The Sunday Read: How the Brunet Family’s History on Ice Led Frederic to Boston

BOSTON –– Frederic Brunet had to make a decision when he was 15 years old.

The Boston Bruins prospect grew up speed skating with his older brother, Cédrick. Hockey was getting more serious at the Midget AAA level, though.

Which sport would it be?

​“We were both doing it at one point because my dad wanted us to do something other than hockey. It was taking a lot of our time, and he wanted us to get our minds off of it sometimes, so we both started speed skating,” Brunet said. “And when it was time to make a choice between hockey and speed skating, my brother chose speed skating, and I chose hockey.”

Brunet’s dad, Michel, was an Olympic figure skater; he competed for Team Canada at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. His mother, Brigitte Gauthier, was once a figure skater but shifted to physiotherapy; she treated the Canadian freestyle ski team for 25 years. So, it was always going to be something with ice for Brunet.

“When I was really young, I did a little figure skating,” Brunet said. “Didn’t really work out. But when we did speed skating, it definitely helped my skating, my technique and stuff. I’m really grateful to my dad and my parents for putting me into that because I think it’s paying off right now.”

The 23-year-old defenseman now has his eyes set on an opening-night roster spot with the Bruins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Brunet has spent the last three seasons in the AHL with Providence – he led the team’s blueliners with 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) last year – and feels ready to make the jump.

“My summer was a big part of it,” Brunet said. “I’ve always had the same approach in the summer – just go as hard as I can. I want to prove myself this year, so I think I had a little chip on my shoulder; like this is my time, I need to push as hard as I can this year. Windows in professional sports are not big, and I know I have to take advantage of it and just prove myself.”​

Brunet was back home in Quebec for two months of the offseason before spending most of August in Boston to train with his teammates. He, Cédrick, Michel and Brigitte were under the same roof again. Brunet and his brother stuck to their routine of workouts and skates in the morning and golf with their friends in the afternoon.

While he did not pick hockey, Cédrick is excelling on the oval. The speed skater attended his first Olympics for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games for the Men’s 500m.

“I couldn’t go to my brother's last year, but I was watching on TV. It was sad not to go, honestly. It was crazy. I think he finished around 15th in the world, so it was awesome for him. Just watching it, I was so proud of him. It’s unbelievable just going to the Olympics. I was supporting him from far away,” Brunet said. “We went different paths, but we’re both pushing each other in the summer so it’s awesome.”

It was a dream realized for Cédrick; he and Brunet attended the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics to support their mom (who was working for the Canadian freestyle ski team) as well as their aunt, mogul skier Jenn Heil, who is a two-time Olympic medallist.

“It was probably one of the best weeks of my life going around there. We went to a couple of hockey games,” Brunet said. “Our childhood was awesome – always surrounded by great athletes. I was just taking some notes on the side. I was really young, but I was like, ‘Wow, I want a big part of my life to be sport.’ I wanted to do that.”

In the 16 years since those Olympics, Brunet has put himself in a position to be amongst the greatest athletes again – and he is there as a teammate this time around. His name and status on the Bruins’ roster were a highly discussed offseason topic. But Brunet has remained focused amidst the noise.

“It’s always nice to see your name pop up in some conversation to be in the NHL. I don’t think that’s going to change my approach on anything,” Brunet said. “I have one goal in mind, and I don’t think any of the media really changes anything, and I don’t think it could – it has been my goal for the last five years, and I feel like it’s more attainable than ever this year.”

One of the reasons it feels “more attainable than ever” is the two-way transformation Brunet has committed to in Providence.

“I started as a one-way, offensively, go go go – but I think I did a really good job down there with the coaching staff,” Brunet said. “In juniors, it was always go go go as hard as you can. But when I came down to Prov, the coaching staff made sure to tell me, ‘You can’t do that at the professional level.’ I understood that and put the work in with them, not just forming my game entirely but being reliable defensively. I think I took a huge step in that. If the offense is not there one night, I know I can contribute with my defense. That’s what I’ve been focusing on. I think my game is in a great spot right now.”

Head coach Marco Sturm has paired Brunet with Charlie McAvoy for the opening three days of training camp ahead of the B’s first preseason game on Sunday at TD Garden against the Washington Capitals.

“I think it’s just gonna take a little bit of time for him just to get used to our game and our style. That’s one of the reasons why we put him at the start with Charlie, because he takes care of him. He’s really talking to him. We all try to help him because the skating part is his biggest asset. We want him to use it,” Sturm said. “That was the one thing about him – it was always about the skating.”

McAvoy empathizes with what Brunet is going through right now. The now 28-year-old veteran made his NHL debut in the 2016-17 playoffs (following a short stint in Providence) and entered his first training camp ahead of the 2017-18 season. He was paired with Zdeno Chara. The stakes felt very high.

“I remember all of that. A lot of communication. I remember the anxiety and all of that. When you come in, you feel like you’re living and dying on every rep,” McAvoy said. “Obviously I’m at a different point in my career now. I know what I need to get out of camp and kind of set the tone. And he’s in that spot, so I’m trying my best to communicate with him and help him out. He’s an awesome, really, really good kid. I’ve heard that for a while from everybody, so I’m really excited to play with him and help him in any way.”

McAvoy drew a comparison between Brunet and Matt Grzelcyk, who was his long-time partner on the left side.

“I think he’s a little bit taller than Grzelcyk, but he can move well,” McAvoy said. “What he brings, the depth he brings – that’s what we need. We need guys to be pushing like I did back then. That’s what makes the mark of a really good team: guys fighting and pushing each other.”

Brunet is embracing the challenge with a new level of confidence – one that he has earned through hard work. The goal has been clear for Brunet since choosing hockey at 15 years old. Now it is up to him to make it a reality.​

“Especially playing with Charlie, you don’t want to make any mistakes. But it’s going to happen; I’m not a robot. I made a couple of mistakes today, but he made sure to come see me and explain what I did. He’s been great to me,” Brunet said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit nerve-racking to play with this guy, but he’s awesome. He’s there to help me and show me the way. Just playing with him, I learned so much from the last two days just being by his side. I think he took me under his wing a little bit. I think if we keep playing together, it’s just going to get better and better.”