Brad Marchand, More Than A Pest

In the game of hockey, what’s worse than somebody who goes out each and every shift in order to throw the opposing teams superstar off their game that night? Watching that same player make plays and put up points all in the same night. From his NHL debut to now, Brad Marchand has proven to be more than a pest.

Being only listed at 5’9”, 181lbs and being evidently not the most skillful player coming into the league, the Canadian out of Halifax, Nova Scotia had to find another way of getting recognized and making an impact for his team on the ice, and that was becoming the team’s pest.

Since joining the Boston Bruins in the 2009-10 season, the Bruins star has put a label on himself as being a player who plays on the edge, in the grey area or some would call “dirty”. It’s hard to dispute any of those allegations, considering Marchands discipline record in the league.

The “nose face killa” has been suspended six times, accumulating to a total of 19 games in his career thus far. He has seen suspensions coming from a few elbowing situations, slew footing, clipping/low-bridging and a spearing incident. No. 63 has also had to pay close to $25,000 in fines since being in the league.

Despite his history with the league, Marchand has emerged as one of the most impactful players for his team over the years.

In the 2010-2011 campaign, Brad was able to put up 41 points in 77 games (21 goals, 21 assists) respectable numbers as a sophomore in the NHL. But it wasn’t Marchands play in the regular season that got him noticed throughout the league. Brad Marchand put up 19 points (11 goals and 8 assists) during the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Boston Bruins secure their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

More notably, the Bruins left-winger was able to infuriate the Canucks players during the long seven game series with his play, all while leading all players in that series in points with 7.

Other remarkable awards Marchand has won over the years has included: The Boston Bruins NESN Seventh Player Award (2010-11), The Boston Bruins Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy for outstanding performances during home games (2011-12), The John P. Bucyk Award an award chosen by Bruins Legend Johnny Bucyk- for the greatest off-ice charitable contributions (2011-12) and lead Canada to a gold medal at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, Ontario (2016).

In recent years, Brad Marchand has been playing the best hockey of his life, putting up back-to-back 85-point seasons dating from the 2016-2017 season and the 2017-2018 season. He is on pace to surpass those seasons point totals by a significant amount this year.

Brad Marchand has proven that he is not only good at getting under your skin, but he has certainly shown that he can play hockey as well.

His play and leadership on the ice as well as inside of the locker room has been a key part of the Bruins success this year. Marchand has noticeably slowed down with his usual on-ice antics. The Bruins cannot afford to lose no.63 for significant amount of time due to suspension or time in the penalty box.

You can call him a pest, a rat, an instigator or whatever you want. Love him or hate him, Brad Marchand has certainly proved to the entire league that he is much more than just a pest; he his one of todays most elite wingers in the league that a lot of people would love to have on their team, despite the amount of hate they have towards him while playing against him.