Zdeno Chara’s Instagram Tribute To All-Star Brad Marchand Is Delightful

Brad Marchand didn’t have many supporters in Tampa during NHL All-Star Weekend. But he has one (very large) booster in teammate Zdeno Chara.

The Boston Bruins captain and veteran defenseman took to Instagram on Monday to show some serious love for Marchand — the team’s lone representative at the All-Star festivities — with a touching post.

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I remember the day like it was yesterday when I was in the gym in 2008 getting ready for a game and watching world juniors on TV when Team Canada scored and this kid was jumping on the glass and threw his stick in the crowd. I was like “Who the f*** is this kid”?? Our coach back then J. Whitesides was watching it with me, turned to me and said “He is ours“. Quick fast forward and Brad had a big impact on our 2011 Championship or 2016 Worlds and 2016 World Cup. When Brad started playing in the @nhl what I liked about him was his willingness to learn. Something so vital for anybody in any field, or simply in real life. I am very happy for him, that his hard work is paying off. Congratulations Marshy and Thank you for representing us @nhlbruins at the All Star game in Tampa. Your captain #NHLAllStar ? #bostonbruins #bradmarchand #nhl #icehockey ——————————————————————— Pamätam si ako keby to bolo vcera ked som bol v 2008 v posilovni a pripravoval sa na zapas. V TV vysielali majstrovstva juniorky a tento mlady chalan dal za Kanadu gol, vrhol sa na plexisklo a hodil hokejku do publika. Hovorim si “kto je k**** tento chalan?” Nas vtedajsi trener J. Whitesides pozeral spolu so mnou, pozrel sa na mna a hovori: “Ten je nas”. Ked sa presunieme v case o par rokov dopredu, Brad mal velky vplyv na zisk Stanley Cupu 2011 a na Majstrovstvach Sveta a Svetovom Pohari 2016. Ked zacal hrat v @nhl pacil sa mi jeho zaujem a otvorenost ucit sa. Nieco tak dolezite pre kohokolvek v akomkolvek obore, alebo jednoducho v realnom zivote. Som pre nho velmi stastny, ze sa mu tvrda praca a snaha vracaju. Gratulujem Marshy a dakujem za to, ako si nas @nhlbruins reprezentoval na All Star v Tampe. Tvoj kapitan

A post shared by Zdeno Chara (@zeechara33) on Jan 29, 2018 at 9:07am PST

Chara recalled the moment he first saw Marchand: At the 2008 World Junior Championships, when the young winger was lighting up the competition to help lift Team Canada to a gold medal. Chara also revealed his hilarious exchange with John Whitesides, the Bruins’ strength and conditioning coach at the time, who confirmed that, yes, Marchand was under contract with Boston.

The rest, of course, is history: Chara and Marchand have been teammates for eight-plus seasons, bringing a Stanley Cup title to Boston during Marchand’s first full NHL campaign in 2010-11. And it’s clear the big Slovakian still appreciates that fiesty Canadian forward he saw on TV a decade ago.