Marchand practices for the first time since offseason surgeries, and tells prospects to take advantage of every opportunity.
Nobody delivers a reality check like the Bruins captain.
There were some genuinely positive vibes coming out of the Bruins’ 4-2 preseason win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, not just because they won the meaningless game, but because some of their young players – namely Fabian Lysell, Gerogii Merkulov and Matt Poitras – contributed heavily to the win. Lysell scored a goal and drew two penalties, Merkulov drew a penalty and had a pretty assist on Justin Brazeau’s goal and Poitras’ play was similar to how he was in his best games last year, controlling the puck along the boards and making his nifty spin moves to lose checkers.
But asked if it was encouraging that those young players played pretty well, Brad Marchand – a full participant in practice on Wednesday for the first time after three offseason surgeries – didn’t pump the brakes as much as he slammed down on the pedal with both feet.
“It’s encouraging, but ‘pretty well’ needs to be better,” said the ever-frank Marchand. “For those guys to make the team, you’ve got to look at it and push guys out that are on term and big deals and stuff like that. Pretty good is not going to cut it. If you’re happy with that, then you’ve got a long ways to go.
“Yeah, they’re showing well. They’re skilled players. But there’s a lot more to it than just making a couple of plays. To make it at this level consistently, you’ve got to steal somebody’s job. That’s the biggest thing. How can you raise the bar to take a job and push somebody out? That’s what they’ve got to get to. … We need young guys to push and continue to push the pace and allow guys to not get comfortable on this team. We need the young bodies to come in and help the team. And that’s what great systems do, to continually build internally. Hopefully those guys can continue to push and be better. But again, you can’t be happy with one game or a couple of plays. You’ve got to do it not just through camp but through the entire season. So they’ve got a long way to go.”
Marchand, of course, was in their shoes once upon a time. It didn’t matter that he was better than a point-per-game player in junior hockey or that he produced at the AHL level as well. He needed to find a way into the NHL, which is not always a given for a 5-foot-9 player, no matter how gifted he is offensively.
So Marchand figured penalty-killing could be one way to get noticed and, teamed with Patrice Bergeron, he became very, very good at it, to the point that he’s now the franchise leader in short-handed goals.
After Tuesday’s game, Coach Jim Montgomery said he’s looking for penalty-killers. He gave Poitras and Justin Brazeau a shot at it and they did reasonably well. How well a young player does in a role like that, no matter how glamorous it may or may not be – could be the difference between a player making the team or not.
That’s the way Marchand looked at it some 14 years ago.
“I did, but it was not something that I got right away. I had to earn it in practice. Originally, they wanted me to be a fourth-line energy guy and then what you learn is you’re given opportunities in practice. You’re not just out there to take reps. You’re out there to take a spot and grow your ice time,” said Marchand.
“I was put on the PK because I had a couple of good practices on it and they tried me and I ended up staying. That’s what you need to understand. Just because you’re not getting the role that you want or the ice time, it doesn’t mean you can’t get there. You just have to find a way to earn it. Depending on the organization, it comes a lot easier. When you’re part of really good teams, it’s a lot harder because the team is established and it’s a lot older and we’re deep. … There’s a lot of rebuilding teams in the league where you see a lot of young guys come in and play 20 minutes a night and power play and penalty kill. We’re not built like that. If you guys want to come in and play, well, you’ve got to earn it. That usually starts in practice.”
NOTES: Brazeau did not skate on Wednesday but Montgomery said it was just maintenance. … Montgomery said that he’ll have more veterans in the lineup for Thursday’s preseason game in New York, including David Pastrnak as well as the new pairing of Nikita Zadorov and Charlie McAvoy. … Jackson Edward, who got banged up in the Prospects Challenge, took the ice for the first time in training camp, albeit in a red non-contact jersey.
