Martin Lapointe remembers when he first broke into the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings a decade ago, he was placed alongside captain Steve Yzerman in the dressing room.
The experience was invaluable. Lapointe watched everything Yzerman did. From how he interacted with teammates to how he prepared mentally for games to how he laced up his skates.
Lapointe was a leader in junior with the Laval Titan and he was preparing himself for the same role later in his NHL career.
Fast forward to this season with the Boston Bruins. Lapointe, 30, has taken 18-year-old Patrice Bergeron, the youngest player in the league, under his wing.
Bergeron is not only Lapointe's protégé, a fellow Quebecker and his linemate, but he moved in with Lapointe, his wife Tania and their children in the Boston suburb of Andover.
"I thought it would be a good idea," said Lapointe, who approached Bergeron about the concept in training camp. "Here was a guy in a new city, a new league and spoke little English. I wanted him to feel as comfortable as possible."
Bergeron has been very comfortable in his rookie season. The centre has looked like a veteran on the ice, playing on a line with Lapointe and Sergei Samsonov. Bergeron assisted on Lapointe's game-winning goal last night as the Bruins beat the Thrashers 6-4 in Atlanta. Bergeron has scored six goals and 15 points in 24 games.
The line has been wonderful on the power play. The Bruins, who play the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, have the fifth-best power play in the league on the strength of Bergeron and Lapointe, who are tied for the club lead with four power-play goals each.
"He hasn't been intimidated that's for sure," Lapointe said. "I like to tell people that I'm not sure the kid has a pulse. He is so patient out there. Like a smart player, he waits for plays to develop."
Lapointe didn't need to persuade his wife to take in his new teammate. When Bergeron showed up at Lapointe's house for his first night there, Tania made Bergeron feel right at home. When he walked into his upstairs bedroom, there was a razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, bottled water, ear plugs and a note. Written by Tania, it said the earplugs would come in handy.
The Lapointes have three children -- Guyot, 7, Philippe, 31/2,and Chloe, 19 months -- and recently added a golden retriever puppy named Buddy.
"He's been great with the kids," Lapointe said of Bergeron. "I see him out there playing road hockey with my two sons. He watches television with them and plays video games with them. He has taken Buddy for walks. He quickly has become part of our family."
Bergeron has not used his earplugs, but Lapointe is moving Bergeron to a bedroom downstairs to give him more privacy.
"I tell the boys to give Patrice his space, but he doesn't seem to mind them hanging around all the time," Lapointe said. "I keep forgetting that living with another family is not a totally new experience for him. In junior, he played in a city [Bathurst, N.B.]that was eight hours away from his home [Ancienne-Lorette, Que.]
"But this is a different country. He had no credit, no cellphone. It was the least I could do to ease his transition."
This is Lapointe's third season with the Bruins after signing a four-year, $20-million (U.S.) contract as an unrestricted free agent in July, 2001. But it is the first one that he has been healthy.
He missed a dozen games with a hamstring problem in his first season and was a healthy scratch twice. Last season, he missed 22 games with foot and groin injuries and was a healthy scratch for one game.
Playing with Bergeron and Samsonov, Lapointe has appeared to find the groove that he displayed four seasons ago when he scored 27 goals for Detroit.
After missing the first three games of the season to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery, Lapointe has six goals and nine points in 21 games. The Bruins are off to a 12-4-4-4 start.
"I think I'm playing my best hockey in Boston right now," Lapointe said. "I can't say enough about [new coach]Mike Sullivan. We have a lot of confidence in his game plan. He is just a super guy to play for."
Notes: The Leafs sent backup goaltender Mikael Tellqvist (2-0-2) to St. John's of the American Hockey League yesterday. . . . Forward Nik Antropov (shoulder) has been cleared for contract in practice.