↳ MAT BARZAL IS INTERVIEWED IN FRENCH | DANS L'OEIL DU CHAT, 5x06 | 1.26.26 (translation below)
Thank you very much for your time. Where did you learn French? How did you come to speak French so well?
My parents wanted me to speak another language. In Vancouver, there is a program that starts in sixth grade called Late French Immersion. Kids who learn French start in either kindergarten or in sixth grade. And in eighth grade, all the kids who started in kindergarten and sixth grade go to school together. In sixth grade and seventh grade, they teach a lot of French. We catch up for those two years and then we're with the others.
Do you ever speak French with your teammates, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anthony Duclair, or others?
We don't speak much French, but if there's a joke or something funny in French that we can talk about, we do that, but we don't have long conversations in French.
Does Patrick Roy know that you speak and understand French?
Yes, he knows, but sometimes when he tries to speak French first, I don't understand what he's saying. He speaks too fast. But yes, we speak a little French.
Patrick, you were young [when he played]. Did you hear about him as a player? Did they tell you stories about him, things that made him stand out as a player?
Yes, yes, yes. All that, those interviews, his energy when he was with the Avalanche but most of what I know about him, as a player, is that he has fire. Yes, he's a competitor.
What is he like in the locker room, day to day, and behind the bench?
A lot of energy. Yes, he brings a lot of energy to the team. That's what I like most about him. Every day is different, and there's a different message. It's always positive with him.
I'm told that Patrick is very good at giving speeches. He's a motivator. Is that true?
It's true. It's very obvious that there's a lot of energy in the team. That's what I like most—winning too—so that's a good thing.
