Marchand’s Ascension Has Been Unique Journey

BOSTON – Harry Sinden has seen his share of Bruins come through Causeway Street.

The longtime club executive began with the Black & Gold in the early 1960s as a player coach at the minor league level and some 60 years later remains with the organization as senior advisor to the owner.

Through his time with the Bruins, Sinden has witnessed the careers of many of the greatest players to ever don the Spoked-B, from Johnny Bucyk to Bobby Orr to Phil Esposito to Ray Bourque to Cam Neely to Zdeno Chara to Patrice Bergeron.

His knowledge of the history and fabric of this nearly 100-year-old franchise is second to none. So, when Sinden ranks a current player near the top of the list at any position, it’s worth discussing.

“He’s a brilliant player in all aspects,” Sinden said during a 2022 interview with BostonBruins.com. “He carries the puck beautifully. He makes good plays. He’s aware of where everybody is on the ice. He plays with a ton of courage. He’s got an excellent shot. He’s just a good, solid, goal-scoring left winger – probably the best we’ve had since Bucyk. And probably in the same level of player as John was.”

That player? No. 63 in your programs.

Given that he was named the Bruins’ 27^th captain earlier this season, and is set for his 1,000th career game on Tuesday night, the importance of Brad Marchand to the Bruins’ success is at the forefront. But rewind his career about 15 years and you might not have believed that the pesky left winger from Nova Scotia would end up as the Black & Gold’s leading man.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say I was surprised for him to get this far,” said Sinden, who as head coach led the Bruins to Stanley Cup title in 1970, before serving the club as general manager from 1972-2000 and also team president from 1988-2006.

“But his progress and his coming out, really, as such a great player was pretty quick. He wasn’t here long before everybody started to notice what kind of a player we had…he’s just a real solid player, really good teammate. He’s a star player, no question.”

The Road to the Top

Marchand – while never lacking confidence – did not, however, view himself in that realm until several years into his career. After being selected by the Bruins in the third round (71^st overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the Halifax native spent three more seasons playing for the Val d’Or Foreurs and Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, before transitioning to Providence, where he spent 2008-09 and a portion of the 2009-10 campaign.

“It’s funny, the more you look back on your career and look at the way it’s played out...when you get drafted, you don’t want to play in the minors, you want to go right to the NHL – and I didn’t for a little while,” said Marchand, who to that point was known as an agitator and a pest first and a sniper with offensive upside second.

“Looking back, that’s probably the best thing that could’ve happened to me is I got to go down there, got that little taste, got that hunger to want to make it.”

The 5-foot-9, 182-pounder got his first taste of the NHL on Oct. 21, 2009, registering an assist on a goal from Michael Ryder against the Nashville Predators, and went on to suit up for only 20 games with Boston that season.

The following year, Marchand began to shift the narrative surrounding his abilities as he broke through for good with a magical rookie campaign that began on the fourth line – as an original member of the “Merlot Line” alongside Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille – and ended with him potting two goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final while playing with Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron.

“When I got up, they didn’t put me in a position that I was in over my head,” said Marchand, who notched 41 points and 21 goals in 2010-11, the latter of which being the fulfillment of an early season guarantee to coach Claude Julien that he’d hit the 20-goal plateau.

“I started on the fourth line and grew from there. They let me get comfortable. After that, it was more when I got up playing with Bergy and got my confidence up, it was more just wanting to play at his level. He [had] very, very high expectations for himself and you kind of get dragged into that when you play with a guy like that.

“We got close off the ice. Learning from him and just my confidence coming up from playing alongside him just allowed me to continue to grow. When you’re part of good teams, everyone has success. I think that’s just how it all played out.”

Marchand followed up his impressive rookie showing with a 28-goal season in 2011-12 and was a critical part of Boston’s run to another Stanley Cup Final in 2013. He then added 20-plus goal seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15, before exploding for 37 goals in 2015-16.

The following fall, however, is where Marchand believes it all really clicked in.

Playing on a line with Bergeron and Sidney Crosby at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Marchand scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the best-of-three format against Team Europe to clinch the gold medal for Team Canada, opening the eyes of the hockey world both to his skill and passion for the game.

