Patrice Bergeron

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Patrice Bergeron-Cleary was born on July 24, 1985, in L'Ancienne-Lorette, a suburb of Quebec City, to his parents Gérard Cleary and Sylvie Bergeron. He is of Irish descent on his father’s side and French Canadian from his mother. Although his legal surname is Bergeron-Cleary, it was truncated to Bergeron for simplicity. Bergeron grew up alongside his older brother Guillaume in his hometown of L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, and was a Quebec Nordiques fan in his youth. Growing up Bergeron was mostly an A and AA player throughout his minor hockey days. He played in the 1998 and 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 QMJHL Draft out of AAA Bantam hockey with the Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs. The following year, he played A hockey for the Séminaire St-François Blizzard before reporting to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In Their Own Story

The 2011 Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks remains the defining narrative of Bergeron’s career. After losing games one, two, and five by single-goal margins, the Bruins rallied to win the series on home ice. In Game Seven on June 15, Bergeron scored two goals, including the series-winning goal, in a decisive 4–0 victory over goaltender Roberto Luongo, securing Boston’s first title since 1972 and overcoming a 3–2 deficit. His resilience was tested earlier that spring against the Philadelphia Flyers; after taking a hit from Claude Giroux caused a mild concussion, he returned for Game Three of the third round to help defeat Tampa Bay in seven games. The series also featured an infamous moment where Alexandre Burrows allegedly bit Bergeron’s finger during a scrum. Beyond scoring, his defensive prowess earned him the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the first time in 2011–12 after the Bruins were eliminated by Washington, followed by another heroic playoff run in 2013 featuring game-winning goals against Toronto and an overtime winner against Pittsburgh.

Reader's Guide

Bergeron was drafted 45th overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins. During his rookie season, he was selected for the NHL YoungStars Game in Minnesota as part of the 2004 All-Star weekend. He finished his rookie season with 39 points in 71 games. His first NHL goal came versus the Los Angeles Kings on October 18, 2003, in a 4–3 Boston road victory. He would then score the overtime-winning goal in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the rival Montreal Canadiens on April 9, 2004. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Bergeron played for Boston's minor league affiliate, the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL), tallying 61 points in 68 games. As the NHL resumed the following season, Bergeron led the Bruins with a career-high 31 goals and 73 points. He played the majority of the season with linemates Brad Boyes and newcomer Marco Sturm, who had been acquired in a trade that sent captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks in November 2005. Then-Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell recalled in a June 2011 interview that the organization had decided to build the team around Bergeron instead of Thornton, preferring the former's on- and off-ice character. Playing under a defensive system employed by new head coach Dave Lewis, he recorded his second consecutive 70-point campaign in 2006–07 with 22 goals and 48 assists. He again played alongside Sturm and Boyes until the latter was traded late in the season. Bergeron was hampered the majority of the season by a nagging shoulder injury. After recording three goals and four assists in the first ten games of the 2007–08 season, Bergeron suffered a season-ending head injury during a game on October 27, 2007. Checked from behind by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Randy Jones, Bergeron hit his head on the end-boards, knocking him unconscious. He lay motionless on the ice for several minutes before being wheeled off on a stretcher and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose and a grade-three concussion. Jones received a two-game suspension from the NHL. Bergeron made his first public statements regarding the injury on November 8, saying he would not take any legal action and that Jones had tried to contact him to apologize. On January 19, 2008, the Boston Globe reported Bergeron had been sent on vacation by then Bruins general manager P

Did You Know?

• Bergeron's first NHL goal came versus the Los Angeles Kings on October 18, 2003.
• He scored two goals, including an empty-net goal, in game seven of the 2011 Final; the game-winner was scored by Brad Marchand.
• Bergeron won silver at the 2005 World Championships and gold at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
• He is a six-time winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy, the most in NHL history.