Claude Julien ‘Not Surprised’ Brad Marchand Named Bruins Captain

Former Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien coached Brad Marchand for the first 10 years of his career. When Marchand was named the 27th captain in franchise history, Julien saw it as a fitting choice.

“To be honest, I wasn’t surprised,” Julien told reporters after the Bruins morning skate at TD Garden. “When (Patrice Bergeron) retired and his name came up, I thought he was going to be the candidate because what most people didn’t see from Brad from year one when it came to game time, he would show up at the rink, he was always professional and was serious about his preparation for games. He was a real pro.”

Julien explained how Marchand learned from the great leadership of Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Mark Recchi and Bergeron.

“I think he’s a great example for the team now to see what it’s going to take,” Julien said. “He has the chance to carry that now to this group and hopefully build some players like the players before built him.

“Short answer, not surprised and I think deserving.”

Julien is the winningest coach in franchise history with 419 wins. He said he was thrilled to have the opportunity to come back to Boston for the final “Era Night” when the Bruins hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on Thursday.

“It’s been awesome, honestly,” Julien said. “There’s so much I could talk about coming back here to an organization where I spent 10 years. Not only as a coach, but as a family. … Seeing your players that you had an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup with, seeing the transition that we’re all making in life. It’s just great to catch up. As they say, when you win together, you’re together for life.”

Julien added 57 playoff wins while he was in Boston from 2007 to 2017.