Brad Marchand
Updated: Wikipedia source
Brad Marchand ( mar-SHAND; born May 11, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins selected Marchand in the third round, 71st overall, of the 2006 NHL entry draft. Marchand was raised in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, the oldest of four children born to two local hockey coaches. Between 2004 and 2008, Marchand played for three junior ice hockey teams – he was drafted by the Moncton Wildcats, was traded to the Val-d'Or Foreurs in 2006, and was traded again to the Halifax Mooseheads in 2007. At the same time, the Bruins were scouting Marchand, and made a trade with the New York Islanders to ensure that he was drafted by Boston in 2006. After Halifax fell to the Gatineau Olympiques in the 2009 QMJHL championships, with Marchand a healthy scratch for their elimination game, the Bruins told Marchand to stay home and report that fall for training camp. He spent the 2008–09 season with the Providence Bruins before making his NHL debut in October 2009. Marchand was a member of the Bruins' starting roster in 2010, playing on the fourth line but moving up to the first line once the playoffs began, helping the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011. Marchand also helped the Bruins clinch appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019. During his tenure with the Bruins, Marchand increased both his number of goals per season and his reputation as a pest, receiving numerous fines and suspensions, and being named to four NHL All-Star Teams. Between 2018 and 2021, Marchand was one of the top-scoring left wings in the NHL, with his 163 assists and 256 points the most of any skater in the position during the 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons combined. In 2021–22 season, he was suspended a total of nine games in that season alone, and became the most suspended player in NHL history, in terms of individual suspensions. After a trade to the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, in March 2025, Marchand would play a key role in the Panthers' postseason run and won his second Stanley Cup in 2025. Marchand has represented Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the Four Nations Face-Off in 2025, winning both.