Catching Up With Derick Brassard

The occasional clamor from pots and pans and the subtle thump of a closing cupboard echoed in the background as Derick Brassard cataloged updates of his daily life within quarantine while he prepared his dinner for the evening.

"I wish I was better at [cooking], but it's good to have the time to work on it," Brassard said with a laugh. "I'm trying to stay healthy and get three meals in, too. I can do the easy stuff; I don't have a barbecue or anything. I just keep it basic: fish, meat, vegetables, rice, pasta, something like that. Just trying to find some other things that I'm not used to. That's one of the things in a situation like this; you could go with bad habits. You could go to bed late and wake up super late. Your body would be all messed up because you're not used to that. I'm just trying to avoid that stuff."
For Brassard, and virtually everyone, the circumstances of social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have upended regular routines. It's been just under one month since the NHL suspended the regular season and, for the time being, the Hull, Quebec native has remained on Long Island.
"I think it's hard for everybody," Brassard said. "I feel like the first few days were the hardest for me. Now, I've found a little routine. We're doing the same routine basically every day during the season. I've been going to the grocery store and that's the only time I come out of the house. I go for walks, I work out, I watch shows, I try to talk on the phone with family and friends through FaceTime, I've just been trying to stay away from the bad habits."

The 32-year-old veteran has shared the same challenges as his teammates and fellow NHLers around the league of being committed to staying in adequate shape despite the obstacles of limited facilities and no access to ice. Brassard has accepted these unfamiliar conditions that resulted from the season's abrupt halt on March 12 while teams were in the midst of the final stretch of the regular season and during a fervent push to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"Going to the rink, seeing your teammates, getting ready for games; you have to be mentally sharp and you have to take care of your body," Brassard said. "That's all stuff that you can't really do that much right now. It's hard to stay in game shape. There's nothing like skating; I know we all say it. You can work really hard in the offseason and in the gyms, but there's nothing like skating and being in that game shape.
"I was using my gym in my building and then they shut down everything," Brassard continued. "I've been in contact with our strength coaches [Derrek Douglas] and [Sean Donellan]. They've established a plan for the players; just to give some ideas of things you could do. I just go from there. I just go outside the property here and I just grab my dumbbells."
Outside of spicing up his culinary skills, Brassard, who admittedly, binge watched Tiger King in a day, has also reminisced over fond memories of his hockey-crazed childhood spent with a stick at his fingertips and a puck in sight.
"There's been some old games playing sometimes and it reminds me of when I was a kid," Brassard said. "If I wasn't playing, I was watching. [The] NBC Sports Network and the NHL Network are putting old games on, so sometimes I'll just watch old games and think back to those days."
During his first season with the Isles, Brassard showcased his versatility as he rotated from his natural position at center to the wing as needed. Through 66 games, Brassard compiled 32 points (10G, 22A) and eclipsed the impressive 800-game milestone, with now 852 contests completed throughout his career. He was also third among the team in power-play points with 11.

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Upon reflection, Brassard was content with his performance over the course of the season and felt the Islanders were nearing a crucial breaking point as they had earned crucial points in back-to-back contests to snap a stretch of three-games without a point.
"From playing center to playing on the wing, I think my role changed throughout the season," Brassard said. "Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way I was playing. Consistency is the biggest thing. I'm just ready to play any type of role."
"The league is really hard; there's a lot of good teams, there's no easy nights," Brassard said. "I think our team and our dressing room believes that we can compete with anybody. Sometimes it's good to face adversity, good teams find ways to get out of that. We believe in our dressing room. You've got to take a positive out of everything."
While Brassard is in good company with a steady group of players that remained on Long Island, others are dispersed across the continent as some players return to their hometowns. After being inseparable with his teammates over the course of the season, Brassard longs for the league's hopeful return to get back to playing and in front of the support of the Islanders seventh player; the devoted fans.
"Our group chat is obviously a little more active than it is during the season," Brassard noted. "Guys are trying to put a little more out there to try and stay in touch; I think that's great. I miss seeing the guys. I know the guys, for a fact, are missing playing the games and seeing the fans. I know we miss playing at the Coli and that atmosphere. If we do end up playing soon down the road here, we know [the fans] are going to have our backs. They're going to make it really hard for teams to come here and try to win."

Brassard recognizes the bigger picture at stake and the severity to combat the virus and hopefully flatten the curve until normal life can resume.
"That's what's really hard for everybody too," Brassard said. "Nobody knows what's going on, but the most important thing is that everybody; I'm not talking about just hockey players, everyone needs to say safe. We're losing lives every day, that's not something you like to see. We have to try to respect rules and follow instructions. I think if we do that we'll get out of this quicker."