Nick Suzuki Embracing Montreal Culture

The truth is, Suzuki is the first Montreal Canadiens captain to be able to hold a full conversation in French since Vincent Damphousse was traded to the San Jose Sharks at the Trade Deadline in 1999. Being an anglophone who has gone out of his way to speak French shows the organization, fans and the community as a whole that he is truly here in Montreal for the long haul. It should also be noted that there was no script, and Suzuki planned for the interview ahead of time by memorizing the questions so that he’d be ready to know how to answer everything in French, which is just another reason to understand why he is such a good captain.

As mentioned earlier this summer, Suzuki is the leader of what is hoping to be a winning culture in the near future. What I’m saying it’s not just because he’s the captain of the Canadiens, but also that he is showing players that spending their off-season training together as a team in Montreal should be the norm. Throughout the summer, the Habs had as many as 42 players practicing at Complex CN, according to Geoff Molson during Monday’s Annual Golf Tournament. 

With Suzuki, who is a leader on and off the ice at all times for the entire team, many players tend to take example from his actions and believe that they could become better if they train similarly to the way the Habs captain does.

With that being said, it wouldn’t be surprising if a guy like Cole Caufield could hold an entire conversation in French like Suzuki in the near future, as he is also going to be part of the Canadiens culture in the long run and will likely want to show his respect to the Habs faithful. Sure, it may be harder for an American, but Caufield can definitely get there. 

Not to mention, Ivan Demidov is another guy who is fully embracing the city and learning French could just be another challenge that the uber-talented Russian wants to accomplish. As seen by images, it has also seemed like Suzuki and Demidov have been getting closer as the Russian gets more acclimated with the team. Captain Suzuki is the guy who truly makes all the new players comfortable playing here in Montreal.

As a result, Suzuki has gone an extra mile that players such as Brian Gionta, Max Pacioretty, and Saku Koivu were never able to do as captain, which is to get the team as a whole to feel like a family. There has never been a Habs team that has been bonded as closely with friendship in my lifetime as the one that we are currently seeing. According to journalists like Stu Cowan, who saw the Canadiens of the 1970s, this really is one of, if not the closest, team among friendships since that dynasty.

This starts from the captain and is a trickle-down effect. Whether you are the youngest player on the team in Ivan Demidov, or the oldest, most experienced Hab in Brendan Gallagher, everyone has massive respect for Suzuki.

A huge reason for that is that Suzuki respects everyone as well. Suzuki’s effort to learn French was just another way to show respect for the community and the organization that he is tied to for the long haul.

What do you think about Suzuki’s efforts to do a full interview in French?