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Martin Brodeur's father, Denis, went on to a career as the Montreal Canadiens photographer and helped his son develop his skills as a goaltender.
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Brodeur fulfills family goal
Remember that touching scene of the Olympic gold medal-winning goalie searching the stands for his father, just wanting to share that important moment?
No, no, we're not talking about Jim Craig this time. This is about Martin Brodeur bringing home a gold medal to go with the bronze medal that his goalie father, Denis, won in Cortina, Italy, in 1956.
But this time a Brodeur was in the net in the final game and Canada won it all. Denis Brodeur played in the 1956 Olympics but wasn't chosen to start in the semifinal against the Soviet Union, which until then had never won an Olympic medal in ice hockey. They would go on to defeat Canada and win the gold medal with a victory over the United States.
Ever since Cortina, the bronze medal has hung on the wall in Denis Brodeur's house. He went on to a career as the Montreal Canadiens photographer and helped his son develop his skills as a goaltender.
Imagining the age gap is greater than it is, many sportswriters ask Martin Brodeur if former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy was his hero while he was growing up. Brodeur has a great deal of respect for Roy and politely answers the questions but his hero was his father and his highest ideal is family life.
Olympics Today
Snap Shots is a round-up of news and views from media outlets across North America and is published every weekday. The opinions expressed in Snap Shots are not necessarily those of the NHL.
Compiled by John McGourty
Monday, Feb. 25, 2002
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Brodeur has won the Stanley Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils and each time he has taken it back to his Montreal neighborhood and put it up for grabs in a game of street hockey; the kids who live to the left of the street light on one team against the kids from the other side of the light. He also took the Stanley Cup to the movies with his children and filled it with popcorn.
Brodeur lives within the glow of biggest, brightest city on Earth but it holds little attraction for him. For him, it's all about family. His kids fire slap shots on each other in the basement of the Continental Arena while Dad stops the best shots in the business on the ice upstairs.
So Martin Brodeur was overjoyed when he found his father yesterday.
"It means everything for him," the younger Brodeur said. "It means everything for me. Every day -- every time I saw him -- I saw it in his eyes. I saw what it meant to him."
Picture-perfect end for the Brodeur clan
-- By Adrian Wojnarwoski, Bergen Record, Feb. 25, 2002
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