Jeremy Brodeur’s dad is like any other parent who struggles with the demands of a job and a family, and struggles to carve out time to watch his son’s games.

But when you consider the parent in question is retired goaltender Martin Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time wins leader and currently the senior adviser to the general manager for the St. Louis Blues, the relationship takes on extra gravity.

The 18-year-old Oshawa Generals goaltender fidgets nervously with his stick while he speaks but soon beams with excitement. “Anytime my dad comes to watch me is great,” he said, after a mid-day practice at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa.

Playing as a backup to Generals starter Ken Appleby in his first Ontario Hockey League playoff series, the youngest member of the first family of Canadian goalies is trying to carve out a name for himself.

But he won’t do it without the help of his father.

Drafted in the eighth round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, the lanky 6-foot goalie battled his way to 13 wins in 19 games in his rookie season, and posted an impressive three shutouts along the way.

And his father was there whenever possible.

“He gives me tips after every game,” Jeremy said. “His main advice is always stop the puck and try to win.”

That might not sound like the kind of insider goaltending tip you might expect from one of the greatest to ever play the position, but Jeremy’s father insists their relationship isn’t entirely dependent on the sport they love.

“I know they know who I am and what I’ve accomplished but they’re fatherly conversations we’re having, and not agent-type conversations,” Martin said.

Though he did have a hand in Jeremy’s decision to play Major Junior hockey in Canada instead of suiting up for an American college team, Martin tries not to overstep his boundaries. The conversations he’s had with Generals coach D.J. Smith are more of the big picture variety than the finer details of his son’s play.

Martin Brodeur’s career achievements — four Vezina trophies, three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals — also came after a little help from his own father.

“My dad was really good to me about my upbringing into hockey and I’m trying to do the same thing,” Martin said of his father Denis, a legendary hockey photographer who won a bronze medal playing hockey at the 1956 Olympics.

Jeremy has earned the trust of Smith, who praises his affable nature. After the Generals’ 7-2 victory in game one of their first-round series with long-time rival the Peterborough Petes, Smith kept Brodeur on the ice long after the starters had left practice.

“No matter if he has a good game or a bad game he stays even keel,” Smith said. “He’s probably learned that from his dad: one bad game doesn’t make a year.”

While Jeremy’s brother Anthony was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2013 and will spend time this summer with Devils team trainers, Jeremy will be with his family, splitting his time between Montreal and New Jersey.

But with the Generals starting job possibly up for grabs next season, Jeremy won’t be without his own responsibilities and his father isn’t pulling any punches about the work required from his son.

“I think he’s going to be in for a rude awakening as far as what he’s going to have to do,” he chuckles.

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Still, that legendary Brodeur drive is beginning to show itself.

“Every goalie in the back of their mind always wants to be in net,” Jeremy says after being asked about his desire to claim the Generals starting job.

His father — a veteran of 17 post-season campaigns — was a fixture in the playoffs, and reminds Jeremy about the necessity of enjoying the moment.

“This team could do something great and I keep telling him that he’s part of it,” Martin said. “He’s got to embrace the situation.”