“2016 at the World Cup is kind of the time,” Marchand, who had eight points (five goals, three assists) in six games to finish second in tournament scoring to Crosby, said of when he realized he was among the elite players in the NHL.

“I’ve always looked at it that there’s categories of players in this league. You’ve got kind of three tiers – the top-tier guys, all the superstars; then you’ve got the mid-tier guys that are all really good players; and then kind of the bottom tier is the guys that are in and out of the league.

“I always kind of thought of myself as the mid-tier and then once I made that World Cup team and all the superstars were on that team, I realized that I could play at that level, and there really wasn’t anything separating myself form them other than where I put myself mentally.

“Once I started believing that I could be as good as them, then it started to all fall in place.”

Three days before Marchand’s winning goal at the World Cup, he inked an eight-year, $49 million contract extension with the Bruins, solidifying his standing as one of Boston’s core players for the better part of a decade. And from there, the league began to take even more notice.

Marchand was named to the All-Star Game in 2017 and 2018, was a First-Team All-Star in 2016-17 and 2020-21 and a Second-Team All-Star in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In 2016-17, he potted a career-high 39 goals, marking the second of four straight seasons with 34 or more goals. And in 2018-19, a year in which he helped Boston to within one game of another Stanley Cup title, he hit the 100-point plateau for the first time.

He has also finished in the top-11 of the Hart Trophy voting five times since 2016-17, including fifth-place showings in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

“From one year to the next, his growth has always improved,” said Bergeron. “He’s developed into an amazing player, an elite player in this league, one of the best left wingers to play the game. Kudos to his competitiveness but also his work ethic and his drive, really.

“He just wants to be the best and he wants to compete and find ways to win and win any battles that he’s into.”

A Leading Man

Marchand began to take on more of a leadership role, occasionally donning the ‘A’ as alternate captain starting in 2018, before taking on the letter full-time in January 2021 when Bergeron was named captain following the departure of Zdeno Chara.

“It was a big step, wearing the ‘A’ for the first time after having it on and off my jersey,” said Marchand. “It’s a huge, huge accomplishment, a lot of pressure that you wouldn’t think that was there, but you feel it. You almost feel like people are watching you to see how you’re gonna react and how you’re gonna carry yourself. But I think it was a good transition from having it part time to having it full time.

“And then with Bergy being captain, it just felt very comfortable and close with him. It made it an easier transition to have it all the time, I was much more comfortable with my place on the team where the mental headspace was to be a leader. It was all good timing.”

For Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, his first season alongside Marchand in 2022-23 was an education. From afar, Boston’s bench boss did not realize how much Marchand’s competitive nature on the ice translated to the dressing room, the gym, and everywhere else around the team facility.

“What I love is his competitive nature on the ice,” said Montgomery. “When I got here, I didn't realize that that was an everyday occurrence, whether he's in a weight room, or when he speaks – there's emotion to the way he speaks…and also the way he goes about practicing. And in games, he does drag people naturally into the fight.”

That spirit and tenacity, while no doubt leading Marchand – once called the ‘Little Ball of Hate’ by President Barack Obama when the Bruins were honored at the White House for their 2011 Stanley Cup title – into some disciplinary matters in the past, is what the Bruins’ brass believes has allowed the winger to transform into one of the league’s very best offensive forces – and something that so many others can draw from as they try to make their mark at the National Hockey League level.

“It's a tribute to the internal drive that he has. I just don't think he was going to be denied. Everybody aspires to be as good as he's become and not all of us get there. It's unique that he's able to ascend to that level,” said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, who has been part of Boston’s management team since Marchand was drafted in 2006.

“I’ve really seen Brad mature on and off the ice. The drive, the passion he has for the game and this organization. He has worked on his own game, to the Nth degree…because he wanted to be one of the greatest players in the sport…it took a little while to establish himself.

“He started out as a fourth liner wearing a jersey and wore it with pride...he always had these higher aspirations – and every player should. Just get your foot in the door, ingratiate yourself, and be the best player you can be…nobody handed Brad [a job]. He earned it.”

And earning it – while doing so with honor and integrity – has been the Bruins’ way for the better part of a century and has defined what wearing the Spoked-B is all about.

