Boston Bruins: Brad Marchand Ready For New Challenges
The last thing Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand wants is to miss the playoffs for three straight years.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is coming into his eighth season in the NHL. In that time, the 28-year old Nova Scotia native has already experienced winning the Stanley Cup. He’s also trying to work through one of the uglier slumps in recent memory for the Bruins. The B’s have missed the playoffs for the last two years, and Boston’s ‘Little Ball of Hate’ wants that streak to end this year.
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“Each year, you’re missing the playoffs by a point or two. Last year, we were tied and we still didn’t get in,” said Marchand. about the Bruins last two years. “You need to feel that hunger and desire, and the desperation from the first day of the season…even going 0-3 last year to start off.
“We’ve got to be more consistent. We know that. It’s a learning game. But that’s where that adversity comes in and guys have to be willing to battle through it and do what they have to do to get out of that hole.”
Brad Marchand participated in his first captain’s practice yesterday, along with fellow linemate and Team Canada teammate Patrice Bergeron. (Claude Julien will also represent Team Canada as an assistant coach.) Team Canada’s training camp begins next week, and Marchand wanted to get in a few practices with his fellow Bruins before heading back to Canada.
Team Canada is the odds-on favorite to win the World Cup. Marchand’s sixty-point season was a big reason he made the team, and he looks forward to taking on some of the best hockey players in the world this month.
“I’m extremely excited,” said Marchand. “It’s one of the biggest stages you can play on. It’s going to be a very fun tournament, very competitive. I’m really looking forward to playing.”
“I wanted to come in and try to get situated before I left,” said Marchand. “I was down here for a couple weeks and then I went back home for a camp. But I wanted to come down and get set up, get my car down here and all my stuff I took home for summer, see the guys, and skate here before I left.”
Marchand is in line for a serious pay-day at the end of the season. He’s at the end of his current contract, and the B’s top-winger has proven he’s earned a bump in pay. He’s had three fifty-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins, and his 37 goal performance last year showed he can be an elite scorer in the NHL.
Marchand had certainly grown up these last few years. He’s elevated his game and has evolved from a pest to a true threat on the ice. He’s likely to earn himself an ‘A’ on his jersey this season as he’s become more of a leader in the locker room.
While discussions on his new contract have already begun, Marchand is staying above the distractions and is just focusing on his game.
“This is an incredible organization and I think one that we’re all very fortunate to be part of,” said Marchand. “It would be great to be able to be here my whole career. But a lot of things have to line up for that happen, not only now but also down the road. So we’ll play it year-by-year.
“I’m really excited about the upcoming season and what’s ahead. We have a few new additions that are really going to help our team…I think first and foremost, this season is on my mind and we’ll deal with years after that down the road.”