Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand reimagined his legacy in his 14-year NHL career.
In the beginning, he was the main pest of hockey, earning the nickname “Little Ball of Hate” for offensive games and chatter that was just as dangerous to opponents.
He’s still an elite agitator – no one in the NHL can make headlines with a pre-game comment or after-hours tweet the way Marchand can. But after 928 games, 370 goals and a string of team accomplishments for the Bruins, Marchand has cemented his place among the top wingers of his generation both offensively and defensively. As Boston breaks records for most NHL regular season wins, it hopes to add a second Stanley Cup ring to its collection.
Sportzshala had an extensive conversation with Marchand, 34, recently during a Bruins tour, when he promoted a partnership with Twisted Tea Frozen Cherry, which features limited-edition black and gold jersey cans with the NHL logo.
“I was actually introduced to it back in 2012 or 2013 at the end of the season,” he said. “[Milan] Lucic had it in his apartment after the season and he was an instant favorite. It was not in the mini fridge. It was in a big refrigerator. Large man; big refrigerator. I destroyed a couple of cases that day.”
We learned a lot about him on and off the ice. Enjoy!
Note: The interview has been slightly edited for clarity.
Sportzshala: There have been rumors recently that the 2025 NHL All-Star Game will take place in Seattle, Edmonton, or Detroit. In social networks, you wondered how many players can boycott those cities.
i mean it’s true https://t.co/G2HzORnv4r
— Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) February 21, 2023
The last two All-Star games were held in Las Vegas and South Florida, and there were a lot of players. Should the NHL just hold this event at places where players want to take breaks?
Marchand: Look, I just played a little. Everyone gets a little sensitive on social media. This is a huge problem in society, but we will not go into it. Seattle has really beautiful views. Hunting is phenomenal in Edmonton, which is why I love Edmonton. And then Detroit… you know, suspicious.
The All-Star Game is heading in the wrong direction. Guys want to be in places where it’s nice to be. They want to be in beautiful or warm cities. It’s a long season. The game itself is a small part of that weekend. You want to be able to enjoy it a little. When everyone else is traveling and having fun during their break, you don’t want to be stuck in minus 30 Edmonton or Detroit. You want to be able to enjoy it.
It was a little joke, but it’s true. If you want big superstars to leave every year and want to be a part of it, then you should post places where they really want to be and love it. But that’s not for me to decide. By then I’ll probably be out of the league. So I don’t worry too much about it.
Sportzshala: Your comments on the All-Star Game were made on social media. I’ve always been curious about how you use. Are you planning a game when you drop a Twitter bomb? Or is it just like you’re on a plane and the phone is nearby, so why not?
Marchand: No, it’s more like you get bored at some point and it pops up. In fact, I try not to be on social media too much. I just think it’s funny how people get in there and start to leave, but then when you shoot back, they just lose their minds. They’re just not used to it.
I also think it’s fun because, you know, professional athletes don’t get involved in those situations. I think it’s good for the game. I think people love it and it’s funny. It’s a different way to interact with fans. I just get a lot of comic relief from it because people just walk away when you talk about it. It’s fun to watch the chaos unfold.
Sportzshala: You have a talent for this. If you’re good at it, go ahead and do it, right?
Marchand: I think it’s nice. You must have thick skin to go there. But it’s a good way to kill 5-10 minutes when you’re on a plane or having a long day in a hotel room or whatever. It’s not something that is taken too seriously, or it’s more just for a good laugh from time to time.
Sportzshala: The Bruins have had an incredible run this season, breaking regular season records. What is it about this team that clicked so well?
Marchand: The most important thing for us is that we have a ton of deep guys who really buy into roles. For us, I think it always started off the ice. Our leadership and organization has put in a lot of effort and put a lot of effort into attracting guys who want to be part of a winning culture. Who want to compete, who want to work and want to get better, and these are just good people. I think it starts there.
