Brad Marchand
If I played the game any other way, you wouldn't know my name. You wouldn't care enough to hate me because I wouldn't be in the NHL.
I had to play a certain way to get in the league. That's kind of where I came from. I wouldn't change a thing going back, I wouldn't change anything that happened.
There are a lot of things people want to look at, pick apart my game, but if you could put any of them in my position, to do anything to make their dream come true... I'm pretty damn sure they'd do it, too.
There's so much to benefit from being able to control your mind in certain situations and it just keeps you even-keel all the time when things are going well and when they're not. That's one thing that I've always had a bit of a tough time doing. When I get up, I get excited. When I'm down, I get pretty frustrated.
I've always been a guy that worked hard.
The leadership group I had to follow is very easy to walk in their footsteps and try to be like them. You try and set that same example for the guys coming up.
There's always room for every player to improve.
In playoffs, it's so emotional and the tension's really high and guys are laying everything on the line. And when you do that, things get chippy and guys are playing aggressively, and I think it just comes out in the playoffs a little more. When you know what's on the line and what you're expected to do, it just comes out.
I play low to the ice and that's a way I've protected myself in the past - I just felt that it was better to be safe than sorry.
Well, I'm a small guy.
I have to play hard and at the end of the day I still have to strive to protect myself and so does everybody in the league.
I'm not great at trying new things.
I remember being 20 years old and I'm living by myself for the first time with my buddies and what you're worried about day to day is what am I going to eat for dinner? I don't know how to cook, so I've got to get canned food. Those are the only worries you have in the world.
We rush through this career and it ends abruptly for the most part.
You can't plan your future.
I have a huge interest in ancient Egyptian times and the mummies and the kings and all that.
I'd rather take 30 points and win a Cup than I would 100 points and not win.
It's tough to lose, but it's a lot tougher to lose knowing how good it is to win, how good it feels to win.
At the end of the day, we all play for one reason and that's to win.
I think the biggest thing in my game is my confidence.
I play with good players. So it makes it a lot easier when you're playing with the guys I'm able to play with.
There's a difference between having an edge and being stupid.
A lot of things can happen in a year's time.
I've always been the kind of guy to take it day by day with not a whole lot of worries.
When you're a young kid and you come into the NHL, you're given money and fame, to an extent, especially in Boston.
Winning the Cup at a young age is a whole other level.
Every guy that I've talked to would love to have that opportunity to go, and I don't think there's one guy who's ever said that they don't want to go to the Olympics. That's a dream and something that very few people get to realize.
I've always been a pretty easy going guy.
There's not a whole lot that fazes me at all.
That's what you need to win a Cup and go far in the playoffs, you need every guy to be accountable in all areas of the ice.
Especially young guys, it's always fun to see young guys come in and have that same enthusiasm about playing a certain way and fitting into a certain role and going after guys, trying to get them off their game.
When you react to things, that's when you get into trouble and it's tough to completely control a split-second reaction.
I think playing with great players and great teams, I've been given opportunities to succeed.
I feel very fortunate.
I mean, that's playoff hockey. You're not going to dominate every game, you're not going to score every goal.
I've always enjoyed the emotion of being out there in the last minute of a game or the last couple minutes down by a goal. I think a lot of guys tend to thrive in that situation and I prefer to be out there.
When you're able to rely on four lines and every D and both goalies, it's big.
You have to be able to win on the road if you want to win in the playoffs.
Obviously a little easier playing at home.
We want to be better players than we do a pest, but you have to find something to do coming into the League.
I'm in the NHL and I'll take whatever reputation I can to get here and to stay here.
For me, when I came in, I was always worried about making the other guys happy and giving them the puck and almost giving them a little too much respect. It can take away from your game a little bit.
There's very few guys that play for one team their whole careers, nowadays, especially in the cap era it's a lot tougher.
I think when I was younger, I knew I was either going to get a penalty or score a goal. It was a gamble. But it benefited me.
I had to play a certain style to get in the league, but now I want to be a player that stays in the league a long time, and you have to change your game and adapt.
I guess if the president of the United States gives you a nickname, you have to stick with it.
Those split-second decisions that you can't take back, that's what I need to continue to improve.
Everyone's going to have an opinion on the way I play the game, or things I've done.
Sometimes, you go down to Florida and Tampa and you get a couple days off, you can get complacent.