
Brad Marchand, right, celebrates with teammates.
No, it’s not Tyler Seguin, the Bruins’ #1 choice (#2 overall) in the 2010 draft. And it’s not Jordan Caron, their #1 choice in 2009 (#25 overall). Nor is it Joe Colborne, #1 in 2008 (#16 overall). Caron and Colborne are playing in Providence with the AHL Bruins, and Seguin is doing fairly well in Boston but not exactly setting the world on fire.
No, the Bruins’ top rookie, a guy who in the past month has played himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation, is none other than Brad Marchand.
Who?
A native of Nova Scotia, Brad Marchand is a 5-foot, 9-inch, 190-pound (10 pounds of which appears to be
nose and eyebrows) ball of fire who was the third pick of the Bruins in the 2006 draft (#71 overall), behind Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic. He played the 2008-09 season in Providence, putting up 18 goals and 41 assists in 79 games, and adding seven goals and eight assists in 16 playoff games. But his biggest claim to fame in the P-Bruins’ final playoff series vs. the Portland Pirates is that he somehow managed to goad a Portland player into coming off the bench and attacking him during a game.
You could say that Brad Marchand made his name as an agitator.
He scored 32 points in 34 games in his second year in Providence and earned himself some time in Boston, but only recorded one assist in 20 games. Determined to make the big club this fall out of training camp, he outperformed veteral Daniel Paille and earned a spot on the fourth line alongside center Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton.
Dubbing themselves the “Merlot Line” after the maroon color of their practice jerseys, the Marchand/Campbell/Thornton combination was the Bruins’ fourth line in name only. They were the go-to guys when coach Claude Julien wanted to get the Bruins rolling with their relentless forchecking and tenacious play. Thornton, who had never scored more than six goals in his NHL career, has seven already this season.
It took Marchand some time to find the net – he finally potted his first NHL goal on Nov. 3, appropriately enough, on a shorthanded breakway, showcasing his PK ability, his shot, and his speed:
But it really wasn’t the job of the Merlot Line to score, rather to agitate the opposition.
And did they ever. Though known as something of a punk in the AHL, Marchand (at the request of Julien) has toned it down a bit in the NHL, though he’s still a threat to draw penalties with his hard-charging style of play, and he doesn’t hesitate to throw a verbal jab when he can or stick up for his teammates, despite his small stature.
But as solid and impressive as he was on the Merlot Line, Marchand really started to take off due to an injury to Milan Lucic in early January, which caused some line shuffling. Paille took Marchand’s spot alongside Campbell and Thornton, and Marchand was moved onto a line with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. And the result was magic.
Since joining the wiley veteran Recchi and Bergeron, one of the most complete players in the NHL, Marchand has scored seven goals and added four assists in 13 games. His plus/minus in those games is +12, and overall he is tied for fourth in the NHL in plus/minus at +21 (with Bergeron, among a few others), tops among rookies. He also leads the NHL in shorthanded goals with four, is sixth in rookie goal-scoring with 13 and second in shooting percentage at 15.5.
He’s come out of nowhere, surprised just about everyone (except maybe himself), and, just as he forced himself into the Boston lineup, he’s forcing himself into the NHL’s collective consciousness. He probably won’t win the Calder Trophy, but he certainly deserves the NHL’s attention.
Photo courtesy of bestlaidplans.org