“When I look at Brad, first of all, he respects and honors the tradition of the Spoked-B and all the great leaders that have come from it,” said Montgomery. “Not only does he respect the footprints that they've laid for this organization, but I think he's also going to lay his own footprints, not just follow, because that's the way he's wired. And that's why he's the right choice to be our captain right now.”

He has also learned directly from what he called two of the best leaders that “have ever played our game” in Chara and Bergeron, giving him a brilliant blueprint to work off of.

“I think he’d be the first to tell you it’s a privilege to be named captain and follow the in the footsteps of somebody that he was very close with and learned from,” said Sweeney. “I think he’ll take a lot from these experiences that he's spent with Zdeno and Patrice, and then he’ll be his own person. Brad has his own unique qualities that we all love.”

Bruins president Cam Neely said it will be imperative that Marchand adheres to those qualities as he transitions to his new role as Boston’s captain.

“That was definitely a conversation that we had with Brad when we came to the conclusion that he would be our next captain,” said Neely. “We don't want him to change his game because he's such a great player for us, and his competitiveness makes him a great player. It was a long discussion about him not trying to be anybody that he isn’t, and just control his emotions - as he's done the last year or two – but still be that competitive player.

“And to lean on the leadership group [that remains with Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, and others]. We've had a number of players here that have played with Bergy and some with Zee…if they haven't learned anything from those guys, then shame on them. We’ve got a good leadership group that can help support Brad.”

Learning from the Best

Marchand was not shy in crediting Bergeron for his success and growth – both on and off the ice – as he navigated through transitioning himself from an agitator with a reputation for suspensions and fines to a driver with the resume of an all-time Bruins great.

“I give him all the credit in the world,” Marchand, named to the Bruins' All-Centennial Team in October, said of his longtime linemate, who retired earlier this summer after 19 seasons with the Black & Gold. “I always say that my career would never be what it is if I hadn’t been put with him and I hadn’t played alongside him and learned from him.

“I learned a ton from him off the ice, how he carries himself, how he prepares, how great of a leader he is, how he worked to become a leader. He wasn’t just always naturally like that, he really worked at it and pushed himself and really sacrificed to become what he is.

“There’s days when you’re tired and stuff like that and just want to take it easy and he [was] pushing right through it. It just builds that mentality that every day you need to improve and get better. I think that’s what you learn is that becoming a better version of yourself doesn’t happen in a week or a month or a year, it’s a progression of the work you put in over 3, 4, 5, 10 years and eventually you see it.

“I think that’s what happened and that never would have happened without him and how he dragged me into the way he took care of himself. I owe him everything.”

Sinden believes the duo of Marchand and Bergeron was as good – if not better – than any in Bruins’ lore.

“I think it’s right at the top with a couple of other combos, Neely and [Craig] Janney and a couple of other groups,” said Sinden. “Those two, Bergeron and Marchand, they [had] a feeling for each other that I can sense as I [watched] them play, a great deal of respect for each other. They [knew] each other’s game perfectly, they [killed] penalties together, which tells you just what I said – they [knew] each other’s games perfectly. [They were] so compatible, maybe as compatible as any group we’ve had in any areas of the game, not just offensively.”

More high praise – admiration and acclaim that Marchand never could have expected when his career began.

“It means a lot when you hear comments come from a guy of his stature and the positions he’s been in, the guys he’s seen come through this organization. It does mean a lot. My first reaction is, ‘No, I’m not,’” Marchand, who this season has moved into fifth on the both the Bruins' all-time points list and goals list, said with a smirk.

“You never compare or put yourself in categories with Chief and [Phil] Esposito and Bergy and Zee and all those guys, Bobby and Ray and Cam, the guys that have come through that are true Hall of Famers and true legends of the game and really created the history of this organization.

“Whenever people put you in that category, you don’t really believe it or look at it that way. It’s very humbling. It means a lot to hear that.”

Editor’s note: This feature story was originally issued in the Bruins’ 2022-23 yearbook publication. It was updated upon Marchand’s appointment to the club’s captaincy and again ahead of his 1,000th career game.