at it right here. It's only one side of it. Brind'Amour and Datsyuk and Lehtinen and Pavel, he's great, but all the guys that I've watched on TV. And Fedorov, it's pretty impressive and also very humbling, like I said. It's an honor, and very happy. Q. How far you've come, when you look back in time, how does it feel? PATRICE BERGERON: Yeah, it's hard to‑‑ sometimes you almost have to do it and look back of what you've accomplished and what you've done over the past years. And I guess when you look at it, I'm very happy and I knew I was always confident I could come back from my injury. But last year was the ultimate to win the Stanley Cup. It was a dream come true. And now to win the Selke is something I'm very proud of. I always believed, but it's nice to get recognized and realizing that my game is back and maybe better to where it was before. Q. As the league's top defensive player, what can you say about Malkin? Did you vote for him for the Lindsay? PATRICE BERGERON: I did vote for him this year. You're right, my job is to play against him when we play Pittsburgh or Sid. It's not easy. They're two great players. And Malkin is‑‑ Sid was out for some part of the year and I was up against Malkin. And it's just his size and his speed, the way he can protect the puck. He can do so many things moves and on ice the that you need to aware be at all times. Q. Was he better this year than he was in the past? PATRICE BERGERON: Yeah. That's what you want as a player, you want to improve. He's done that. Q. You said this is the way you've learned to play the game. Can you think of instances in your youth hockey or Midget or anywhere where that began to sort of galvanize? PATRICE BERGERON: Honestly, ever since I was probably 12 years old, I never wanted to get scored against when I was on the ice. And it's something that I got better at. Obviously you want to score goals when you're young. But it's something my coaches, Midget, AAA, especially in junior, (indiscernible) is a coach that really helped me a lot on both sides of the rink and put the emphasis on if I wanted to get to the next level, I needed to really be the best on both sides and if you did a job on the defensive side more often than not, you'll have a chance to go on the offense. That's something that stuck in my head and it's something I'm trying to do every time I'm on the ice. Q. You spoke about Malkin and Crosby. Who were some other matchups that come to mind? PATRICE BERGERON: These two are obviously the top of my list. It's hard when you don't go watch out west. But I'm thinking of guys like Richards and ‑‑ Brad Richards is in New York and guys with speed like Kovalchuk, and there's lots of great players. I'm not going to name them all, but I really think that Sid is probably on top of my list with Malkin. Q. (Question off Microphone)? PATRICE BERGERON: No, I guess this is the biggest individual award that I won. And it's not going to get anywhere close to the Stanley Cup or my gold medal as a team. So I'm happy, very honored and humbled. But this goes to all the teammates. Q. Eight years in the league, it took Ray eight years to get his Norris. Could you talk about the length of term it takes to impress people? PATRICE BERGERON: Yeah, I think that's the way it is. As you learn and as you get some experience in the league, I think and you get better as a player, get a better sense of how the league's played and opposite players on the ice, opposite teams and tendencies and whatnot. So I think after a few years, obviously I've got a couple of years that I got slowed down in '07. But still every year, I feel like I improved in that matter and got more experienced, and just that only makes me a better player and always want to improve. So you're right, it takes a long time to get at the top of your game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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