First things first

You know the hockey gods are smiling upon you when the Bruins team bus pulls up five minutes after getting set up outside the team's hotel. As each player trots down the stairs, the faces familiarize, some more than others. There's Milan Lucic. Tim Thomas. Marco Sturm.

Then, after most of the team's brass, staff and players have collected their carry-ons, garment bags or team-issue duffels, out pops Boston's Patrice Bergeron. For Colin, the sight of his Bruins buddy was too exciting.

"Patrice! Patrice!" He could hardly contain himself.

Thirty feet away, Bergeron looks, smiles and nods. He waves to Colin and tells him to come over. Colin runs toward Patrice and gives him a big hug. Greetings abounded. Bergeron said he was feeling good. He and Colin talked about school and grades. They talked about hockey.

Given the severity of the injuries sustained early last season from that brutal hit from behind by Philly's Randy Jones, there was a chance that Bergeron wouldn't return to his NHL form. For a young boy, taking the first strides of his own hockey career, to see his hockey hero felled was a hard, but important, lesson: Take nothing for granted.

It was good to see Patrice. Damn good.

Of course, Colin had a few things -- like the replica Bergeron helmet shown above, the old-school Bruins puck and a wicked-cool card -- waiting for Patrice, who, as always, signed them for him.