WITH [coach Jim] Montgomery comes in and gives the band a new, refreshing look, I think some of the young guys are a bit relaxed and feeling good. Having a strong team that can work well is always a must: young guys who can succeed and succeed. We’ve got the same thing this year, with guys who really came out of their shells. [Trent] Frederic is having a really good year and [Connor] Clifton came to his senses. So the depth we have has really pushed us to win a lot of games.
Then you have [Linus] Ulmark and [David] Pastrnak has the same years as them. Then you have a guy like [David] Krejci is back and filling in the holes we had. [GM Don] Sweeney got an absolutely incredible deal for [Hampus] Lindholm last season. Absolutely stole him from Anaheim and he turned out to be an absolute stud.
We just have this belief. We have guys who want to win and a lot of older guys on the team who want to have a good time. Everyone is just excited.
Sportzshala: One of the things I heard from you guys when I covered you this season is that Montgomery brought a certain level of responsibility to the team, but also brought back a sense of joy to the Bruins.
Marchand: I mean, it’s also easy when you win as much as we do. It’s always nice to know that in every game you have a good opportunity. But it didn’t start like that. We came to the camp and did not know how everything would turn out and what kind of team we were going to become. But as soon as we started to win, you turn on.
Confidence in this game is such a dangerous thing. This can be very harmful if you don’t have confidence, and if you do, it can only push you. We got it early and it bled through the team.
You mentioned responsibility. It started very early. Jim makes the guys responsible every day. And it’s all. A lot of trainers will pick on the guys in the third, fourth line, but he’s all over the place to take care of their details. That’s good, because when you make the playoffs, those are the things that matter and can win or lose the game.
Sportzshala: Let’s talk about self-confidence for a second. The last time we saw the team do what the Bruins did in the regular season was the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 and they lost to Columbus in the first round. One of the reasons they gave was that they hadn’t played any meaningful games in a long time, but [meaningful games] about a month to enter. How to avoid something like this?
Marchand: We know about it, obviously. [Nick] Foligno was part of that series and we actually saw it happen when it happened. It was brought up. We do not spend much time and effort on this conversation. We just want to try to focus on every day. We don’t really look at the standings.
People have been talking a lot about some of these records that we could potentially beat or have already beaten. Nobody cares about who’s in this room. We don’t care about any of those regular season records. Because they don’t really mean anything.
Before we got through this season, if you asked any of the guys on this team who held any of these records, no one would know because no one cares. Because it’s not about the regular season. If you win the President’s Trophy but don’t win the Cup, no one cares. This is what we know about this team. As soon as someone picks it up, it flies in one ear and flies out the other. We’re just totally focused on getting better.
We want to win every game. Being ready for this will make us ready for the playoffs. But it’s also the time of year when teams race for the playoffs and places in the standings. Every game is valuable to them. This will push us into some very tight playoff games and we’re looking forward to that test.
Sportzshala: Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Ryan O’Reilly because they think he knows how to beat the Bruins?
Marchand: I think it was a good pickup for them. He is a good player in everything. Really good in tight spaces. Good in penalties, good in draws. I think he’s just another way to get free [Auston] Matthews is against certain matches and such.
Let’s see how it plays out. Obviously you can’t predict the future and that’s the situation everyone is in right now. There are a lot of really good competing teams out there. Trying to pick the guys out of the hat who are going to push your team to the limit is tough. I would never want to be a grandmaster. This is very hard work. But it was a good move for them.
Sportzshala: As a reporter, I would really like you to be a grandmaster. You would be like Brian Burke 20 times with candor.
Marchand: [Laughs] I mean it would be fun. But it will be stressful.
Sportzshala: Let’s talk about something less stressful. I was interested to find out about this together with you: do you have the most reviewed film?
Marchand: I probably have two. I’m still a big kid at heart. So from time to time I quit [“Teenage Mutant] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Mostly in the background. Movies one and two. I don’t watch a lot of movies. I love them. But if I’m going to sit down, if I really want to watch a movie, I’ll watch The Patriot. It’s probably my favorite movie of all time i can watch it any time so i will put it in every time and…
Source: www.espn.com
