Although Tyler Seguin, Zdeno Chara, and Tim Thomas get all the publicity (and All-Star recognition), it is, Patrice Bergeron who leads the Bruins in points through 47 games this season. In addition to his offensive prowess, Bergeron is consistently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL and strong defensive center. His willingness to do the little things that go unnoticed on the stats sheet is the reason why he is a permanent assistant captain on the team; a guy who leads by example. Bergeron has been instrumental in Seguin’s development into an All-Star, unfortunately only the latter was afforded the honor of making the trip to Ottawa this weekend. Bergeron has been underrated by the mainstream media throughout his career, but the diehard Bruins fans know that the two-way pivot is critical to the team’s success.

Bergeron has always been a player I have enjoyed watching since he came to Boston as the 45^th pick overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft. He embodies the Bruin culture that Cam Neely and Peter Chiarelli have re-established here in Boston. I have nothing but respect for a selfless player who goes about his business in workman-like manner and has demonstrated the willingness to put team success before his own statistics. His resilience and determination were put on display when he came back from a serious concussion and broken nose suffered in 2007 and since then has battled through two more mild concussions. It’s obvious that each guy in the locker has nothing respect for Bergeron and the rest of the NHL needs to follow suit. Don’t say that to Patrice though, because he doesn’t care, he just wants to win another cup.