Patrice Bergeron Voted Best Defensive Forward For World Cup
A recent poll of NHL writers have Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron as one of the best defensive forwards to play at next months’ World Cup of Hockey.
The World Cup of Hockey starts next month in Toronto. Boston Bruins forward and alternate captain Patrice Bergeron is considered to be one of the best players competing in the upcoming tournament. No surprise there. The three-time Selke winner will certainly be putting on a show for Team Canada.
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Patrice Bergeron tied with Los Angeles forward Anze Kopitar. It’s a good call. Those two players have four Selke Awards between them, and both of them are outstanding defensive forwards. Bergeron’s greatest skill is his ability to seamlessly transition from offense to defense (and vice versa).
Jack Edwards from NESN sums up Bergeron perfectly. “Every challenge you place in front of Patrice Bergeron, he manages to climb that hill.”
If there’s a gold medal to be won in hockey, chances are Patrice Bergeron has at least one of them in his trophy case. He’s one of the few players in NHL history to be part of the Triple Gold Club, with gold medals in the World Championship and the Olympics.
A lot of Bruins fans remember the above moment the most. Bergeron had two goals in that one.
“Two men in this tournament have won the Selke Trophy three times: Bergeron and Datsyuk,” offered NHL.com columnist Nick Cotsonika on what Bergeron brings to the table. “Bergeron is the younger of the two at age 31. Still at the height of his powers, he’s the one you want on the ice with a one-goal lead in the final minute of the final game of the final.”
In the balloting, Cotsonika put Bergeron at the top of his list. He put Pavel Datsyuk second, and Kopitar third. The team at NHL. com have nothing but love for Bergeron. He’s not just the best defensive forward in the World Cup, he’s the best defensive forward in the world.
“Canada might even have the second-best defensive forward in the tournament as well in Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks, but there is little debate on Bergeron’s status as the top defensive forward in the world,” said Arpon Basu, managing editor of LNH.com.
“He’s won the Selke Trophy three times in the past five years, finishing as runner-up to Kopitar last season and to Toews in 2013. Consistently one of the top faceoff men in the NHL, Bergeron is a difficult opponent in all three zones.”
Bergeron’s presence is just one of the reasons Team Canada is heavily favored to win gold at the World Cup.