(BUFFALO, NY) At the end of the line, July Bergeron takes us back when it is suggested to her that she has made sacrifices for her children. “These are not sacrifices. It’s just a mother’s love! »
Use the word of your choice; the fact is that July Bergeron has done a lot to ensure that her four children and her husband, Yanic Perreault, play hockey at a good level.
But the years pass and in a few weeks, the youngest of the family, Gabriel, will hear his name somewhere in the first round of the National League draft. At 18, the winger has just completed his second season in the United States National Development Program, based in suburban Detroit. To ensure proper supervision, July Bergeron followed Gabriel to Michigan to live with him.
“I have one in California [Jacob, pour le club-école des Ducks]my daughter is in Pennsylvania [Liliane, à l’Université Mercyhurst] and the oldest coach here in chicago [Jérémy, entraîneur pour les moins de 18 ans du Mission de Chicago].
“It wasn’t so bad, we were four hours away. When Gabriel went to play on the road, I came home. And Yanic came to see his matches when he could. I enjoyed my experience and Gabriel was grateful. »
In a family that eats, drinks and breathes hockey, it’s a bit normal, and has been for years. Yanic Perreault himself retired from playing in 2008. The family then returned to Magog.
“The four children played hockey and I was quite busy with the older ones,” recalls Yanic Perreault, player development coach for the Blackhawks, on the phone. When Gabriel started playing, [July] therefore got involved with the youngest. »
Involved how? “I took my coaching training. It was half coaching, half daycare! “, she says, laughing.
“He was starting to skate and we were playing on half ice,” she describes. The coaches are on the ice with the players during games. These are beautiful memories. It was just to have fun. »
“The young people were always looking forward to the end, because I arrived with my surprise bag. If it had been good, they chose from the bag. It was like their medal. It was things from Dollarama, pencils, little toys. I was trying to avoid sugar! »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY YANIC PERREAULT
July Bergeron gives surprises to her players, including Gabriel Perreault (black tuque, from behind)
From these morning training sessions in Magog to the two years in Detroit, Gabriel Perreault is well aware of the efforts made by his parents, his mother in particular.
“It was my first coach, proudly launches the young man, seated at the restaurant of a hotel in Buffalo, during the evaluation camp of the NHL. I don’t really remember, but I know that in Magog, she coached me. Then, it was cool that she came to live with me in Michigan! »
“We spent a lot of time in the arenas, admits Yanic Perreault. The first year back in Chicago, the four were playing and they were based in four different arenas! We were wondering how to handle that. We were trying to make it as best we could. The parents of the other players helped us, and we tried to take care of our youngest a little more. At the end of the day, we spent a lot of family time thanks to hockey. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY YANIC PERREAULT
Jacob Perreault and July Bergeron
Possible top 10
Official NHL measurements list him at 5’11 and 165 lbs, numbers that seem believable when the tall, prim teenager sits in front of us.
He will also be able to earn money in the coming years, since he will play at Boston College, in the NCAA, unlike his brother Jacob, who went through the Ontario Junior League (OHL). “Jacob was bigger than me. In the NCAA, there are fewer games, so it will help me spend more time in the gym,” he explains.
The various classifications of hopes place Perreault in the middle of the first round of the repechage. The young man, on the other hand, says he hopes to hear his name “in the top 10, top 15”, but “it doesn’t change anything where you go out, it’s what you do afterwards”, he hastens to add. It’s the culmination of a tremendous 132-point, 62-game season with the American program, in which he formed a devastating trio with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, two other expected top-10 prospects.
Currently, the Canadiens hold the 5e choice and the 31e or 32e choice, depending on the result of the Stanley Cup Final. Barring a transaction, it would therefore be very surprising if Perreault ended up in the city where his father made his career between 2001 and 2004.
That said, the Habs have done their homework. Kent Hughes and his men have requested a meeting with Perreault this week. “It was one of the toughest interviews,” he agreed. They asked me what animal I was. This is a question that the CH has been asking hopefuls for several years.
His answer ? ” A panther. It’s smart, lively and “sneaky” [rusé]. As a player, I think I’m “sneaky”, in the defensive zone and in attack. »
The CH is obviously not alone. A dozen teams had already met him at the time of our interview, and the Penguins, who speak at 14e rank, invited him to dinner one evening this week.
In French please
Even though Gabriel Perreault has lived in Chicago for about ten years, even though his hockey environment is entirely Anglophone, he still speaks fluent French and gave the entire interview in that language. The family returns to Magog each summer, and the parents have made efforts to ensure that the whole family remains bilingual. “When I arrived in Chicago, I knew zero English!, recalls Perreault. It’s good to keep both languages. I went to school in Quebec until 3e year. Then, we always spoke French at home and my parents wanted us to keep it. »