Brodeur to miss out on playing in Brooklyn, but play in many of NHL’s storied arenas #devils Martin Brodeur will probably miss out on his chance to play in another arena as he remains in New Jersey while Cory Schneider gets the start in net (and Keith Kinkaid backs up) for the Devils tonight when they take on the Islanders in a preseason game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It’s just a preseason game, but it the Islanders’ first game at their future home. They’ll play two more seasons at Nassau Coliseum and are scheduled to move into Barclays Center to begin the 2015-16 season. By then, Brodeur likely will be retired. “We’re not going to be able to watch it (on TV), but it would be nice to see what a hockey game (looks like) there,” Brodeur admitted after practicing today at Prudential Center. “Oh well. Not one on the top of my list of priorities.” Brodeur will play in the Devils’ next preseason game Monday night in his hometown of Montreal. Brodeur said it doesn’t mean that much to him to play a preseason game in Montreal. “It’s a fun place to play, but it’s still the preseason,” he said. “I’m sure the atmosphere will be fun to play in there. It will give me a chance to see my friends and family. That’s about it.” Brodeur has played in 35 regular season games in Montreal – 29 at Bell Centre and six at the old Montreal Forum. Over his 19 seasons in the NHL, he pretty much all the historic buildings, so he doesn’t feel like he’s missed out on anything – even if he never gets to play on Brooklyn. “I was really fortunate, you know,” he said. “I was able to play in Chicago Stadium. I played in the Montreal Forum. I played in Boston Garden, Maple Leaf Gardens. I played in most of the nicer ones. The one I missed was the old Vancouver one. I was backing up (Chris Terreri) one game. But apart from that, I played in all the ones that were recognizable, that people know about. “I was fortunate.” Brodeur recalls one stretch during his rookie season of 1993-94 in February of 1994 in which former Devils coach Jacques Lemaire started him in Boston Garden, Maple Leaf Gardens and Chicago Stadium. “I’m sure it was just for me to get that experience of playing in these rinks,” Brodeur said. “It was unbelievable. I was shaking my head, especially when you know the history of the game you’re in awe and knowing that all of them were going to get destroyed eventually.” Brodeur also remembers playing in Le Colisee in Quebec City against the Nordiques and at the old Buffalo Auditorium (The Aud). “The Aud in Buffalo, that was a fun place to play,” Brodeur said. “Back then, the rinks had character. They had their own identity compared to now, most of the (arenas) are the same.” Brodeur also recalls the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. “That was a tough building,” he said. “I played in the playoffs there (in 1995). My third game ever was at the Spectrum.” *** Brodeur said son, Anthony, the Devils’ 2013 seventh-round draft pick, will make his QMJHL debut tonight for Gatineau against Rouyn-Noranda. Brodeur plans to watch that game on the internet. Anthony, also a goaltender, was returned to Gatineau Friday after being at training camp with the Devils. “He was happy about his camp, happy to go back also,” Martin Brodeur said. “These are great experiences for a young kid. It’s put some goals somewhere in his mind that that’s where he wants to be and now he’s going to go off to work and try to get it done.” *** Likely Devils’ lineup vs. the Islanders (waiting to confirm): Forwards: Patrik Elias, Damien Brunner, Adam Henrique, Jacob Josefson, Michael Ryder, Steve Bernier, Travis Zajac, Ryan Carter, Andrei Loktionov, Tim Sestito, Cam Janssen, Stefan Matteau. Defensemen: Adam Larsson, Alex Urbom, Anton Volchenkov, Mark Fayne, Jon Merrill, Peter Harrold. Goaltenders: Cory Schneider, Keith Kinkaid. Islanders’ lineup (confirmed): Forwards: Josh Bailey, Colin McDonald, Matt Martin, Kyle Okposo, Matt Moulson, Johan Sundstrom, Eric Boulton, Justin Johnson, Frans Nielsen, Casey Cizikas, John Tavares, Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Defensemen: Travis Hamonic, Griffin Reinhart, Lubomir Visnovsky, Brian Strait, Matt Donovan, Andrew MacDonald. Goaltenders: Evgeni Nabokov, Parker Milner. *** The game will not be televised. The Devils’ radio broadcast can be heard on wfan and newjerseydevils and the scoreboard video feed from Barclays Center can be seen on newyorkislanders. Posted by Tom Gulitti on 09/21 at 04:13 PM - See more at: blogs.northjersey/blogs/fireice/comments/brodeur_will_miss_out_on_playing_at_barclays_center_but_was_fortunate_to_many_storied_arenas/#sthash.5vqx3QWz.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 20:52:07 +0000
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