You won’t find a red and green, Justin Brazeau replica jersey for sale at any of the merchandise stands inside Grand Casino Arena. Not even on the clearance rack.
The 19 regular season games — plus six more in the playoffs — that Brazeau spent with Minnesota Wild last season put him in a rare “blink and you missed them” category in the quarter-century history of the franchise. One likes to think he will have a “Wild short-timers” reunion someday, trading stories with Chris Simon (12 games in Minnesota), Rem Pitlick (20 games in Minnesota) and Gustav Nyquist (37 games, in two different stints, in Minnesota).
It was barely noticed on July 1 when the Penguins inked Brazeau to a free-agent contract that will pay him $1.5 million this season. But they have taken notice of the 27-year-old Canadian in Pittsburgh, and not just because of his towering 6-foot-6 frame.
“It’s a massive human with great hands who’s got a really good ability to get himself either open at the net front or put himself in a position to shoot,” said first-year Penguins coach Dan Muse, following the team’s Thursday morning skate in St. Paul. “I think he’s done a good job away from the puck as well.”
Playing wing on the Wild’s fourth line, with Yakov Trenin on the other wing and Marco Rossi at center, Brazeau had a goal and an assist in the regular season last year, and chipped in with two assists in the six-game, first-round playoff loss to Vegas.
Elevated to the second line in Pittsburgh alongside two other massive humans — Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha, who are both 6-foot-5 — Brazeau set the tone for a breakout season with two goals in the Penguins’ season-opening win at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, and he has hardly slowed down since then. He returned to Minnesota with six goals and six assists in his first 11 games.
“Its obviously been a nice fresh start, getting to play with some really good players and trying to make the most of it,” said Brazeau, who came to the Wild from Boston at the early March trade deadline last season. “I just try to do what I do and fit in the best I can.”
While some have marveled at the breakout offense from an unexpected source, especially on a team with stars like Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Mantha, his former boss in Minnesota is not at all shocked.
“Braz has got good hands, he gets around the net, so it’s not necessarily surprising, because he did the same thing in Boston,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “So, good for him. He’s a good kid.”
Some have grumbled that the Wild putting Brazeau in a fourth-line checking role was not the best use of what has been revealed as a scoring threat, especially when his big body gets around the crease. Others say his early season success is emblematic of the kind of boost a player can get from a change of scenery.
When the Wild picked up forward Vinnie Hinostroza off waivers in February of last season, he had posted two assists in 13 games with Nashville. In a Wild sweater, Hinostroza put up five goals and three assists in 25 games, and played a vital bottom-six forward role while the team was a mess of injuries. He sees Brazeau benefitting from a similar change of scenery.
“He’s got a great opportunity there and he’s really taking advantage of it,” said Hinostroza, who was Brazeau’s linemate for part of their time together in Minnesota. “He’s a big body and he can move around pretty good, and he’s got good hands around the net. So, I’m definitely not surprised. I’m happy for him. He’s playing the best hockey of his life.”
Brazeau was in North Carolina with the Bruins when he found out he had been traded to Minnesota. The Wild were in British Columbia at the time, leading to a cross-continent odyssey for the player to fly from Raleigh to Denver to Vancouver, across four time zones, to join his new team. Before facing the Wild on Thursday, Brazeau joked that his arrival in Pittsburgh involved fewer miles and fewer hours.
“A little shorter flight this time, instead of Carolina to Vancouver,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Related Articles
Kirill Kaprizov’s desire to carry Wild leading to costly turnovers
Better Wild effort produces little reward, as Winnipeg rallies
Important next step as Mats Zuccarello skates with Wild
Youthful defensive play proving costly in sluggish Wild start
A loss, but not pointless, as Wild’s comeback fails in OT
Leave a Reply