At only 23 years old, Nick Suzuki is often praised for his remarkable maturity.
Since being drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, his career’s been one filled with interesting twists and turns. From being traded to Montreal, getting called up, and playing a crucial role in his team’s journey to the Stanley Cup Final, to facing the disappointment of a last-place finish the following year, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Moreover, Suzuki earned the distinction of becoming the youngest captain in Canadiens history, but faced criticism from Quebec politicians for his lack of fluency in French.
Luckily for Suzuki, who seems to thrive under pressure, his journey is one that’s seen him come out stronger on the other side.
Daily Hive recently caught up with the London, Ontario, native, who is spending his second straight summer in Montreal.
This week, Suzuki once again partnered up with Goodfood to help launch the company’s Meal for a Meal initiative, a program that aims to drive donations to the Breakfast Club of Canada (BCC).
“The initiative is pretty special to me,” Suzuki said. “We want to help as many people as possible and help the Breakfast Club of Canada get meals out to people.”
Between July 24 and August 23, Canadians can purchase a Nick’s Picks meal kit and Goodfood will donate a meal to the Breakfast Club of Canada, providing more children with access to a nutritious breakfast.
With training camp right around the corner, the two-time NHL All-Star also discussed playing in Montreal, along with some of his other off-ice endeavours.
At the beginning of the year, it was revealed that you were taking French lessons. How are those going? And why do you feel it’s important to learn the language?
Lessons haven’t been going on this summer, but I took it up until grade 10, so I’m pretty good at the basics like the alphabet, colours, animals, stuff like that.
I think it is important for players to be able to communicate with people that maybe don’t speak English.
There are big fans in Quebec that might not be able to understand us speak English. So, anything that we can do to reach out to them in French is really cool. And obviously, again, living in Montreal, it’s also nice to just be able to communicate around the city better.
Everybody seems to be obsessed with you and Cole Caufield as a duo. How does your relationship differ on and off the ice?
We’ve kind of hit it off since the start. We’ve got a really good relationship, and honestly, I kind of see him as a younger brother. My brother is the exact same age as him. So I think we have that connection, and Cole’s brother’s my age too.
Our personalities really balance each other out. He’s the more hyper, really excited guy and I’m just kind of the one that’s more chill. So I think he brings me up, and I can kind of bring him down to earth sometimes.
I think that chemistry on and off the ice just goes a long way. When you spend time with guys, you kind of learn how they think… Just knowing where he’s gonna be on the ice, for me, is important. We want to obviously set him up to shoot.
Being captain of the Canadiens obviously comes with some pressure, especially when you’re the youngest to wear the “C” in franchise history. What’s helped you ease into the role?
I think I’ve just had a lot of great help around me, from the coaching staff to the veteran players around me, my assistant captains. And even guys like [David] Savard and [Chris] Wideman, they’ve been a huge help.
I’m a younger player. I’m just learning how to be a great captain and that’s what I want to be.
I think I made a lot of great steps this year.
If you weren’t a hockey player, what would you be doing?
That’s a great question. It’s something that always seems to come up. I’d definitely be doing something in hockey. Just with the love I have for the game and the passion that I have, I always said maybe I would have been a player agent.
That side of the game interests me too.
From playing in the Stanley Cup Final to finishing at the bottom of the standings, you’ve seen first-hand what highs and lows feel like in Montreal. What have you learned about yourself as a person and a player from competing in such a passionate market?
When we went to the Stanley Cup Final, the city was absolutely buzzing and we could feel that and it brought us a ton of energy. And to then finish in last place was a totally different feeling and something that we never really want to happen again.
I think I’ve been able to grow as a player and my mindset from when I was a rookie ’til now, not to let too much get into my head. There [are] a lot of distractions that can go on, and all you can do is focus on the next day, the next opportunity that you get to step on the ice.
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