SALT LAKE CITY | Two time zones and 3,600 kilometers separate Nick Suzuki and Sean Durzi, but it’s not details like this that will undermine their friendship. In Salt Lake City, the defender of the Utah club does not hesitate to take out the censer when we talk to him about his best friend and captain of the Canadian.
• Also read: Josh Doan wants to continue his father’s legacy
• Also read: A historic victory for Utah in its first NHL game
• Also read: “We will always remember this moment”: André Tourigny enjoyed the first match in Salt Lake City, but he can’t wait to get back to his routine
After his team’s morning practice at the Delta Center in preparation for the Utah Club’s inaugural game on Tuesday, Durzi was visibly feverish, but the discussion quickly took another turn when he saw the accreditation on the neck of the team. author of these lines.
«The Montreal Journal, eh? Say hello to Nick!” he said straight away.
It was timely, it was precisely about the Canadian’s small forward that we wanted to talk to him about.
More than four years together
You should know that the two thieves have long been inseparable. Colleague Jessica Lapinski reported on their long friendship as part of a report on the pension families of Canadian players, before they became regulars in the NHL.
Durzi and Suzuki were teammates in the Ontario Junior League with the Owen Sound Attack and then the Guelph Storm. From 2015 until their participation in the Memorial Cup tournament in the spring of 2019, they lived together.
“Nick is a special person and a special leader. Every day, we pushed ourselves further. I can never thank him enough for bringing this hyper-competitive side into my life,” confided the defender.
Different paths
Like the rest of the Utah Hockey Club players, defenseman Sean Durzi was saluted by thousands of fans before the team’s inaugural game Tuesday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Photo Getty Images via AFP
The two friends took different routes to get where they are. Suzuki has always been a first-class player, having been selected fourth overall in the 2015 Ontario draft. Durzi had to wait until 228e rank, a year earlier. He didn’t secure a place with Owen Sound and had to return a year later.
In 2017, the two were in the NHL draft together, but while Suzuki was living the dream by being selected in the 13e rank by the Golden Knights, Durzi was ignored. His turn came a year later, at 52e rank, with the Maple Leafs.
The two were traded and Durzi, after moving from Toronto to Los Angeles, then from Arizona to Utah, became a key part of the team’s blue line.
“Nick pushes everyone to be better. When he plays at such a level, others around him have no choice but to raise their game. I experienced it on the ice with him and I would say he is one of the good reasons why I got there today,” he praised.
The best captain
Durzi and Suzuki still speak very regularly. The Utah Hockey Club defenseman says Suzuki often tells him how much “he loves Montreal.”
“It’s almost impossible to be captain in Montreal, if you ask anyone in the league. If anyone can fill this role, it’s him. Nick Suzuki is the perfect captain for Montreal,” assures the one who knows him better than anyone.
“I’ve never seen anything bother him. I know in Montreal, with the fans, the media and the expectations, everything is completely crazy, but he navigates through it all well. He loves attention from amateurs. People say in these markets it can get difficult because the fans care so much about their team. As a leader, I know that’s what he’s looking for.”
It remains to be seen if, one of these days, destiny will bring together the eternal accomplices again.
