COLOMBUS, Ohio — Johnny Brozinski returned to his hometown in Minnesota earlier this week.
The 31-year-old invited many of his former Hartford teammates, including Matt Lempe, Will Quile, Zach Jones, Brett Berard and Brennan Osman.
He did some of the dishes, but his wife, Lauren, made a majority.
“He was great. Personally, for me, he was like my role model at Hartford in my first year as a professional,” Quill said. “I was always wandering around at his house with other older guys. [Berard] And a new otter for the team. He's clearly huge for everyone here. ”
And in the third period of the Rangers' final 3-2 Minnesota overtime victory, Brozinski defeated a 1-1 tie with a nasty lister from the rush.
It was his seventh goal of the season and came before at least 60 families and many close friends attending the Xcel Energy Center.
When Brodzinski last scored in the building, he was a high school senior playing in the state tournament at Blaine High.
“My dad sent me a clip the other day. There was a previous school game and they had a lot of old highlights and I was with one of them,” Brozinski said with a smile. “It was like a half-ice windmill all the time.
Brozinski will appear in the team's 35 games this season as the Rangers face the Blue Jacket on Saturday. This brings the game together to the second he has played in a single NHL campaign.
He won a 57 contest career in Blues Shirts last season.
With seven goals and six assists, the veteran forward is just six points to tie his 19-point career high he set last season.
“When I first entered the league, it was very intimidating,” Brozinski said. “Come from the American League, you respect a lot of these guys in the locker room. I can be a bit of a buffer to keep them comfortable and hopefully they still continue to play their game that brought them here. Just rely on your shoulder when they need any help and some guidance.”
As part of an optional practice that I briefly attended on Friday afternoon, Adam Fox took part in several battle drills in his regular jersey.
Other players who skated include Jonathan Quick, Calvin de Hahn, Yuso Perssinen, Osman, Lempe and Bellard.
