Brad Marchand Loves Having This ‘Absolute Animal’ As Bruins Teammate

BOSTON -- When former foes become teammates, sometimes there can some leftover emotions from previous on-ice battles. Bruins captain Brad Marchand joked that was the case when asked about his first impressions of Nikita Zadorov sporting the Spoked-B.

"Hate him," Marchand teased. "No. He's amazing. He's an absolute animal. He can do it all. He has offensive abilities. He's big. He's mean, he doesn't care. He's a predator out there, and I absolutely love it."

Marchand added: "I played against him and I hated it. Love having him on our group. He's great off the ice, on the bench, in the room. He's always yapping, keeps things light. Keeping guys on their toes. Incredible addition to the group. I think he's fitting in great. Really happy to have him here."

Marchand participated in Bruins training camp without wearing a non-contact jersey for the first time Wednesday, marking a significant step in his recovery from multiple offseason surgeries. He had the opportunity to play both with and against Zadorov during two-on-two drills. The latter definitely allowed Marchand to show his lighter side in battle.

"That's because we were dominating," Marchand said. "Well, I wasn't, he was. It was a one-man show out there. That's part of it. We compete hard in practice, but we have fun too.

"When you're competing, there's a lot of pride, and when you're winning you got to enjoy it. He was making it look real easy out there today, so I was riding his coattails. So, I got to give him props when it's due."

Standing 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds, Zadorov no doubt is an imposing body on the blue line, but the Moscow native can be an offensive threat as well.

"I think he really grew into his own the last couple of years," Marchand said. "You watch the way he played in the playoffs. He was (the Canucks) best player, defenseman for sure, but if not their best player."

Zadorov tallied four goals and four assists and registered 45 hits and 18 blocks in 13 playoff games for Vancouver last season.

"The way he can transport the puck and shoot it. There's not many guys that have the ability to kind of skate, move the puck and shoot it the way he does, and be physical. He brings every element to the game. I think people look at him more the way he can kind of run around and control the game physically."

Marchand believes Zadorov will give the Bruins more offensive opportunities on the back end, especially when paired with Charlie McAvoy.

"I'm sure he's going to thrive."