How a chat with Ray Bourque inspired a memorable interaction between Brad Marchand and a young fan

To his fellow competitors on the ice, Brad Marchand’s reputation as that of a pugnacious, chippy forward that’s gleefully willing to toe the line between pest and full-blown antagonist is about as synonymous with his game as his cheat-code talent with the puck on his stick.

For Marchand, that in-game repute has often served as a double-edged sword — a mindset that allowed him to rise through the ranks from fourth-line grinder to top-line star, but has also hampered his standing in other league circles, despite his extensive on-ice accomplishments.

And while the 33-year-old winger has tried to separate himself from the red marked in his ledger during his earlier playing days, one thing that hasn’t changed with Marchand over the years is his engagement away from the ice.  

For all of the venom routinely tossed his way from opposing crowds or players, Marchand hasn’t let that hinder his willingness to interact with fans, especially those in black-and-gold sweaters. 

(Unless you try to drag him on Twitter, of course.)

Near the end of most warmups, Marchand usually patrols the glass like a hurried candidate seeking some last-minute votes — scanning the crowd and often sending a volley of pucks towards the masses.

But on Thursday, the B’s star left quite the unique souvenir for one Bruins fan hanging above the team’s tunnel — snagging his phone and recording an impromptu video shoutout as a keepsake. 

“It kinda happened — I was coming off the ice and we always give fist bumps to the kids coming off and at times, stop and sign some stuff and a kid had a phone hanging over the glass,” Marchand said Tuesday of his improvised Cameo. “So I kind of took it, just joking around and pretended I was taking it. And then I saw that it was recording a video, so I figured I'd just leave them a little message.

“Thought it'd be pretty cool when he'd get the phone back and look back at it to have it as a keepsake from the game. Obviously when you're at the game, you're getting prepared to do the job and everything. But I remember being a kid. The Bruins, and I think it was Tampa, played in Halifax when I was growing up and I remember hanging over the walkway, and how amazing it was to see the players and have them interact. So it's always good to do. The kids remember that and enjoy it. So I thought that'd be a pretty cool keepsake.”

For Marchand, putting himself in the shoes of those fans has certainly helped carve out his off-ice persona and his willingness to set aside time for a photo or an autograph. But it also harkens back to a piece of advice that a then 19-year-old Marchand received from Ray Bourque, one that Marchand still follows 14 years later.

“I'll never forget what he said to me and I've come back to it a lot,” Marchand said of his dinner with Bourque. “It's very easy when you have a longer career — you get comfortable in the league or comfortable in the organization and kind of forget where you're at and forget how fortunate we are, how lucky we are to be in the position we're in, to be living our dreams and living other people's dreams. And you kind of take it for granted at times. So there's been numerous amount of times where I've come back to this. 

"But he just told me. 'Every kid that wants an autograph, every kid that approaches you or wants to talk to you, just remember — enjoy it, don't take it for granted. Enjoy those moments, because when you retire, nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares about what you've done or who you are.' It's always the new players that are in the league, the superstars that are in the league at that point that they care about. People forget pretty quickly.

“So it's something that I've come back to a lot. And I think it just keeps you grounded, keeps you humble, and makes you understand how fortunate, again, that we are. And that's coming from one of the best players ever to play the game. When he's talking like that, it hits home. So I thought that was good advice to learn at a young age.” 

Clearly, Marchand has taken Bourque’s comments to heart, making plenty of memories for countless young B’s fans over the years, be it a puck, a simple fist bump — or for one lucky fan, a timeless video shoutout.