Chantal Machabée set up the meeting between Nick Suzuki and Patrice Bergeron
The experience of playing in a first All-Star Game was undoubtedly a very positive one for Nick Suzuki. Not only did he rub shoulders with the best players of the Bettman circuit, but he also had the chance to meet his great idol, Patrice Bergeron.
It was the Habs new Vice-President of Communications, Chantal Machabée, who organized the meeting between the two center players, despite the fact that Suzuki did not want to bother the Bruins' captain.
"I told Nick that I knew Patrice very well and that I was going to talk to him. I told Nick that Patrice is an extraordinary man."
So the meeting, which took place in one of the hallways of T-Mobile Arena, gave Suzuki a chance to learn a lot about the man he's been trying to model his game after for years.
"It was very friendly. We talked about a lot of things to get to know each other better. We talked about our families, the city of Montreal and I got to meet his three kids, but we didn't talk about hockey."
Having also had the chance to play with his idol over the weekend, Suzuki was able to observe his actions up close and personal, learning even more about how to behave on and off the ice.
"I watched him closely. To see him up close like that was very rewarding for me."
