Anthony Gruppuso-USA Today Sports
It has been said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. If that’s true, then the eldest son of future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils is going to be one amazing netminder. Of course, there is not too much pressure attached to wearing number 30 on the back of your jersey under the name of Brodeur.
However, that is something Anthony Brodeur has grown used to over the years. It’s a fact of life which can’t really be avoided if your father is the winningest goaltender of all-time and the owner of three Stanley Cup rings as well as two Olympic gold medals. The attention is something he’s had since he first laced up his skates and slid between the pipes. It’s inevitable given his parentage as will be the comparisons.
Yet, the 18-year-old seems to handle it well and is clearly considering a career in the NHL. The recent graduate of the famed hockey high, Shattuck-St. Mary’s has decided to forgo college for the time being and will instead play junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the fall. Brodeur will suiting up for the Gatineau Olympiques who play in Gatineau, Quebec.
Over 80 athletes who have skated for the Olympiques have gone on to careers in the NHL as players or coaches including Martin Biron of the New York Rangers and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers. Claude Julien, a former coach of the Devils and current coach of the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, is also a product of the Olympiques organization.
In 28 games this year for Shattuck which is located in Fairbault, Minnesota, Brodeur was 21-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. The New Jersey native also posted five shutouts while sharing the goaltending duties this season.
Tom Ward, the director of hockey at the school and a former coach for the prestigious institution which has seen the likes of Zach Parise, Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews in its hallowed halls, has certainly watched his share of future pros develop on the ice. So, what does he think of Anthony?
“You watch him play and he stands up,” Ward said earlier this year in an interview for the Calgary Herald. “He’ll play old-school. He’s not your typical butterfly goalie. He looks a lot like his father. And that’s just from sitting around the kitchen table, eating breakfast, talking about hockey, playing goal and watching his father. That’s who he watched playing goal growing up and he emulated him. The style is familiar. If there are people that know him and how Marty plays, they’ll have a smile on their face watching him play. No one plays like Marty. And no one plays like Anthony.”
At 18, Brodeur is eligible for this year’s NHL Entry Draft which will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey not far from where the youngster grew up just up the Parkway in Morristown and West Orange. Brodeur has an outside chance of being chosen this year and plans on attending the draft with his father.
Anthony’s younger brother, Jeremy, who is also a goaltender, was drafted by the Oshawa General of the Ontario Hockey League earlier this year. Jeremy is also a student at Shattuck along with his twin brother, William. William appears to be the odd ball of the family. He is a forward.
The Devils have a habit of signing siblings of active roster players and have done so on several occasions including the older brother of former captain Zach Parise who is also a goaltender. Jordan Parise didn’t stay in the organization long though the pair did play together once during an exhibition game early in Parise’s tenure with the Devils.
We’ll have to wait and see if General Manager Lou Lamoriello and his scouting staff take a shot at drafting the eldest son of their most acclaimed pick ever.
Dawn Miller is a New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. Follow her on Twitter, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
