Ever since longtime Bruins center and captain Patrice Bergeron officially retired earlier this summer, the obvious question for the team was who would be the next captain of the B's? Fittingly, as training camp opened for Boston this morning at the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston, they unveiled their new captain on social media: left wing Brad Marchand aka Bergy's best friend. Looking back, there really should not have been that much debate on this subject since Brad is the right choice for a number of reasons. Additionally, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and right wing David Pastrnak were named alternate captains for the Bruins ahead of their new era in the 2023-24 season.
Most team sports choose captains but I will always subscribe to hockey being the one where it is a more important distinction than any other (with football being second but slightly deluded since teams have a bunch of captains instead of a singular one based on the huge team size). There is a certain honor and prestige about being named the captain of an NHL club that is different from any other. This is not simply about being the best player (cough cough high school) or the oldest/longest tenured (although Marchy does check both of those boxes too), rather it is a combination of leadership, playing ability, a go-to voice for the media (local and national) and overall professionalism in the community. As you would expect for an Original Six team, Boston has been blessed with so many excellent captains over the years with defenseman Zdeno Chara (2006-20) and Bergeron (2021-23) being the recent exemplary guys to fill that lofty position.
Marchand's growth as a player and a human being has been something to behold. At the age of 35, it is amazing how far he has come in all ways since being drafted by the Bruins in 2006 (3rd Round, 71st overall). It is hard to believe the same maniac that used to lick opponents, who loved nothing more than a good slew foot or cheap shot and always got fined or suspended a few times per season is now this refined person. Everyone grows up at some point (at least you hope so) and just imagine that you had to do so in the public eye. While I am not sure exactly how the Bruins determined the captaincy-I bet it was due to coach and player input-this was a no-brainer.
Brad has always been hilarious (like stand-up comic level quality) and he does not shy away from talking after a tough loss but this shows how he has come full circle. He is no longer the scrappy underdog that was happy to play in whatever role as he made an unexpected impact on the 2011 Stanley Cup champions. He is a world class player and this shows how his teammates, coaching staff and front office-the most important people that you work with as a professional athlete-truly think of him. Likewise, being an alternate captain does not carry nearly the same cache as being the captain in hockey but for younger players like McAvoy and Pastrnak, this is a good sign that they are doing the right things behind the scenes coupled with their high level performances on the ice that we can all see for ourselves. Lastly, the lack of racial diversity in the NHL is horrible but at least these three guys are from different countries: Canada (Marchand), United States (McAvoy) & Czech Republic (Pastrnak).
No comments:
Post a Comment