Boston Bruin's Patrice Bergeron and His Hockey Career

Patrice Bergeron might be among the young hockey players, but experience is not something he lacks. Patrice Bergeron was born in L'ancienne-Lorette in Quebec, Canada on July 24, 1985, making him only twenty-three years old. Bergeron is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 194 pounds, which makes him average size for a pro hockey player. Patrice Bergeron's road to the NHL (National Hockey League) begins in his home province of Quebec, where he began playing for the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) for the Acadie-Bathurst Titans. The QMJHL is one of the three leagues that makes up the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) which is the most competitive junior league in the country. Patrice Bergeron played for the Acadie-Bathurst Titans starting in the 2001-2002 season. Bergeron remained with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans until 2003.

Patrice Bergeron was drafted by the NHL team, the Boston Bruins in 2003, 45th overall. He played with the Boston Bruins for the 2003-2004. He was moved to the Boston Bruin's affiliate AHL (American Hockey League) team, the Providence Bruins the following 2004-2005 hockey season. Patrice Bergeron only spent on year with the Providence Bruins before being moved back up to play with the Boston Bruins in the NHL for the 2005-2006 season.

In 2007, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Patrice Bergeron was hit from behind and slammed his head into the boards. He was knocked unconscious and was taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a grade III concussion and was also found to have a broken nose. Bergeron was not well enough to return to his team during the 2007-2008 season. He returned to the Boston Bruins in the 2008 pre-season after slowly building his way back up to playing shape. He suffered another concussion from a collision with a Carolina Hurricanes player, but the injury was no where as severe as the previous one. Patrice Bergeron remains with the Boston Bruins where he is now an altermate captain.

In addition to his QJMHL and NHL careers, Patrice Bergeron has also represented his home country in hockey events. In 2004, he played for Team Canada in the World Championships, in which he helped the country take home a gold medal. The following, Patrice Bergeron again played for Team Canada, but this time, in the World Junior Championships. Team Canada also walked away with a gold medal from the World Junior Championships, with Bergeron's help. He again played for Team Canada in the World Championship in 2006.

ref-www.nhl.com