Aiden Smith admitted he was initially a bit puzzled when Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand walked through the tunnel after pregame warmups Thursday and grabbed the 12-year-old's phone right from his outstretched hands.
"I see (Taylor) Hall come down, that's pretty cool, and I see Marchand," Aiden told NESN after finishing his Friday at Stoneham Central Middle School. "Marchand comes down, he stops, he goes back. He takes my phone, he says 'Thank you.' And then from the little bit that I can see, I can see him holding the phone to his height, just walking down the tunnel.
"I'm thinking 'Okay, what's he going to do? Am I in trouble? Is he going to do something cool like bring it to the locker room?' I have so many emotions going on in my head," Aiden explained.
Aiden, upon receiving his phone back from Marchand himself, which he thought was awesome in its own right, then jumped over a few rows of seats at TD Garden and shouted to his father, George.
"'Brad just took my phone!,' " Aiden exclaimed.
Aiden had all of the questions that initially swirled in his head quickly answered. Marchand brought Aiden's phone into the tunnel, turned the already-recording video into selfie mode and took part in an unforgettable 15-second cameo.
"I didn't know what he was going to do with it. I didn't know if I got in trouble 'cause you're not supposed to do that, but he just recorded a nice, friendly message," Aiden said.
Aiden watched the video with his father before running to show his mother, Jenn, what just happened.
"Hey what's up? It's BM63, just walking off from warmups," Marchand said in the video, which since has gone viral with more than one million views. "I don't know whose phone this is, but hope you have a lot of fun tonight because I know I'm going to. Anyways, got to go. See ya."
Aiden's jaw, and theirs, nearly hit the floor.
"It was crazy. We couldn't believe it," Aiden said.
Aiden acknowledged how his luck has never been as good as it was Thursday night before Boston's overtime win against the Washington Capitals, but it's not the first time he's reaped the benefits of that special spot above the tunnel either.
"He hangs out there every time we go," Aiden's mother, Jenn, said. "It's kind of his thing. This one really paid off."
Earlier this season, Aiden received a warmup stick from Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark. He's also received a 'Star of the Game' stick from Bruins winger Taylor Hall, who, at least entering Thursday, was his favorite player representing the Black and Gold. Marchand's moment may have swayed things a bit, though.
And Aiden, as any modern-day seventh grader would be, is equally thrilled to see the video of Marchand going viral, picked up by news outlets like NESN, ESPN's SportsCenter account, the NHL and many more. The video eclipsed one million views Friday afternoon and Aiden has a handful of interviews on the docket with Boston-area outlets.
To no surprise, it made Aiden the talk of the school after waking up to dozens of text messages from classmates. Admittedly, waking up is a bit of a rough description seeing as though he only slept two hours in the first place, according to Jenn.
"Everyone was in shock," Aiden said of his classmates. "My teachers, everyone saw it. Everyone saw it on the news."
Aiden, who said Marchand was the first Boston jersey he owned, is thrilled with the Taylor Hall camo sweater he got from the Bruins Pro Shop on Thursday. But it's safe to say Marchand's gesture will be the keepsake Aiden remembers forever.
"It's been insane," Aiden said. "And for the next week, or month or however long, it will always been insane."
