Brochu continues to elevate game
Brett Brochu, the lone London Knight on Canada’s World Junior Team, is looking to once again reach new heights in a unique career that began in Junior C.
(Photo: Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
Few have been busier this season than Brett Brochu, who has manned the net for the London Knights in nearly every game he’s suited up for – on the way to leading the OHL in several goaltending categories.
His impressive rise in 2019-20, and his solid play this year, helped earn the 19-year-old netminder what most young hockey players dream about – a spot on Canada’s World Junior team.
The lone Knight at this year’s tournament, Brochu is one of three goalies on the roster, including Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers and Sebastian Cossa of the Edmonton Oil Kings (both in the Western Hockey League). He’s part of the Hockey Canada family now, and he’s focused on the ultimate goal.
“I think every single one of us wants to win a gold medal so badly. I know we’re going to do everything we can to get that and bring it home to our families,” said Brochu, who suits up for his first official World Junior game Sunday night (Dec. 26) as Canada opens its round robin schedule against Czechia.
“It’s extremely competitive and a tough tournament to play in. You have to be good every day, and always be ready. That’s the mentality I’ve had while I’ve been here.”
‘Here’ is with the Canadian team during pre-tournament action, which included the selection process, practices, scrimmages, and one pre-tourney game against Russia – a 6-4 win on Thursday.
That game was played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, where Canada will play each of its round robin games, beginning Sunday. They’ll take on Austria on Dec. 28, Germany on Dec. 29 and Finland on Dec. 31 (all at 7:00pm EST) to round out that portion of the tournament before hopefully moving on to quarterfinal action.
Brochu didn’t play in Canada’s pre-tournament game, and it’s not totally clear how the goalie situation will shake out as the tournament progresses, but Brochu will be ready when called upon. He’s always ready.
With the Knights, Brochu has played in 22 of the team’s 26 games this season. If not for leaving early for Canada’s camp, he’d lead all OHL goalies in minutes played. As it is, he’s second behind Ottawa’s Will Cranley. His 16 wins and .921 save percentage are both tops in the OHL at the break. His 2.48 goals against average is second best. But he’s always, always trying to improve.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography)
“I take practice really seriously. Obviously, I have a lot of fun, too, but it’s something I take very serious,” said Brochu, who chalks up his improvements over the last few years to his focus and attention to detail. “I’m an extremely competitive guy, and I think the best time to get better is in practice. The way I look at it, the more saves I make in practice the more I will stop in the game.”
His 2021-22 OHL season has been impressive in many ways, but one of the stats that really jumps out is his success in shootouts. He’s stopped 13 of the 15 shots he’s faced in shootouts this year.
That type of success can certainly come in handy in an international tournament where a shootout can sometimes determine the colour of your medal. Brochu says that when the game comes down to those one-on-one situations, his battle mentality takes over.
“I just think about how I don’t want to lose this game, so I want to bear down and do what I can to get the win for my team,” he said. “And so far this season, it’s been going pretty well. If you look at the percentages, goalies are typically more successful in shootouts, so I have the mindset that this guy needs to make a really good move to beat me.”
Brochu’s career trajectory has been a unique one, having started things off in Junior C as a 16-year-old. By the time he reached London, he caught many by surprise with his breakout season in 2019-2020. Sprinkle in some AHL experience during the canceled OHL season last year, and Brochu is now among the top junior goalies around.
(Photo: Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
“Hockey has taken me to some pretty cool places so far,” said the netminder. “Playing at all these levels has been cool, but I haven’t played at all the levels I want to play at yet.”
He’ll officially check off Team Canada’s World Junior team when he wears the maple leaf on Boxing Day. The last Knights goalie to play for Canada was Steve Mason (in 2008), who also happened to play Junior C as a 16-year-old.
Mason was the tournament’s top goalie that year, helping Canada to a gold medal before going on to a successful career in the NHL. All achievements that Brochu would also like to have in common with the former Knight.
And why not? As the hockey world has learned, Brochu is not someone to bet against. Again and again, he’s proven to be up for the next challenge.
He’ll find out about his NHL future later this year, but for now he’s all-in for Canada, focused on helping reclaim the gold medal at the prestigious tournament. Knights fans will be rooting him on as he takes yet another step in his career. And many will be wondering, what will Brett Brochu do next?
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