Height: 5-9
Weight: 165
Shoot: R
Born: 11 Jan 1952, Malartic PQ
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Quebec | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Crowds Flock to Hull (excerpt) • by Vic Grant • The Hockey Spectator • November 24, 1972 ...The Jets should have won that first Hull game against Quebec Nordiques because they were supposed to. Hockey's greatest player was playing, here was the ultimate, the thing the Jets had been waiting for ever so patiently. Instead, though, the Nordiques stole all the thunder and Hull was a losing coach and a losing player in his first legal WHA game. ...That's why 10,126 rabid citizens filled Le Colisee and, when you took into consideration the players and the spectators, the only person who wasn't impressed was Yves Bergeron, an obscure youngster on the threshold of establishing a hockey reputation... Bergeron, the young Nordique, spent the night humming musical bars to the tune of Me and My Shadow. Bergeron was the Shadow and Hull was the Me. If Hull thought he left that shadow coverage in the other league, Bergeron let it be known he was wrong. Where Hull was, Bergeron was. If the rules permitted it, he likely would have sat on the Jet bench next to Hull. Bergeron's coverage took the shine off a debut, but you can't argue with the results. The Nordiques did win the hockey game. "My first game, I come out and here I find a guy is following me all over the ice," said Hull, who admitted he was startled to see the shadow method being employed in his opening game... |
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Bergeron and the Delicate Mission • by Real Labbe • The Hockey Spectator • December 1, 1972
Bobby Hull is back in hockey, in the World Hockey Association, after having been prevented for several weeks from playing for the team with which he signed an attractive contract last summer. For the "Blonde Comet," it's the return of old nightmares — being constantly shadowed by an opponent, being hounded to keep him from scoring. Even though he played his first game with the Jets at the Colisee in Quebec, and even though the 10,000 Quebec fans gave him a warm ovation, Bobby Hull was not spared from relentless, moment-to-moment coverage by the Nordiques. No matter his status as a major star, he had to be stopped from gaining any momentum if the Nordiques hoped to pave the way to victory. In the National League, Hull always had a very experienced player on his heels — like Claude Provost with the Montreal Canadiens — and he still managed to get out of trouble quite well. The Nordiques' coach decided to choose a player coming out of the junior ranks to serve as Bobby Hull's "shadow." He entrusted the role to the one who had been the most impressive during training camp: Yves Bergeron. It's a remarkable sign of confidence to place in a young player — giving him the task of watching the Golden Jet, the man who broke the 50-goal record in the National League, a record previously set by the legendary Maurice Richard. Of course, Hull is not currently at the peak of his physical condition, but he has kept himself in shape by practicing with his teammates, and the rockets he fired at goaltender Serge Aubry were not those of a minor-league player. He was not easy to stop, and Yves Bergeron knows it well. "You can be sure he's hard to stop," added the friendly young player. "When you push against him, you realize he's built like a rock. Besides, he gave me a body check, and I definitely felt it." Yves Bergeron is a product of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, having spent his junior years with the Shawinigan Bruins under coach Claude Dolbec. Everyone who has played under Dolbec's guidance is unanimous in praising his qualities as a coach and his way of dealing with hockey players. "He treated each of us as if he were our father," Yves says. "He gave us just as much advice about our role as hockey players as about our role as citizens." He inherited the calm that characterizes Dolbec behind the players' bench. Outwardly, Yves always seems composed and self-assured, but like everyone He hides the tension that takes hold of him on the eve of a game, even from his teammates. With the Bruins, Dolbec managed to form a formidable trio that dominated during his final junior year. Yves Bergeron played alongside Rene Villemure and Johnny Martin. In fifty regular-season games, Bergeron beat opposing goaltenders 35 times and earned assists on 61 other goals, for a total of 96 points. The right winger has always known how to combine toughness with his offensive play, and he had linemates who matched him perfectly in that regard. Not only were they dangerous when they went on the attack, but they were also not the kind of players you wanted to tangle with. When the Nordiques decided to look for candidates among the junior ranks, Yves Bergeron's name was one of the first to come up. Maurice Filion, the chief scout and former coach, had already seen Bergeron in action when he was behind the bench for the Remparts, and he didn't hesitate to acquire the services of the talented player. Bergeron had a choice: Either join a National League organization — where he might have spent many years in the minors — or try his luck with the Quebec team and play in the World Hockey Association. He chose the latter, which was considered the most logical decision. In September, Bergeron reported to Maurice Filion along with 42 other hopefuls, all determined to earn a spot on the new major professional team. Filion quickly began evaluating the players to determine who had a real chance of succeeding, and the selection process began. Every day, the athletes checked the list of those who had been called to the Nordiques' office to be told they had no chance of making it in the organization. Yet Yves Bergeron's name never appeared there. Day after day, he worked harder and harder, and he quickly became a revelation at the Nordiques' first training camp. He was the one who impressed the most, and all the fans pointed him out, saying he would be a player to watch in the coming season. When the professional players joined the amateurs, Yves Bergeron still remained a popular figure. He had truly earned his regular spot with the Quebec club. It's no coincidence that Yves Bergeron was given the delicate task of shadowing the man who has scored 604 goals in the National League. He earned it through constant hard work since the beginning of the season. He never stopped working while adapting to a new style of play. "I thought about it a lot," said Filion after the game against the Winnipeg Jets. "I looked at everything my players had accomplished since the start of the season, and I decided that Bergeron was the one who could do the best job under the circumstances." Yves certainly proved his coach right. Not only did he neutralize Bobby Hull, but he also managed to score a goal and pick up an assist on another. Perhaps in the next game against the Jets, Yves Bergeron will have more difficulty containing the Blonde Comet, but on the other hand, he will be much better prepared. There is no doubt that as long as this athlete maintains such a positive attitude, success will continue to follow him. |
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