To be an NHL captain is an honor that few players get to experience and none take for granted. Wearing the C for an original six team, however, is a special honor that is unrivaled by almost anything short of hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The Boston Bruins are a storied franchise with a long history of great NHL captains - from Lionel Hitchman (the first athlete in the history of North American sports to have his number retired by the organization he played for), to famed player-coach, Dit Clapper, to some of the more modern captains such as Raymond Bourque and the recently departed Zdeno Chara.
With such a rich history, complete with 19 deserving captains, it was important to the organization to make naming the 20th captain in franchise history an even more memorable moment for both the team and the individual. On Thursday, that's exactly what Bruins GM Don Sweeney was able to accomplish with a very humorous captaincy reveal.
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As most had speculated, Patrice Bergeron became the 20th captain in Boston Bruins franchise history, but the original announcement from Sweeney, as he handed Brad Marchand a #63 sweater with the C stitched onto it was priceless. Though the locker room began to cheer, with some audible laughter, it was clear in the video that many players did not know how to react to the news - including Bergeron himself.
In the end, it was, of course, revealed that Marchand was in on the whole thing and announced Bergeron as the team's captain, much to the approval and delight of everyone in the locker room. Definitely a memorable captaincy announcement, and in the end, the organization selected the right - and only - man for the job in Boston.
Bergeron, a veteran of 1089 NHL games and a two-time NHL All-Star, has won four Frank J. Selke Trophy's as the best defensive forward in the NHL, a IIHF World Championship gold medal (2004), a World Junior gold medal (2005), Spengler Cup gold medal (2012), two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014), World Cup of Hockey gold medal (2016) and a Stanley Cup (2011).
To say that he is decorated is quite the understatement. I think the Bruins are in good hands going forward.
